Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (29 September 1674 – 16 July 1763) was a French composer and flautist, the most famous of a family of woodwind players. Study in Rome as a youth gave him the nickname le Romain (the Roman). His Pièces pour la flûte traversiere, Op.2, was published in 1708 and dedicated to his patron, Louis XIV, the Sun King. This is the first piece in that collection.
French Suite No. 1 is in a slow – fast -slow – fast – slow format, all in one movement. I have written an extra bar of introduction in the harpsichord so you can better grasp the opening tempo. I have also provided an excerpt of the tempo change from slow to fast at bar 25, starting at bar 23. Listen to that first.
See a video performance