Der Fluyten Lust-hof

Der Fluyten Lust-hof (The Recorder's Garden of Delights) is a collection of dances, psalms, airs, and drinking songs that were arranged for recorder by Jacob van Eyck (b. ca. 1590 - d. 1657). It has much to offer recorder players of all skill levels. Its charming melodies are suitable for the novice performer. More advanced students can hone their technique on the passage-work in many of the pieces. The collection is also of interest to the student of music theory and composition, as it serves as an example of the practice of creating variations on a melody. An important part of this variation technique is the creation of figurations. These were of central importance in the compositional instruction during the baroque era. J.S. Bach (b. 1685 – d. 1750) uses such techniques extensively in his inventions in the Klavierbuchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (b. 1710 - d. 1784). These works were used to teach his sons both keyboard and compositional technique. Musicologists have taken an interest in Der Fluyten Lust-hof because of its role in the transmission of many of the melodies that it contains.