Through the years, Paula Robison and Frederic Hand have been drawn to the full-hearted sound of classic Italian song and to the rich folk traditions of Italy. It is their great pleasure to present this collection of some of their favorite melodies in these new arrangements for flute and guitar. Here they serenade us with nine Italian love songs from opera and popular traditions, ranging from Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro and the beloved Santa Lucia to lesser-known gems of the Baroque era. The publication includes background and lyrics for all the songs as well as Robison's phrase marks and Hand's fingerings.

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Paula Robison and Frederic Hand bring to their
performances and recordings a shared delight in musical exploration. Both are classically trained with international careers as classical artists and teachers, but early on each was irresistibly attracted by diverse ways to make their instruments sing.

Frederic Hand is a Grammy-nominated composer and arranger.
Known for his unique performances of early music and his eclectic,
versatile style embracing jazz and folk traditions, he is the creator of Jazzantiqua, a group The New York Times described as “scintillating and brilliant.” His arrangements and improvisations have been heard in the scores of numerous films, and he received an Emmy Award for his prolific work in television. He has been the guitarist and lutenist with the Metropolitan Opera since 1986 and has shared the Met stage with Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Of his compositions for guitar, Alexandre Lagoya has written, “His knowledge of the instrument enables him to achieve effects which are absolutely remarkable. Mr. Hand possesses a magnificent talent which touches me profoundly.”

Paula Robison has also taken pathways to new expression. “With
Art,” an ongoing series with visual artists, has included Sol LeWitt
and Mozart in a special installation at the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum in Boston, Luciano Berio with art from the 1950s at PS 1
in New York, Takemitsu at the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, and a battle with Tim Hawkinson’s UberOrgan at MASS MoCA, armed with JS Bach and Edgar Varèse. Her passion for Brazilian Chôro helped spark a revival of interest in this lively art form, and she has performed with Brazilian jazz colleagues at New York’s Birdland, at Carnegie Hall, in Rio de Janeiro, and at the Cartagena and Spoleto Festivals. Her sense of connection between the flute and the human voice has led her to transcribe and arrange a large repertoire of songs for flute and instrumental ensemble, many of them performed with Frederic Hand in her historic Vivaldi series in the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Through the years, Paula Robison and Frederic Hand have been drawn to the full-hearted sound of classic Italian song and to the rich folk traditions of Italy. It is their great pleasure to present this collection of some of their favorite melodies in these new arrangements for flute and guitar.

La Serenata
Santa Lucia
Selve Amiche
O Cessate di Piagarmi
Caro Mio Ben
Mattinata
Amarilli
O Mio Babbino Caro
Piacer d'amor