Fantasies On Celtic Airs for flute and piano

Janice Maille Bullard: Fantasies On Celtic Airs for flute and piano was
written in 2018. The collection was published posthumously by Falls House Press in 2019.
The piece consists of four movements, each based on a traditional air that Bullard elaborates through her background in sacred music and improvisation.
1. "The Water Is Wide": Based on the traditional Scottish tune also known as "O Waly, Waly," this fantasy begins with a simple statement of the melody followed by variations in different keys.
2. "The Skye Boat Song": This movement depicts the 18th-century Scottish air about Prince Charles Edward Stuart's escape to the Isle of Skye. It is noted for a section where the flute performs a low version of the melody immediately following a high-octave variation.
3. "Londonderry Air": Set to the world-famous tune most commonly associated with "Danny Boy," this fantasy follows a variation form that is technically more challenging than the first two pieces in the collection.
4. "Down by the Sally Gardens": Based on a poem by W.B. Yeats set to an old Irish air, this is the most technically demanding movement of the four. It features intricate fingering, large intervals, and complex rhythmic patterns.
Janice Maille Bullard was a prolific composer and church musician who was actively writing up until her passing. Her obituary mentions that Falls House Press was already preparing to release the collection around
that time. Given that she spent 61 years as the music director at the Village Baptist Church in Fort Edward, these fantasies reflect her late-career focus on blending sacred "verse anthem" styles with traditional folk melodies.