Flute Set for Solo Flute

Adolphus Hailstork: Flute Set for Solo Flute was written in 2003 and dedicated to Renee Siebert, a long-time flautist with the New York Philharmonic, and a frequent collaborator and muse for Hailstork (he also dedicated Flight to her in 1992).
In the early 2000s, Hailstork was increasingly recognized as a "Dean of African American Composers." Flute Set represents his "Neoclassical" side, using the four-movement Baroque/Classical suite structure but infusing it with "Blue notes" and African American rhythmic displacement.
The piece consists of four movements:
1. Moderato con anima. Characterized as "Declamatory", it uses wide intervals that scholars compare to the "shout" tradition, yet maintains a formal, almost Bach-like structural integrity.
2. Vivo. A scherzo-like movement with asymmetrical meters and "mercurial" nature, requiring extreme agility.
3. Lento e teneramente. A "song without words" that utilizes Hailstork’s choral background to create a sense of breathing and vocal prayer.
4. Allegretto. A rhythmic finale that brings back the "bluesy" inflections of the first movement, providing a cyclical feel to the suite.
In 2003, Hailstork ended his long tenure at Norfolk State University and joined the faculty at Old Dominion University (ODU) as Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence.
This move coincided with a surge in his chamber music output. Flute Set was written during this transitional summer, reflecting a "distilled" compositional voice that favored clarity and character over large-scale orchestral density.