SEPTEMBER 2001 - American Recorder
44
SEPTEMBER 2001 P UBLISHED BY THE A MERICAN R ECORDER S OCIETY , VOL . XLII, N O . 4
Transcript of SEPTEMBER 2001 - American Recorder
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 1
PU
BL
ISH
ED
BY
TH
EA
ME
RIC
AN
RE
CO
RD
ER
SO
CIE
TY,
VOL
. X
LII
, N
O.
4
����������
�������� ��� �� �� ����� �� �
���������� �� ������������������������������������ �������� !"���#��������� �������$���� �%&�����'������$������������ (�� ��������% !"���
���
����� )�����������*%&�&+ ,�����(����� -�.�,�� !�� �/������� ������������ ��01����������������������� ,��(����� -�.�,"� !�� �
��� �
�������� 2������������3����������������� ���� �/4������ .���%� ! � ����� ���������������������5��� �/4�(����� /����,& !"����������6 ��������$����*#�7����$+� ���������������% �� ������(����� -�.�,�" !�� �8�������*��+ 9�������������/���:������ �,����������*% )�(���+ ���(������ -�.�,�; !�� �/����<� ���������������� ���$������������ ���=%&),� ������(����� -�.�,"% ! ���/������ ���������/������� �:�������>��$�����7����� �/4 ������, ! ���8�����6 8�������������*�������������������� ������� �/4(���/4 �?����� ! � �
���� �
����� )�9��<�����*% ;�+���$��������������� �!�"����� ��(������ -�.�,") ! � �
��� ������� ������ ��
���������� .�������������� ����������������'�?���� @�? ������) ! ���9��� A�������B�?���������*#��$����������%&+ �(��@�4� .���%�� !,� �
�������������������������
�$��� /��������3������� ���� �44�����@�#� ?2>�,)� !)�����$��� /��������3��$$�� ���� /44�����@�#� ?2>�,)4 !%;����$��� /��������3�����$� ���� �44�����@�#� ?2>�,)9 !%;���
Magnamusic Distributors, Inc.PO Box 338, Sharon, CT 06069 Ph: (860)364-5431 Fax: (860) 364-5168
WEB: www.magnamusic.com
�����
�����
� � � �
Accompaniment Recordings
Sheet Music and CD included
We are please to present American Recorder readers with a list of our current recorder offerings. Music Minus One recordings first made their appearance in 1950. These editions go back to
the work of Erich Katz and LaNoue Davenport who shaped the early
development of the recorder in the United States.
Music Minus One Recorder
Folk Songs of Many Nations MMO 3337Compiled and edited by Erich Katz, Dean of the AmericanRecorder movement and the man responsible for theenormous recorder renaissance in theU.S.A. during the 1960’s and ‘70’s.Here is a superior text for learning toplay the soprano recorder. Each lessonis built around a series of duets andtrios, beginning with the simplest offolk songs to the more elaborate musicof Bach. Your fellow player is LaNoueDavenport, recorder virtuoso andformer performer with the NoahGreenberg Pro Musica group.
Let’s Play The Recorder MMO 3338 A Children’s Method A delighful approach to recorder study for children.Easy exercises plus fully illustrated hand positionphotographs take the player through all the stepsnecessary to learn.
You Can Play The Recorder MMO 3339 An Adult Method Recorder, guitar, percussion plus bass accompany you.This method, and its sister edition were developed by
Sonya and Gerald Burakoff, who have taught thousands to play therecorder. Contains step by step instructions with illustrations.Familiar songs and duets guide you to excellence.
3 Sonatas for Alto Recorder, Harpsichord & Viola da Gamba MMO 3340 The Rameau Trio Minus Alto RecorderTelemann: Trio in F Major; Handel: Sonata No. 3 in C major, Trio Sonata in Bb major
3 Sonatas for Alto Recorder, Harpsichord & Viola da gamba MMO 3341The Rameau Trio Minus Alto RecorderHandel: Sonata in F major; Telemann: Sonata in F major;Marcello: Sonata in F major
Renaissance Dances & Fantasias MMO 3356 N.Y Renaissance Band Minus Soprano RecorderPraetorius: Dances “Terpsichore” Attaingnant: 6 Pavanes &Gaillards; Banchieri: Fantasie
Echoes of Time 2 CD Set MMO 3357 N.Y. Renaissance Band Minus Alto RecorderAgricola; Brumel; Compere; Isaac; Josquin; Obrecht; Okeghem; Susato
18th Century Recorder Music 2 CD Set MMO 3358 N.Y.Renaissance Band Minus Alto Recorder
English Consort Music 2 CD Set MMO 3359 N. Y. Consort of Viols Minus Alto RecorderCoperario; Dowland; Brade; Lawes; Schein; Byrd; Woodcock
Dances of 3 Centuries MMO 3360 Minus Alto Recorder
LaNoue Davenport, Recorders, Krummhorns, Tenor Viol; JudithDavidoff, Treble & Bass Viol, Vielle; Susan Evans, Percussion
Instructional Material
Please send the recordings checked below:�� MMO 3337� MMO 3338� MMO 3339� MMO 3340� MMO 3341
� MMO 3356� MMO 3357*� MMO 3358*� MMO 3359*� MMO 3360
Charge to my:� � � �
CARD#EXP. DATE / /
Single CD’s are $29.98, *2 CD sets are $34.98. Music Book included.Special Discount for American Recorder Readers-15%off with this coupon
Ship to:
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
Music Minus One 50 Executive Blvd. Elmsford, NY 10523-1325800-669-7464 • email: [email protected] • www.musicminusone.com
Veracini: Four Sonatas MMO 3370
MMO 3370
FEATURESPlay-Along Discs for the Recorder: An Overview . . . . . . . . 11Through the capabilities of CD technology, there are talented accompanists in every style waiting to sit down with you and play,by Susan Groskreutz
Romantic Music for Recorder Ensemble:Why Not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Since recorder players have always adapted music intended for others, there’s no reason 19th-century music should be ignored,by Thomas E. Van Dahm
Composing a Fugue for Recorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20The second in a series of articles by composers and arrangersdiscussing how they write music for recorder,by Glen Shannon
DEPARTMENTSAdvertiser Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Chapters & Consorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Music Reviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22On the Cutting Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ARS at Amherst, Carnegie Hall LinkUP!, Burgess SonatinaIndiana Recorder Academy, Boston Early Music Festival
Volume XLII, Number 4 September 2001
BENJAMIN S. DUNHAM, Editor
Contributing EditorsFRANCES BLAKER, Beginners; SCOTT PATERSON, Book Reviews
CAROLYN PESKIN, Q & A; CONSTANCE M. PRIMUS, Music ReviewsEUGENE REICHENTHAL, Education; PETE ROSE, 20th-Century Performance
GILLIAN KAHN, Design Consultant
Advisory BoardMartha Bixler • Valerie Horst • David Lasocki
Bob Marvin • Howard Schott • Thomas Prescott • Catherine TurocyKenneth Wollitz
Copyright © 2001 American Recorder Society, Inc.Visit AR On-Line at: www.recorderonline.org
American Recorder (ISSN: 0003-0724), 5554 S. Prince, Suite 128, Littleton, CO 80120, is published bimonthly (January, March, May, September, andNovember) for its members by the American Recorder Society, Inc. $20 of the annual $40 U.S. membership dues in the American Recorder Society is for asubscription to American Recorder. Articles, reviews, and letters to the editor reflect the viewpoint of their individual authors. Their appearance in this magazinedoes not imply official endorsement by the ARS. Submission of articles and photographs is welcomed. Articles may be typed or submitted on PC discs (Wordfor Windows, or RTF preferred) or as an attachment to an e-mail message. They should be for the exclusive consideration of AR, unless otherwise noted.Photographs may be sent as color or black-and-white prints, or 300-dpi TIFF images. Advertisements may be sent in the PDF format, with fonts embedded.
Editorial office: Benjamin S. Dunham, Editor, American Recorder, 472 Point Rd., Marion, MA 02738; 508-748-1750 (business hours), 508-748-1928 (fax);[email protected]. Deadlines for editorial material: November 15 (January), January 15 (March), March 15 (May), July 15 (September), andSeptember 15 (November). Books for review: Scott Paterson, 77 Queensbury Ave., Scarborough, ON M1N 2X8, Canada. Music for review: Constance M.Primus, Box 608, Georgetown, CO 80444. Recordings for review: Editorial office. Cutting Edge: Pete Rose, 13 Rutgers St., Maplewood, NJ 07040;[email protected]. Chapter newsletters and other reports: Editorial office. Advertising: Editorial office. Advertising Closings: December1 (January), February 1 (March), April 1 (May), August 1 (September), and October 1 (November). Postmaster: Send address changes to American RecorderSociety, Box 631, Littleton, CO 80160-0631. Periodicals postage paid at Littleton, CO, and at an additional mailing office.
4
20
11
Almost half of American Recorder readersdo not belong to a chapter of the ARS. Theyare independent members, perhaps livingfar from a chapter location or preferring topractice on their own and to playwith.....whom?
If they are lucky, they know of instru-mentalists in their area who have the timeand the ability to read through our reper-toire. But it is not easy to find other ama-teurs who have the right combination ofskills and who present no scheduling diffi-culties. And getting together a group for asatisfying read-through of BrandenburgNo. 2? Not likely.
So it is encouraging to know that thereis a growing body of play-along materialsavailable for recorder players. How to sortit all out? AR asked Sue Groskreutz tospend the beginning of her summer play-ing along with outstanding instrumental-ists of previous decades and far-off coastsand continents in an effort to guide ourreaders in their search for the perfect virtu-al consort experience (page 11).
If you’re looking for live musical part-ners, try the Amateur Chamber MusicPlayers, a network of mostly string quartetplayers who are reaching out to wind andearly instrument players. ACMP directo-ries—one for North and Central Americaand one for the rest of the world—-listmembers hoping to be contacted for anevening of music-making, whether by trav-elers passing through or by those seekingnew local musical acquaintances. Checkout www.acmp.net or contact the ACMP at1123 Broadway, Room 304, New York, NY10010-2007; 212-645-7424. The group al-so offers grants to engage coaches for ama-teur ensembles.
Benjamin Dunham* * * *
CORRECTION: The printed score of CarolynPeskin’s “Then You’ll Feel the Sunlight”(May 2001, p. 19) contained a small mis-take: The two sixteenth notes in the topline of measure 10 should be G and A in-stead of A and B� and should occur on thefirst half of the second beat. A correctedversion has been posted for members at AROn-Line (www.recorderonline.org). Theassociated MIDI file plays correctly.
EDITOR’SNOTE______________________________
ON THE COVER:Illustration
byDon Sommers
© 2001
2 American Recorder
AMERICANRECORDER
SOCIETYINC.
Honorary PresidentERICH KATZ (1900-1973)Honorary Vice President
WINIFRED JAEGER
Statement of PurposeThe mission of the American Recorder Society is
to promote the recorder and its music bydeveloping resources and standards to help
people of all ages and ability levels to play andstudy the recorder, presenting the instrumentto new constituencies, encouraging increasedcareer opportunities for professional recorderperformers and teachers, and enabling and
supporting recorder playing as a shared socialexperience. Besides this journal,
ARS publishes a newsletter, a personal studyprogram, a directory, and special musicaleditions. Society members gather and playtogether at chapter meetings, weekend and
summer workshops, and many ARS-sponsoredevents throughout the year. In 2000, the Society
entered its seventh decade of service to itsconstituents.
Board of DirectorsJohn Nelson, President; Chair, Education
Richard Carbone, Vice President, Chair, SeniorsSheila M. Fernekes, Secretary; Chair, Education
Ann Stickney, TreasurerRebecca Arkenberg, Chair, PublicationsMartha Bixler, Editor, Members’ Library
Frances FeldonCléa Galhano, Chair
Special Events/Professional OutreachAlan Karass, Chair, Chapters & Consorts
Carolyn Peskin, Chair, ScholarshipSue Roessel, Chair, Junior Recorder Society
János Ungváry
Priscilla Winslow, Counsel
StaffGail Nickless, Executive Director
P. O. Box 631Littleton, CO 80160-0631, U.S.A.
303-347-1120Faxes & membership question hot line:
303-347-1181E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.americanrecorder.orgIn accordance with the Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2,
passed by the United States Congress in 1996, the American Recorder
Society makes freely available through its web site financial and
incorporation documents complying with that regulation.
ALABAMABirmingham: Martin K. Payne
(205/979-6430)
ARIZONAPhoenix: Donald Harrington
(602/956-1344)Tucson: Scott Mason (520/721-0846)
ARKANSASAeolus Konsort: Louisa Rollefson
(501/225-4846) Bella Vista: Barbara McCoy
(501/855-6477)
CALIFORNIACentral Coast: Elizabeth Blake
(805/534-9414)East Bay: Glen Shannon
(510/525-1249) Monterey Bay: Lorrie Emery
(831/423-8309)North Coast: Carolyn Moskowitz
(707/476-0421)North County: Barbara J. Martin
(760/731-5940)Orange County: Doris Leffingwell
(949/494-9675) Riverside: Elizabeth P. Zuehlke
(310/376-2669)Sacramento: Ronald Koetzsch
(916/965-1341) San Diego County: Carol Resnick
(619/466-7983) Sonoma County: Dan Lapsansky
(707/865-0728)South Bay: Joanna Woodrow
(408/266-3993)Southern California: Lynne Snead
(661/254-7922)Village Festival Recorder Orchestra:
Richard Geisler (530/477-2293)
COLORADOBoulder: Robert Keep (303/651-2659) Colorado Springs: Richard Wood
(719/591-0548) Denver: Keith Emerson (303/750-8460) Fort Collins: Jann Benson
(970/484-3522)
CONNECTICUTConnecticut: Dorothy Vining
(203/267-6513)Eastern Connecticut: Joyce Goldberg
(860/442-8490)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAWashington: Jayme A. Sokolow
(301/933-3989)
DELAWAREBrandywine: Roger Matsumoto
(302/731-1430)
FLORIDAGainesville: Russell D. Moore
(352/378-0567) Miami: Pat Coons (305/598-7201) Sarasota: Valerie Sizemore
(941/484-9589)
GEORGIAAtlanta: Glenn Middleton
(770/448-7168)
HAWAIIHawaii: Irene Sakimoto
(808/734-5909)Big Island: Roger Baldwin (808/935-2306)
ILLINOISChicago: Patrick O’Malley
(773/293-3138) West Suburban: Eric Stern
(708/594-9243)
KANSASL&L Early Music Ensemble: Liz Low
(913/727-3554)
LOUISIANABaton Rouge: John Waite
(504/925-0502)New Orleans: Chris Alderman
(504/862-0969)
MARYLANDNorthern Maryland: Dawn Culbertson
(410/825-1379)
MASSACHUSETTSBoston: Charles Wibiralske
(617/739-9651)Worcester Hills: Jennifer Southcott
(978/263-5875)
MICHIGANAnn Arbor: Ole Lundin
734/668-4842Kalamazoo: Chris Bartley
(616/341-4590) Metropolitan Detroit: Peter Lundell
(248/542-9907) Muskegon: Marge Winter
(231/744-1703)
MINNESOTATwin Cities: Jean Fagerstrom
(612/722-4967)
MISSOURISt. Louis: Chris Langton
(618/374-1209)
NEBRASKAFlatwater: Richard Jizba (402/498-5671)
NEVADASierra Early Music Society: Karlene Dickey
(775/832-9124)
NEW HAMPSHIREMonadnock: Priscilla Watson
(603/357-8549)Upper Valley: Barbara Prescott
(603/643-6442)
NEW JERSEYBergen County: Mary Comins
(201/489-5695) Highland Park: Donna Messer
(732/828-7421) Navesink: Lori Goldschmidt
(732/747-4813)Princeton: Carol Hoffman-Sweeten
(609/466-4685) Somerset Hills: Pattrick Littel
(908/788-5566)
NEW MEXICOAlbuquerque: Bryan Bingham
(505/299-0052)Rio Grande: Suzanne Blanchard
(505/521-1725)Santa Fe: Jane Miller (505/984-0851)
NEW YORKBuffalo: Charles Hall
(716/835-5573) Hudson Mohawk: Emmy Grubb
(518/377-1532)
New York City: Michael Zumoff
(212/662-2946)
Long Island: Margaret H. Brown
(516/765-1867)
Rochester: Marilyn Plain
(716/475-1453)
Rockland:
Westchester: Carol B. Leibman
(914/241-3381)
NORTH CAROLINATriad: Donna Yaniglos (336/292-9995)
Triangle: Cindy Osborne (919/851-1080)
OHIOGreater Cleveland: Edith Yerger
(440/826-0716)
Toledo: Marilyn Perlmutter
(419/531-6259)
OREGONOregon Coast: Corlu Collier
(541/265-5910)
PENNSYLVANIAPhiladelphia: Dody Magaziner
(610/886-2241)
Joanne Ford (215/844-8054)
Pittsburgh: Karen Lukas
(412/731-7411)
South Central: Rick Graham
(717/854-6415)
RHODE ISLANDRhode Island: David Bojar
(401/944-3395)
TENNESSEEGreater Knoxville: Ann Stierli
(423/637-6179)
Nashville: Marcus Mendenhall
(615/383-7078)
TEXASAustin: Susan Page (512/467-7520)
Dallas: Bill Patterson (214/696-4892)
Houston: Catherine Kerruish (713/937-8811)
Rio Grande: Suzanne Blanchard
(505/521-1725)
VERMONTUpper Valley: Barbara Prescott
(603/643-6442)
VIRGINIANorthern Virginia: Edward Friedler
(703/425-1324)
WASHINGTONMoss Bay: Mark Grieve (425/746-1916)
Seattle: Kathleen Arends
(425/649-9869)
WISCONSINMilwaukee: Pat Brankle
(414/542-4551)
Southern Wisconsin: Margaret Asquith
(608/233-4441)
CANADAToronto: Alison Healing (905/648-6964)
Montreal: Diane Koch (514/672-8308)
Please contact the ARS officeto update chapter listings.
ARS Chapters
September 2001 3
PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE___________________________________
ONE OF THE PLEASANTEST things aboutbeing your president is the excuse it
gives me to participate in events that Imight not otherwise ever experience. Casein point: the annual Boston Early MusicFestival. This year I attended for the firsttime ever, and I rate the experience as real-ly superb. Elsewhere in this issue you’llfind more about the Festival. What followsare some random observations about theevent and its surroundings.
I’d first of all like to thank Delta Airlinesfor getting me to Boston reasonably ontime. Considering that’s the first time I’vebeen able to say that in my whole time onthe ARS Board, it ranks as a small miracle.Of course, the airline forfeited a bit of mygood will during my return trip on Sunday,but that’s quite another story. Then, therewas the heat. Being from Atlanta, I’m nostranger to heat, but this was unseason-able, and when you’re old and out of shapelike me, climbing Beacon Hill just aboutdid me in. Thank heaven for air-condi-tioned hotel rooms.
As for the Festival itself, I was particu-larly impressed by the exhibits. The num-ber and variety of instrument makers is tru-ly amazing. I’m sorry that I wasn’t in themarket for a recorder. I imagine that beingable to play some really world-class instru-ments would have been quite a thrill. Iimagine that trying out instruments justfor the fun of it would have been permissi-ble, but somehow just didn’t seem right.Maybe next time.
I attended only a limited number ofconcerts and recitals. For reasons thatseemed perfectly logical at the time, Ichose not to attend the opera. From whatI’ve heard, I missed a really fine perfor-mance. One program I did attend was theconcert by Doulce Memoire. For sheer fun,this one would be hard to beat. It had justabout everything you could ask for: excel-lent music played by a variety of instru-mental combinations, singing, dancing,
and a mysterious serpent that spent the en-tire concert plus two encores leaning qui-etly against the back of the stage. A numberof us in my vicinity were about to stage amutiny, but someone finally did play thething, and it put a pleasant cap on theevening.
Since this was my first time at BEMF, itwas also my introduction to the ARS GreatRecorder Relay. In addition to being able tointroduce some friends from Atlanta, it wasa pleasure to be able to hear the variety ofmusic and styles presented, and I’m surethat the six groups merely scratched thesurface of what is possible.
Sunday was a special day for me. In asense, it held some high points and the on-ly really bad time I had during the week-end. Since many of the board memberswere there, it was almost inevitable thatsome business was transacted. There werebudget discussions, informal meetingswith committee chairs, and the usual Sun-day morning meeting of the Board withchapter representatives. Many problemswere brought up and discussed and per-haps a solution or two came out of the de-liberations.
The Sunday play-in was a real treat. Ihad the honor of leading the session and Imake no apologies for the fact that two of
the three works welooked at were my ownarrangements. Therewas quite an age range: from just barely 8to senior citizens probably older than me. Iwas especially pleased that the McCleskeyMiddle School Recorder Ensemble wasthere in force. A good thing, too, since thegroup made up well over half of those inattendance.
At noon we made our way back to Jor-dan Hall for Hugo Reyne’s excellent recital,followed by a reception in honor of thenewest recipient of the DistinguishedAchievement Award, Frans Brüggen.
After the reception, I decided to headback to the hotel to get ready to fly back toAtlanta. That was just about the time therains that were the remnant of tropicalstorm Allison came down—in torrents. Bythe time I got to my hotel, I was drenched.Fortunately, I was able to change into dryclothes before heading to the airport, onlyto stand in line for two hours to check inand find that my 8:15 flight to Atlantawould not leave until 10:45. Not the mostpleasant end to what had been, to thatpoint, an enjoyable and profitable week-end. Now, I’m looking forward to next yearat Berkeley.
John Nelson
My summer vacation
One BEMF program I attended was the concert byDoulce Memoire. For sheer fun, this one would be hardto beat. It had just about everything you could ask for: excellent music played by a variety of instrumentalcombinations, singing, dancing, and a mysteriousserpent that spent the entire concert plus two encores leaning quietly against the back of the stage. A number of us in my vicinity were about to stage amutiny, but someone finally did play the thing, and it put a pleasant cap on the evening.
4 American Recorder
TIDINGS___________________________________ Rows of students launched enthusiastically into “A Simple Melody,” a song written especially
for the occasion by composer Nick Scarim.
20,000 Make CarnegieHall Debut on RecorderLast May, almost 20,000 young recorderplayers made their Carnegie Hall debut.Led by conductor John Morris Russell, as-sociate conductor of the Cincinnati Sym-phony Orchestra, rows of students repre-senting fourth through sixth grades fromthe tri-state area and as far away as Ithaca,New York, launched enthusiastically into“A Simple Melody,” a song written espe-cially for the occasion by composer NickScarim. They were accompanied by the Or-chestra of St. Luke’s, which went on to per-form Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony—without recorder accompaniment!
The series of ten concerts (two a day forfive days) were the culminating event ofCarnegie Hall’s LinkUP! classical musiceducation program, which included the re-corder in the curriculum for the 2000-2001 school year. In collaboration, TheMetropolitan Museum of Art produced aposter featuring three historical recordersfrom its collection of musical instrumentsthat was distributed to all participatingschools. The ensemble Piffaro presentedin-school concerts to 16 of the participat-ing schools.
For more information about CarnegieHall’s LinkUP! program, go to the Educa-tion section at www.carnegiehall.org. Thisfall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’swebsite will include an activity for studentson the recorder. The Museum’s website isat http://metmuseum.org. Click on “Ex-plore and Learn.”
ARS was especially well-represented at theAmherst Early Music Festival held on thecampus of the University of Connecticut inStorrs this summer.
Immediately after registration, all par-ticipants were invited to an “ARS Play-In”led by Eric Haas of the Von Huene Work-shop. Eric, using copies of his own compi-lation, One more time..., quickly had usplaying and enjoying settings of the samemelodies used by different Renaissancecomposers.
At the opening orientation meeting thatevening, AEM director Marilyn Boenau in-troduced the two ARS scholarship recipi-ents, Irene Mena from Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic, and Tim Dusenburyfrom Laurel, Maryland. Irene is 19 years ofage and is about to begin her third year asan industrial engineering student at thePontificia Universidad Catolica y Maestrain Santo Domingo. A long-time recorderstudent at a community music school, she
chose the Amherst workshop to furtherlearn the early music genres. She lovesplaying and intends to keep music in herlife. Tim is 18 and about to begin studyingat Catholic University of America in Wash-ington, D.C. His parents started him on re-corder at the age of 5 and by 14, he decid-ed he wants to become a composer. He in-tends to major in music composition incollege and has already completed severalpieces, including “Lyric By Myself,” for so-lo alto recorder, “Lyric For Trio,” for piano,cello, and soprano recorder, and “NuncDimitis,” for full chorus, three soloists andorgan. Both Irene and Tim performed inthe week-ending student concert, Irenewith music school friends who had comewith her from the Dominican Republic,and Tim in different ensembles. Both im-pressed the audience with their enthusi-asm and playing skills.
The ARS also set up a table at Amherst’sEarly Music and Instrument Exhibition,
held between weeks one and two ofthe workshop. This long-standingevent attracts not only the work-shop’s faculty and students, but al-so draws visitors from all aroundthe region. This year, the ARS waspresent with a tabletop of posters,magazines, samples of publicationsand membership information, andapplication forms. With the help ofa small but energetic group of vol-unteers who staffed the table, theARS was able to put its activities andgoals before all comers, and manytook the opportunity to join or re-join the Society.
Richard Carbone
PHO
TO:C
HRI
SLE
EC
OU
RTES
YC
ARN
EGIE
HAL
L
ARS scholarship winners at the 2001 Amherst Early Music Festival: Irene Mena from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Tim Dusenburyfrom Laurel, Maryland.
ARS Shows Up StrongAt Amherst Early Music Festival
The American Recorder Society has an-nounced the publication of a recently-dis-covered musical composition for recordersby the late author Anthony Burgess, bestknown for such books as A ClockworkOrange.
Sonatina, a one-movement work for al-to recorder and piano, is now published asa facsimile of the composer’s original man-uscript in the ARS Erich Katz Contempo-rary Music Series (see page 28). The man-uscript is in the Anthony Burgess archive at
the Harry Ransom Humanities ResearchCenter, The University of Texas at Austin. Itwas discovered by ARS member Scott Pa-terson, a faculty member of the Royal Con-servatory of Music in Toronto, during re-search for an AR magazine article on Bur-gess (September 2000). While it is possiblethat the work originally had more move-ments, Paterson describes it as “a satisfy-ing, self-contained piece.”
Burgess was an avid musician and com-poser all his life, and the volume of his mu-
sical output matches his literary produc-tivity. Burgess was born John Burgess Wil-son in 1917 in Manchester, England. Hewas a precocious child who taught himselfto read music and play piano after havingbeen captivated by the sound of the mod-ern music he heard on the radio. Althoughhis initial desire was for a musical career,various twists of fate—not least a misdiag-nosed brain tumor—led him to want toprovide for his family through the more lu-crative career of author and broadcaster,which he pursued with wit and vivacity un-til his death in 1993.
Most of Burgess’s recorder music waswritten late in his career for his son, An-drew Wilson, who is a professional per-former on woodwinds. In his music for re-corder and piano, Burgess typically bal-ances an active and demanding recorderpart against a full, sonorous piano part.
Until 1988, the Katz Series publishedprize-winners in a contest for original re-corder works (underwritten by the ARS’sErich Katz Memorial Fund). It now in-cludes other recent significant works forrecorder, such as the only known work forrecorder by Czech-American composer Va-clav Nelhybel. Katz, honorary president ofARS, promoted recorder playing in Ameri-ca in the years after World War II until hisdeath in 1973. The centenary of his birthwas celebrated by the ARS in 2000.
September 2001 5
Daniel Koschitzki, a participant in theVirtuoso Recorder Program at the AmherstEarly Music Festival, will replace PaulLeenhouts, who is leaving the Amster-dam Loeki Stardust Quartet this fall.
Early Music America magazine editorRobin Perry Allen has resigned in order todevote her full attention to the editorshipof The Voice of Chorus America, a positionshe has held concurrently with her EMApost. Her resignation will become effectiveafter she completes the winter issue of“EMAg.”
The National Guild of CommunitySchools of the Arts will seek a new execu-tive director following the retirement inDecember of Lolita Mayadas, who ledthe organization through an extraordinaryperiod of growth and service during the1980s and 1990s.
This fall, John Tyson will begin teach-ing at Boston University’s School of Musicin addition to the New England Conserva-tory and the Corso Internationale di Musi-ca Antiqua in Urbino, Italy.
PHO
TO: C
HRI
S LE
E, C
OU
RTES
Y C
ARN
EGIE
HAL
L
The Indiana University Recorder Academy was truly an international event thisyear. In addition to students from all over the U.S. (California, Colorado, Texas, Illi-nois, Missouri, Washington, D.C., Minnesota, Indiana), we had two students fromArgentina and one from Austria.
The days of the two-week Academy were filled with private lessons, daily ensem-ble classes, theory instruction, large group playing, preparation of a commedia del-l’arte, Renaissance dancing, Renaissance ensemble, learning a music computer pro-gram, daily practice sessions, and two concluding recitals. Recreation includedbowling, swimming, preparation of an Academy newspaper, a pontoon trip, andping-pong and chess tournaments, not to mention the concluding gong show.
The level of playing was extremely high this year, equally so the level of goodfeeling and and community spirit. Students comment that a great thing about theAcademy is that it allows them to be with kids their own age who take the recorderseriously and excel to a high degree.
Marie-Louise Smith
Standing, back row, left to right: Elise Lauterbur (Illinois), David Giusti(Washington DC), Andrew Levy (California), John West (Minnesota), YaninaGerman (Argentina) holding Paula Bisson (Argentina), Elin Williams (Indiana), Marina France (Washington DC); seated front row, left to right:Fiona Foster (Colorado), Anna Brumbaugh (Colorado), Amalia Maletta(Washington, DC), Rachel Siegel (Missouri), Kerstin Picker (Austria), Chris Avery (Colorado), Sarah Compton (Texas).
Indiana Academy Attracts International Students
Bits & Pieces
Sonatina by Novelist Anthony BurgessPublished by American Recorder Society
The audience in Jordan Hall was blissfullyunaware of a gathering rainstorm until thevery end of Hugo Reyne’s captivating re-corder recital midday Sunday, June 17,during the Boston Early Music Festival.
The French virtuoso used a collectionof fine recorders, including an originalThomas Stanesby, Jr., alto (restored byFriedrich von Huene) heard in a shortsonata by Jacques Paisible and a suite byJacques Hotteterre. A lovely voice flute anda fourth flute (recorder in B�) made by TimCranmore were used in suites by FrançoisDieupart. A very gentle Suite in G Minor byPierre Gautier was performed on anothermellow recorder, a tenor, with a continuoof theorbo (Paul O’Dette) and gamba(Margriet Tindemans). Gautier foundedthe first provincial opera house in France atMarseilles. After a coastal tour in 1696,poor M. Gautier and his company, return-ing home by sea, were lost in a ragingstorm, something like the one that wasforming at this very moment. After harpsi-chordist Pierre Hantaï performed two ofBach’s English Suites with verve andartistry, the concert continued with AnneDanican Philidor’s Sonata in D Minor.Reyne played the fourth movement, theGracieusement, in the words of MarthaBixler, “more slowly and at the same timemore beautifully than I have ever heard itplayed before. Throughout the concert,Reyne’s playing was—even at its most vig-orous—very relaxed,” with superb tone,intonation, and taste. Near the end, themonsoon outside made itself known in-side the hall, with torrents of water splash-ing down backstage. The performers re-mained calm, and Reyne was inspired torepeat for his encore “Le cascade de Saint-Cloud” from the Hotteterre suite.
BEMF’s featured presentation, the Lul-ly opera Thésée, satisfied both the eyes andthe ears. Not only were the costumes andsets spectacular, but it was good to see for-mer ARS president Shelley Gruskin in thepit and on-stage playing musette, recorder,
and flute, and Michael Lynn and AlisonMelville playing recorder and flute. Theentrance of Minerva at the end of the firstact, accompanied by three A-392 recordersloaned by the Von Huene Workshop(though “six flutes disguised as women”were called for in the score!) was a momentof special enjoyment. On Thursdayevening, during “Les Fleurs Enchantées”(a program of Rameau and Clérambaultemploying the opera orchestra), Gruskinwas given a delicious flute solo in the open-ing Rameau suite, while Lynn and Melvillerendered their parts admirably.
The Friday evening concert of Ensem-ble Doulce Mémoire under the directionof early winds specialist Denis Raisin-Dadre was a crowd-pleasing romp inwhich outstanding musicianship was bal-anced by choreographed stagings of obvi-ous audience appeal (see page 3).
It was a pleasant surprise for recorderenthusiasts that the “flutes” in Le ConcertSpirituel, making their U.S. debut on Sat-urday evening, were really recorders,played skillfully by Michelle Tellier andPierre Boragno. In a program of music by
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Hervé Niquetdirected the singers and instrumentalistsusing large, conductorly gestures thatelicited a rich and impressive sound.
Concurrent concertsOn the first Sunday, before most trav-
ellers had arrived, Concordia (SheilaBeardslee, director, Audrey Benevento,George Mastellone, and Mark Maiden,recorders) teamed with two other Bostongroups, Vox Lucens and Pavane Renais-sance Dance Company, in “It Came fromItaly: The Migration of the Madrigal.”
Judith Linsenberg’s Thursday noon-time concert was a treat for recorder ma-vens. Well supported by the deft continuoof Charles Sherman, harpsichord, and JaneHershey, gamba, she started with less-well-known works by Isabella Leonarda, Fran-cesco Rognoni, and Nicolao à Kempis, andfinished with works by Marais, Bach, andVivaldi. The showy scalar passages of Nico-lao’s Symphonia II (1647) won a well-de-served “wow” from the audience, and Lin-senberg’s own arrangement of Vivaldi’sSonata in G Minor, RV 16, displayed not
6 American Recorder
TIDINGS___________________________________Andreas Küng, who demonstrated his own new
historical recorders during the 2001 BostonEarly Music Festival, tries out instruments at
the exhibition booth of Jean-Luc Boudreau.
From Frans Brüggen: No need to say how honored I am with the ARSDistinguished Achievement Award and how pleasant it has been to receive it out of the hands of Ms. Galhano. I am sorry not to have been able to attend yourmeeting. Please give my best wishes and thanks to all of my friends at the ARS.
Frans BrüggenAmsterdam, Holland
French Focus of Boston Early Music FestivalProvides Special Opportunities for Recorders
Above, at the ARS reception after the Hugo Reyne concert, past DAA winnersFriedrich von Huene and Martha Bixler, with, second from left, ARS President John Nelson and, next to him, Hugo Reyne. Above right , Cléa Galhano and Frans Brüggen at the DAA recipient’s Amsterdam home.
PHO
TO: W
ILLI
AM S
TIC
KNEY
September 2001 7
only her commanding technique but also,in the opening Preludio, her ability to sus-tain a spell-binding meditation.
Thursday afternoon, the ensembleSaltarello (Sarah Cantor, recorders, An-gus Lansing, gamba, and Henry Lebedin-sky, harpsichord) presented “Les PlaisirsRedoublés,” a rewarding collection of mu-sic from the French court by Couperin, Le-clair, Forqueray, Braun, and Rameau. Thethree players continually found ways to in-teract and communicate musically, espe-cially with light, alert playing in the move-ments of a “Suite de ballet” arranged bySaltarello from three Rameau operas,Platée, Castor et Pollux, and Dardanus.
In the 5:30 slot on Thursday, AndrewAppel’s Four Nations Ensemble playedhost to a group of superb musicians fromChina, who alternated their versions of an-cient Chinese court music with Four Na-tions’ renditions of music for the Frenchcourt. Among the guests was GaoRenyang, who was riveting on xun (cross-blown ocarina) and dizi (traditional Chi-nese membrane flute). Charles Brink washer excellent Occidental counterpart onBaroque flute.
On Friday morning at the Church of St.John the Evangelist, a concert of Englishand French music as it might have beenheard in the Colonies was given by mem-bers of the Baroque Orchestra of Boon-ton: Anthony Bevilacqua and ChristopherBrune, violins, E. Michael Markwis, re-corders, and Tim Taylor, harpsichord, withRobert W. Butts, director of the Boontonorchestra, playing guitar and viola da gam-ba and providing welcoming intros for theaudience. The instrumentalists werejoined by singer Catherine Spadora, apoised and talented 16-year-old, in the per-formance of a Lully air, “Bois Epais.” Anenthusiastic audience left the churchwhistling Handel, Purcell, Lully, and tradi-tional country dance tunes.
At noon on Friday, Choraulos per-formed in the ideal acoustics of the OldSouth Church Gordon Chapel. VirginiaKaycoff, Sandi Leibowitz, and HollyMentzer mixed their voices with vielles,recorders, percussion, psaltery, dulcimer,rebec, flutes, and harp in a stimulating pro-gram of Medieval music devoted to the Vir-gin Mary, including works by Alfonso elSabio and Hildegard von Bingen.
Early Friday afternoon, faculty mem-bers from The Peabody Conservatory, in-cluding recorderist Gwyn Roberts, playedan attractive program of Baroque music atthe Boston Center for Adult Education.Roberts’s warm tone and sinuous phrasing
Right, Cesar Villavicenciohelps a member of the
McCleskey Middle School Recorder Ensemble alter the
sounds generated by his“MIDIfied” Paetzold re-
corder. Below, ARS PresidentJohn Nelson congratulates
Judith Linsenberg after herrecital, as ARS board mem-
ber Sheila Fernekes looks on.
Below, fans of Sara Funkhouser (second fromright) congratulate her after the concert of theUniversity of North Texas Baroque Ensemble.
At the ARS Great Recorder Relay: right, from the left, Jody Miller, JenMarkwood, and Jonathan DeLoach perform Scherer. Below, from right, Tricia van Oers and Rachel Begley
with Jennifer Griesbach.
Left, Denis Raisin-Dadre shows AliciaKravitz how to make a broader sound.
PHO
TO: W
ILLI
AM S
TIC
KNEY
PHO
TOS:
WIL
LIAM
STI
CKN
EY
8 American Recorder
were perfect for the Boismortier ConcertoII in G Major that concluded the concert.
A hike over Beacon Hill to the Churchof St. John the Evangelist later that after-noon was well rewarded by the music mak-ing of the students and faculty in the Uni-versity of North Texas Baroque Ensem-ble. Sara Funkhouser filled the liveacoustics with clear tones on recorder,teaming up with Lyle Nordstrom, lute, toplay divisions by Giovanni Bassano andwith Cynthia Roberts, violin, on Uccelli-ni’s Aria quinta sopra La Bergamesca.Roberts’s own solo in Castello’s Sonata Se-cunda was delivered with a thrilling mix-ture of control and abandon, and the stu-dent violinists Emi Tanabe and MichelleBrians matched perfectly in Marini’sSonata in Ecco (played from the balcony)and in an anonymous Sinfonia à 5.
On Saturday afternoon, Daphna Mor,with fellow artists Borys Medicky, harpsi-chord, Michael Dolbow, cello and gamba,and Ryan Turner, tenor, presented a most-ly Baroque program at The Boston Conser-vatory, where she was a recent valedictori-an. Her emotional involvement in the mu-sic was everywhere evident in works byTelemann, Buxtehude, and Mancini, andher openness to new music was exhibitedin the realization of the brand-new BalkanSuite by world-music composer JimmyKachulis.
Recorder master classesOn Thursday afternoon, Denis Rai-
sin-Dadre worked in a master class withAlicia Kravitz, a teenage student of KarenSnowberg’s. Kravitz presented Van Eyck’s“Daphne” variations on a Baroque sopra-no, but Raisin-Dadre showed her how pre-Baroque recorders can encourage full, re-laxed blowing and a more encompassingsound. Using a call-and-response tech-nique, he introduced her to didd’le tongu-ing, and within a few brief moments, shewas rippling through passagework withcreamy smoothness.
Surely no one got more out the the BE-MF than Ms. Kravitz, who also led off as thefirst student in Hugo Reyne’s Saturday af-ternoon master class at The Boston Con-servatory. Playing Boismortier for theFrench virtuoso, Kravitz received words ofwisdom: It is easy in French music to getfixated on the punctuation—the orna-ments—he said, but it is more importantto make a good sentence. Working with herand later with Jody Miller, Jonathan De-Loach, and Jen Markwood (who reprisedtheir Scherer trio from the Great RecorderRelay), he emphasized ways to taper ends
of phrases, to subsume upbeats into thelarger rhythms, to distinguish neighboringnotes and arpeggiated notes by length, andto weaken resolution of dissonances. Atthe end of the master class, Reyne gavehelpful advice to young Haley Huang andlistened attentively to the members of theMcCleskey Middle School Recorder En-semble as they performed TimothyBroege’s Sinfonia for Recorders.
Recorder RelayRecorder enthusiasts woke up early on
Saturday morning to start the day withSteve Tapper, the first performer in theARS Great Recorder Relay. Joined by JohnTyson, recorder, and Audie Bridges andTim Archibald on guitar, Tapper sampledmusic from Hebrew, Brazilian, and Irishtraditions, as well as music by Pat Metheny,the Beatles, and Harold Arlen. Next on theprogram was a trio of Sarah Cantor, EricHaas, and Tricia van Oers performing“Birds, Fancies, and Other Delights.” Theclever program included a “fantastic bes-tiary” consisting of fantasias by Bull, Lupo(wolf), and Byrd, and ended with a lus-cious sonata by Louis-Antoine Dorneltranscribed for three voice flutes.
Representing Georgia, Jody Miller,
Jonathan DeLoach, and Jen Markwood,presented music for one, two, and three re-corders and flute, including TimothyBroege’s Two-Part Elegy for LaNoue Daven-port, played as a solo by Miller on alto andsoprano recorders. In music of ArnoldCooke and Markus Zahnhausen and asonata for three recorders by JohannScherer, the musicians were satisfyingly in-sync in ensemble and intonation.
John Tyson’s program, “PoèmeParisien,” was announced cabaret-styleand presented with the help of his wifeMiuki Tsurutani, recorder, Steve Tapper,flute, and Audie Bridges, guitar. Flashymusic of the 19th-century virtuoso Nar-cisse Bousquet was combined with themodern Liens (1971) by Jean Claude Veil-han and Tyson’s own atmospheric Lost inSpace (2001) for pre-recorded tape and en-semble (joined by Sarah Cantor). Cantorheld the stage for the next recital as a duowith gambist Angus Lansing. After Cou-perin’s Le Rossignol en amour and two earlyanonymous duets, they ended with a Bachtwo-part invention and vivacious Rameautambourins. Throughout, the quick, re-sponsive playing of Lansing showed offCantor’s flexible playing to advantage.
Rachel Begley and Tricia van Oers(accompanied by Jennifer Griesbach on aon a fine, Flemish harpsichord by JamesCampbell generously provided to the ARSby Glenn Giuttari of the HarpsichordClearing House) concluded the Relay.Their program began with Corelli’s Sonatain F Major, Op. 6, No. 3, played with love-ly character and feeling, and ended with aSalamone Rossi sonata with lots of ingrati-ating passages in thirds. In between, onvoice flutes, came André Cheron’s SonataNo. 4 in E Minor (1729). The overlappingdissonances of its concluding fugue werebeautifully delineated.
Early Music AmericaIn the midst of a rich schedule of meet-
ings and forums, Early Music Americapresented the Thomas Binkley Award foroutstanding collegium director to MarkCudek, director of the Peabody Renais-sance Ensemble at Johns Hopkins Univer-sity, and the Howard Mayer Brown Awardfor lifetime achievement to TimothyMcGee, a founder of the Toronto Consortand professor of musicology at the Univer-sity of Toronto.
Benjamin Dunham, with contributions from Martha Bixler
ED. NOTE: The “Making It as a Recorder Play-er” panel report will appear in a future issue.
McCleskey Recorder EnsembleReturning for their third Festival, theMcCleskey Middle School RecorderEnsemble from Marietta, Georgia, pre-sented an ambitious program with en-viable technique and musicality, con-ducted by Jody L. Miller, the school’sassistant director of bands.
Timothy Broege’s Sinfonia for Re-corders, originally for wind band, wasperformed by the ensemble and threestudent soloists. A duet version of hisTwo-Part Elegy for LaNoue Davenportwas beautifully played by Miller andthe composer, followed by a polishedrendition of Broege’s challenging quin-tet Meadows by Miller, Broege, JenMarkwood, Jonathan DeLoach, andARS Executive Director Gail Nickless.
The remainder of the program wasdevoted to late Renaissance and old-style music. Eight-year-old HaleyHuang, the group’s youngest member,was featured in a set of variations on“The Leaves Be Green.” Throughout,the ensemble played cleanly and confi-dently with excellent intonation,demonstrating once again what 7th-and 8th-graders can do under the guid-ance of a director who treats the re-corder as a serious instrument.
Carolyn Peskin
DOWANITM
3 Tempi Play AlongSheet music with play-along CDs recorded in 3 various tempi
Introductory offer for readers of “American Recorder”
30% Discount
DOWANI America, 430 Evans Ave., Missoula, Montana 59801, U.S.A.Toll Free Tel. 1-877-536-9264 Toll Free Fax 1-877-636-9264
Name, first name:
Profession
Address:
Telephone / Fax / E-Mail
http://www.dowani.comE-mail: [email protected]
FluteDOW 5001 ALBUM I (Easy):W. A. Mozart, M. A. Charpentier, J. S. Bach, H. Purcell and traditional songs
DOW 5002 ALBUM II (Easy):H. Purcell, J. S. Bach, G. F. Händel, A. Corelli, A. Vivaldi, R. Schumann
DOW 51 Piano Accompaniment Score forALBUM I DOW 5001, ALBUM II DOW 5002
DOW 5003 ALBUM III (Intermediate): Chr. W. Glück, J. S. Bach, G. F. Händel, L. Boccherini, E. Grieg
DOW 5004 ALBUM IV (Intermediate): R. Schumann, Chr. W. Glück, J. Haydn, C. Saint-Saëns, S. Joplin
DOW 5005 ALBUM V (Intermediate): J. Ph. Rameau, G. F. Händel, G. Ph. Telemann, J. Ph. Eisel, M. Marais
DOW 52 Piano Accompaniment Score forALBUM III DOW 5003, ALBUM IV DOW 5004, ALBUM V DOW 5005
DOW 5006 J. S. Bach: Ouverture (Orchestral Suite) h-moll / si-mineur / B-minor
DOW 5007 C. Stamitz: Concerto Op. 29, G-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
DOW 5008 J. J. Quantz: Concerto QV 5:174
G-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
DOW 5009 W. A. Mozart: Concerto KV 313G-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
DOW 5010 A. Vivaldi: Concerto Op. 10 No 3, RV 428 „Il Gardellino“D-Dur / Re majeur / D-Major
DOW 5011 A. Vivaldi: Concerto Op. 10 No 2, RV 439 „La notte“
g-moll / sol mineur / G-minor
DOW 5012 A. Vivaldi: Concerto Op. 10 No 1, RV 433 „La tempesta di mare“
F-Dur / Fa majeur / F-Major
DOW 5013 W. A. Mozart: Concerto KV 314 (285d)
D-Dur / Re majeur / D-Major
DOW 5014 G. B. Pergolesi: ConcertoG-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
DOW 5015 W. A. Mozart: Rondo D-Dur / Re majeur / D-Major,
Andante KV 315, C-Dur / Ut majeur / C-Major
DOW 5016 C. Ph. E. Bach: Sonata („Hamburger“)W 133G-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
DOW 5017 G. F. Händel: Sonata („Hallenser“) No 1 a-moll / la mineur / A-minor
DOW 5018 G. F. Händel: Sonata („Hallenser“) No 2e-moll / mi mineur / e-minor
DOW 5019 G. F. Händel: Sonata ( „Hallenser“ ) No 3h-moll / si mineur / B-minor
DOW 5020, J. S. Bach: Sonata BWV 1020
g-moll / sol mineur / G-minor
DOW 5021 M. Blavet: Sonata Op. 2 No 4g-moll / sol mineur / G-minor
DOW 5022 F. Schubert: Introductions and VariationsD 802, (Op. posth. 160 ) „Trockne Blumen“
DOW 5023 ALBUM (Easy) Vol. VIG. F. Händel, J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, C. Saint-Saëns
DOW 5024 ALBUM (Easy/Intermediate) Vol. VII G. Ph. Telemann, L. Mozart, M. Moszkowski, E. Grieg
DOW 5025 ALBUM (Easy/Intermediate) Vol. VIII J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, C. Saint-Saëns
DOW 53 Piano Accompaniment Score forALBUM VI DOW 5023, ALBUM VII DOW 5024, ALBUM VIII DOW 5025
Descant recorder(«soprano»)
DOW 1001 ALBUM (Easy) Vol. IT. Susato, Fitzwilliam Virginal book, P. Attaignant, J. Paix and traditional
DOW 1002 ALBUM (Easy) Vol. IIMarco. F. Caroso, J. S. Bach, A. Vivaldi/M. Zimmermann, H. Purcell
DOW 1003 ALBUM (Easy) Vol. IIIT. Susato, C. de Sermisy, Trad./M. Zimmermann
DOW 11 Piano Accompaniment Score forALBUM (Easy) Vol. I DOW 1001, ALBUM (Easy) Vol. II DOW 1002
ALBUM (Easy) Vol. III DOW 1003
DOW 1004 G. Ph. Telemann: Partita No 2G-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
DOW 1005 G. Ph. Telemann: Partita No 5e-moll / mi mineur / E-minor
DOW 1006 D. Bigaglia: Sonataa-moll / la mineur / A-minor
DOW 1007 J. Baston: Concerto No 2C-Dur / Ut majeur / C-Major
DOW 1008 M. R. Delalande: Suita
DOW 1009 J. Baston: ConcertosNo 4, G-Dur / Sol majeur / G-Major
No 6, D-Dur / Re majeur / D-Major
DOW 1010 R. Woodcock: Concerto No 3C-Dur / Ut majeur / C-Major
Treble recorder («alto»)
DOW 2001 A. Corelli: Sonata Op. 5 No. 8g-moll / sol mineur / G-minor
DOW 2002 G. F. Händel: Sonata Op. 1 No. 4a-moll / la mineur / A-minor
DOW 2003 G. Ph. Telemann: Sonata No. 2B-Dur / Sib majeur / B flat-Major
DOW 2004 G. F. Händel: Sonata Op. 1 No. 11F-Dur / Fa majeur / F-Major
DOW 2005 G. Ph. Telemann: Sonata No. 1F-Dur / Fa majeur / F-Major
DOW 2006 J. B. Loeillet: Sonata Op. 1 No. 1a-moll / la mineur / A-minor
Qty.
Qty.
Cata
logu
e pr
ice
US
$ 19
.90.
For
you
onl
y U
S $
13.9
3 pe
r CD
car
riag
e ch
arge
US$
6.--
per
ord
er.
This
dis
coun
tis
onl
y av
aila
ble
if y
ou u
se t
his
orde
r fo
rm (b
y Fa
x, Te
lepn
one.
Pos
t or
mai
l).
To t
ake
adva
ntag
e of
thi
s in
trod
ucto
ry o
ffer
, pla
ce y
our
orde
r be
fore
oct
ober
21s
t 20
01.
Choo
se a
s m
any
CDs
as y
ou li
ke f
rom
any
of
the
titl
es li
sted
abo
ve, a
t a
disc
ount
of 3
0%.
Name, first name:
Profession
Address:
Telephone / Fax / E-Mail
CREDITCARD
VISA MASTERCARD AMEX
Card Nr. Good Thru:
Signature
Dea
dlin
e ex
tend
ed t
o N
ovem
ber
15
LIVING IN A SOMEWHAT RURAL AREA where acontinuo team or a chamber ensemble
cannot be found on every block, it is notsurprising that I became very interested inplay-along CDs. I have long known aboutand worked with Music Minus One CDs,and I think that I have played the secondmovement of the Albinoni D minor oboeconcerto (on recorder) accompanied bymy trusty “boom box” in almost everychurch in town. The discovery of the Disc-Continuo series greatly expanded therepertoire that I could perform with myboom box—it also added much fun andinterest to student lessons. Thus, I beganan enthusiastic exploration of the entireplay-along CD industry as it relates to re-corders. This two-part article covers onlythe play-along CDs appropriate for re-corder that require only a CD playback de-vice and no extra fancy computer pro-grams. Part I discusses companies thatproduce products primarily aimed at expe-rienced adult players—DiscContinuo,Dowani, Music Minus One, and Music-Partner. Part II, to be published in the No-vember issue, will discuss play-alongs pro-duced primarily for children.
DiscContinuo: General RemarksThe three volumes of the DiscContinuo
series (Pre-DiscContinuo, DiscContinuo,and DiscContinuo II) feature Frances Blak-er (recorder), Letitia Berlin (recorder),Louise Carslake (recorder and flute),Michael Sand (violin and viola da gamba),Phebe Craig (harpsichord), Barbara Blaker(cello), and Susan Rode Morris (soprano).This series was the brainchild of PhebeCraig and its volumes are produced byPhebe Craig and Katherine Westine fortheir company KATastroPHE Records. TheDiscContinuo CDs are accompanimentonly, with no complete performances in-cluded. The obvious advantage to this isthat each CD can contain a greater numberof compositions in several different styles.
Each DiscContinuo volume contains a
useful guide to progressive study for re-corder players created by Frances Blaker,which lists the selections from the easiestto the most difficult. Notes about the com-posers, interpretive suggestions, and refer-ences to detailed historical treatises are in-cluded. DiscContinuo II contains a perfor-mance alert system, where a symbol in theprinted music alerts the performer to achange in tempo or mood, the use of ru-batos, ritards, accelerandos, other musicalnuances in the ensemble, or instructionson how to get back in after a rest. The CDsthat come with both DiscContinuo andDiscContinuo II contain extra track num-bers at logical places within longer compo-sitions/movements. The selections in allthree volumes include metronome tempoindications so that players can learn thematerial at the appropriate tempo beforeattempting to play along with the recordedcontinuo ensemble. The accurately notat-ed metronome taps that precede eachmovement are subtle enough so that theyaren’t heard in a public performance.
The majority of the printed music in theDiscContinuo series does not containcomplete scores. In some cases, two voicesare printed. The Pre-DiscContinuo containsa section of consort music in which the en-tire score is printed. (Incidentally, theseconsort selections do not always omit thetop line; you will have the opportunity toplay soprano, alto up, tenor, and bass re-corders.) DiscContinuo II contains a suiteby Pierre Danican Philidor, and the printedmusic for the Prelude does include thebass line, as this selection would be extra-ordinarily difficult to perform without thevisual help provided by the bass line. Oc-casionally, some bass line cues are printedto help bring the soloist back in at riskyspots.
Pre-DiscContinuoThe Pre-DiscContinuo volume contains
selections by Handel, Corelli, Purcell, Lul-ly, Oswald, Dowland, Lassus, de Sermisy,
PLAY-ALONG DISCS FORRECORDER: AN OVERVIEWby Susan Groskreutz
September 2001 11
The first in a two-partexamination of the play-alongmaterials available on CD for aspiring recorderists.
12 American Recorder
Arcadelt, and William Lawes. As the titleimplies, Pre-DiscContinuo is meant forthose with less experience. However, theuse of the “Pre” in the title might lead tothe misconception that a beginner woulddo well in this book. Players must be fluenton both C and F fingerings and able to per-form many trills. Phrasing, tonguing, andbreathing are explained, and newer playerswill obtain valuable experience with hemi-olas, beginning ornamentation, and notesinégales.
Although the title to Pre-DiscContinuocontains the word “continuo,” not all ofthe selections use a continuo accompani-ment. A Jean Baptiste Lully selection enti-tled “J’en vais perdre la vie” is presented intwo versions. The first is a recorder trio inwhich you play the middle part with nocontinuo accompaniment. In the secondversion, you play the top line with violin onthe second line along with the traditionalcontinuo accompaniment. Also includedare two duets by P. D. Philidor. In the first“Air en Rondeau (Gayment)” from theDeuxième Suite, you will play the bottomline with Letitia Berlin on the top part. Inthe second duet, “Rondeau” from theTroisième Suite, you play the top part withFrances Blaker on tenor recorder.
DiscContinuoThe second volume in the series, enti-
tled DiscContinuo, contains music writtenbetween 1642 and 1740, including worksby Ortiz, Frescobaldi, Uccellini, Marais,Handel, Lavigne, Telemann, as well as aScottish tune on a ground called “JohneyCock thy Beaver.” The pieces are longerand more complex than those included inPre-DiscContinuo. Because of this, the ex-tra tracks included on the CD are veryhelpful during first attempts at stayingwith the ensemble. These extra track num-bers are nicely done—when returning tothe beginning of a track, the soloist is tak-en back to a measure or two before an ear-lier cadence, thus providing an opportuni-ty to listen to the cadence before jumpingback in.
The most technically challenging selec-tion in DiscContinuo is Aria Sopra la Berga-masca by Marco Uccellini. This is very pos-sibly the most enjoyable piece I have everplayed on a soprano recorder. The soloistplays the second voice of this sonata withMichael Sand playing the top line on his vi-olin. Nestled among the wild sixteenth-note runs are amusing little call-and-re-sponse passages between the recorder andthe violin.
For experience in French style orna-
What I want in a play-along CDAfter playing along with approximately 200 compositions contained on 35CDs, I have created a list of features that I most appreciate in a play-alongCD. I prefer to hear real instruments, and much to my delight, none of theCDs covered in this article is synthesized. (But almost all play-alongs produced for children are synthesized!) I would like the first track on eachCD to be a tuning note, as it can be rather disconcerting to discover the needto pull out in the midst of the first phrase. When tempo setting metronometaps are necessary, I like them loud enough to be heard, but subtle enoughso that the CD could conceivably be used in a public performance.
Also, the printed music should include tempo indications, as well as no-tation indicating the number of taps and the value of the note being tapped.Longer movements should contain extra track numbers on the CDs. This al-lows the student to obtain extra practice within a problematic section with-out having to repeat the entire movement. I would prefer not to hear anymetronome taps inserted anywhere once the music has begun; rather, Iwould prefer that a melodic instrument double the solo line when there is anextended rest in the accompaniment. CDs that contain a full performance ofeach selection followed by accompaniment-only tracks are wonderful, espe-cially if the full performance is imaginative, fresh, and sparkling with orna-mentation. But what I really want is the accompaniment. If a full perfor-mance (as well as an accompaniment) is provided on the same CD, I preferto have it placed on a separate track on the CD, rather than as a separatechannel on the same track. (This is more of an issue with play-alongs pro-duced for children.) Ideally, I would like the printed music to contain thecomplete score, or if not the complete score, the bass line, or at the veryleast, some bass line cues. If consort selections are included on a play-alongCD, it is nice if occasionally something other than the top line is the missingvoice. Notes about the composers, the performers, and performance practiceare a great addition. Finally, I would love to have some of the appropriate se-lections recorded twice, once at A = 440 and again at A = 415. To date, Ihave not discovered any play-along CDs recorded at A = 415, other than thematerials that once were published by Virtual Académie, a company that isno longer in production.
While using any accompaniment CD, the ensemble situation is reversedin that the soloist must follow the accompaniment. The following quote isfrom the preface of DiscContinuo: “...the ensemble situation as we are pre-senting it is all wrong! It is practically impossible to play an accompanimentto a non-existing soloist. In a real ensemble situation, we, the continuo play-ers are constantly reacting to every aspect of the soloist’s playing. On the CDwe have tried to imagine what a soloist might be doing. We have kept the re-alization modest and hope that you can adjust to our whims.” The DiscCon-tinuo staff refers to their realizations as “modest,” yet, the DiscContinuo se-ries is the most daring in the use of tempo fluctuations—rubato, acceleran-do, a slight holding back here, a slight pushing forward there. The soloist isforced to become an intense listener, and concentration cannot waver for aninstant. DiscContinuo is also the most daring in the choice of literature, in-cluding selections that have dramatic tempo and mood changes. I believethat the next generation of play-along CDs should be created not only for ex-tensive rehearsal, but with the possibility of public performances in mind.The end result—many more geographically isolated recorder players will beable to give the gift of quality early music performances to their communi-ties. —S.G.
September 2001 13
mentation more complex than found inPre-DiscContinuo, go to the Suite in C Ma-jor by Marin Marais, which opens with aPrelude in French overture form followedby eight shorter pieces. More French stylescan be found in Philbert de Lavigne’sSonata in C Major, “La Baussan.” Thissonata ends with a rowdy “Tambourin,” apiece where soloists may feel free to followthe lead of the ensemble and give it a rau-cous performance!
DiscContinuo IIThe DiscContinuo series has come into
its full glory with DiscContinuo II. Al-though this is meant for the more ad-vanced player, staying with the recordedensemble is generally not a problem. Disc-Continuo II opens up with Telemann’s TrioSonata in C Major, sometimes referred toas “the heroines,” since the movements areall named after famous women in mythsand legends. Perhaps the most difficult en-trance in the entire DiscContinuo II is in the“Dido” movement between the Triste andDisperato sections. This entrance is ex-plained in the performance alert instruc-tions; however, it is still very difficult to en-ter perfectly on time, and soloists mightfind creative solutions to this problem(such as omitting the first two sixteenthnotes of the Disperato section!).
Unique to DiscContinuo II is the inclu-sion of vocal music from Handel’s ItalianCantata: Pensieri notturni de filli (known tomany as “Nel dolce dell’oblio”). Thesoloist is the obbligato recorder player en-riching the lovely soprano voice of SusanRode Morris.
One of my favorite selections in Disc-Continuo II is the Francesco ManciniSonata in D Minor (composed in concertostyle with two other treble parts, oneplayed on recorder and the other on vio-lin). It opens with a lovely Amoroso, con-tinues with a fugal Allegro, then offers aLargo with much opportunity for orna-mentation, and concludes with a rousingAllegro. Though technically challenging insome spots, it is very easy to stay with theensemble throughout this work. My otherfavorite in DiscContinuo II is the BachSonata for Flute and Harpsichord, BWV1031 (transposed from E� to F major).Phebe Craig plays the exciting harpsichordaccompaniment with much musical nu-ance, and although you must follow her,you will still have plenty of opportunity foryour own expressive devices, especially inthe second movement.
The concluding touch of virtuosity forDiscContinuo II is an early Italian sonata by
Francesco Turini. The performance notesrefer to this piece as “four minutes in hell,”and I am inclined to agree. This piece ismeant for performance on a Ganassi so-prano. The soloist plays the second partalong with Michael Sand on the top part. Itis fairly accessible despite tempo changes,until the last page, which is primarily six-teenth notes (with accidentals thrown infor good measure) at a rousing tempo. Letthis one be your challenge for the year!
Dowani: General RemarksA very pleasant surprise for me was the
discovery of the superb Dowani 3 TempiPlay Along CDs created by ProfessorDrazen Domjanic in Liechtenstein. Do-wani was formed in 1993, and between theyears of 1993 and 1997, the firm usedMIDI accompaniments. Since 1997, Do-wani has switched to the recording of realmusicians, and the recorder world may re-joice at this decision! Among many play-along CDs created for a variety of instru-ments, Dowani currently sells ten CDs forsoprano recorder and six for alto recorder.These CDs present a “kinder, gentler” re-hearsal system for those attacking a com-position for the first time. Each CD beginswith a tuning note, followed by a full con-cert performance, all performed by Man-fredo Zimmermann on recorder. These arevery pleasing performances and includesome very interesting, sometimes veryflorid, ornamentation. Harpsichord real-izations, played by Alexander Puliaev, arequite nice, featuring graceful, rolling
The selections in all threeDiscContinuo volumesinclude metronome tempoindications so that playerscan learn the material atthe appropriate tempobefore attempting to playalong with the recordedcontinuo ensemble. Theaccurately notatedmetronome taps thatprecede each movement are subtle enough so thatthey aren’t heard in a public performance.
14 American Recorder
chords in the slow movements, lead-inscalar passages at repeats, and pleasing or-namentation. Following the concert per-formance, each selection is then presentedin three gradually increasing tempi. Theslowest rehearsal tracks retain the sololine, although this is muted and mostly un-ornamented. The medium and fast re-hearsal tracks omit the solo line. All of thelonger movements have extra track num-bers on the CD, which, similar to Disc-Continuo, return the soloist to a measureor two before a previous cadence.
All Dowani CDs come with uneditedprinted music in foldout sheets; thus, nopage turns in the middle of movements.This music contains the solo line only, butalso serves as an index to the track num-bers on the CD. All Dowani CDs may be or-
dered with additional music sheets con-taining the accompaniment. The accom-paniment tends to be very steady, which isappropriate for the intended purpose ofthe CDs. When necessary, each movementis preceded by metronome taps. Unfortu-nately, these taps are not notated in theprinted music, requiring some guessworkabout the number of taps that will sound;less experienced musicians might confusethe beat with the subdivided beat. A cou-ple of times, the medium and fast tracksgive a different number of taps; this hap-pens in the Siciliana from Telemann’s Par-tita No 5 in E minor as well as the Sicilianain the Woodcock Concerto No. 3.
Conceived as rehearsal-only play-alongCDs, Dowani is liberal with the use of themetronome taps. Sometimes, if a move-
ment begins with a couple measures of un-accompanied recorder solo, the harpsi-chord doubles that line on the mediumtrack. On the fast track, the harpsichordwill double these measures, but on the re-peats, metronome taps will sound in placeof the harpsichord. This, of course, elimi-nates any possibility of performance withthe CD. Sometimes, these taps will also oc-cur right in the middle of a movement. Forexample, the first movement of Handel’sSonata in A Minor contains a series of un-accompanied triplets, and the mediumand fast tracks of the CD contain metro-nome taps in order to guide the recorderplayer into a perfect merge with the ac-companiment. But don’t let my commentsabout these metronome taps deter youfrom pursuing these excellent DowaniCDs. Students who are studying advancedornamentation will gain so many ideas bylistening to the florid embellishments onthe concert performances.
Woodcock concertoDowani is the only company that I have
discovered that produces play-alongs of re-corder concerti (three by John Baston andone by Robert Woodcock). Since theWoodcock C major concerto (DOW 1010)has always been one of my favorites, I willgo into more detail on this CD. The firsttrack is the usual tuning note, and the nextthree tracks present the three movementsin a vibrant concert performance—a per-formance where the articulation in thestrings and the recorder complement eachother beautifully. It also features tastefuland interesting ornamentation by Manfre-do Zimmerman; in the third movement, hetakes difficult sixteenth notes and orna-ments them into even more difficulttriplets. The next eight tracks are the slowrehearsal tracks, accompanied by pianoonly, with the unornamented recordermuted in the background. Since this con-certo has a 17-measure introduction, thereis a much appreciated new track numberright before the first entrance of the re-corder. Thus, the first movement containsthree tracks, the second movement con-tains two tracks, and the third movementcontains three tracks. Although metro-nome tempi are not given in the printedmusic, I estimate that, on the slow tracks,the first movement is at � = 126, the sec-ond movement � � = 35, and the thirdmovement � � = 37. These are very hu-mane tempos, where even the fastest of thetriplets can be sight-read by an upper-in-termediate player. Next come the eightmedium rehearsal tracks (still accompa-
Among many play-along CDs created for a variety ofinstruments, Dowani currently sells ten CDs for soprano recorder and six for alto recorder. These CDspresent a “kinder, gentler” rehearsal system for thoseattacking a composition for the first time.
September 2001 15
nied by piano only) where the securityblanket of the muted recorder in the back-ground is removed. Now, instead of themuted recorder, we hear metronome tapsduring rests in the accompaniment. Tem-pos have been increased, though they arestill fairly merciful with spot practice. Thefinal eight tracks are the “no mercy” fasttracks, where the orchestral accompani-ment returns. Tempi have increased again.Now, it is time to spend some serious timein the practice room! Learning this concer-to with this CD is great fun, and my hopeis that Dowani will record more recorderconcerti in the future.
The first three Dowani albums for so-prano recorder (DOW 1001, 1002, 1003)are intended for the developing recorderstudent and contain easier selections veryappropriate for younger players. Thepieces become progressively more diffi-cult, and the “Variations on Greensleeves”as well as the “Variations on ‘Ah, vous dirai-je, maman’” arranged by Manfredo Zim-mermann are really quite nice and chal-lenging for children.
Dowani is an active company that soonplans to record and release three triosonatas for recorder—the J. M. HotteterreSonata in C Major, the G. SammartiniSonata in D Minor, and the TelemannSonata in F Major. In the more distant fu-ture, Dowani will be releasing more of theeasier pieces for young students.
Music Minus OneMusic Minus One (MMO) is a compa-
ny with a rich history, founded in 1950 andstill run by Irv Kratka. MMO began in theera of the 78 rpm recordings and grew withtechnology into LPs, cassettes, CDs andCD+Gs (compact disc plus graphics).While MMO is keeping up with technolo-gy admirably, the company still makes cas-settes available for those who prefer them.MMO will soon be selling a variable-speedCD player called the Superscope at an ap-proximate price of $450. With the Super-scope player, students can alter the tempoof any particular movement without affect-ing the pitch. Since some of the MMO fastmovements are performed at breaknecktempi, the Superscope might be a veryvaluable tool for those who wish to workextensively with play-along CDs.
Although all of the recorder releasesfrom MMO were originally recordeddecades ago with earlier recording technol-ogy, many of them are still quite useful fora student who wants to study a particularcomposition. One of the problems withthe earlier recording technology is that
some of the MMO albums have a “bleedthrough” or a “leaking” of the solo line thatcan be faintly heard in the background onthe accompaniment tracks. However,while you are actually playing the solo line,this is not noticeable, and it can come inhandy if you should get lost! A recorderplayer who wants experience with Renais-sance rhythms would do well to start in thecomfort of his/her own home with the fourMMO recordings that contain Renaissanceconsort music: MMOs 3356, 3357, 3359,and 3360.
Recorder players should also be awarethat there are a number of pieces from therecorder repertoire that are listed as discsfor flute, the Telemann Suite in A minor(MMO 3312) and Bach Brandenburg Con-certos No. 2 (MMO 3306) and 4 (MMO3310).
What MMO CDs have in commonAll MMO CDs begin with a tuning note,
and the number of tempo-setting metro-nome taps is accurately notated. A disad-vantage is that none of the MMO CDscome with extra track numbers withinlonger movements; thus, if the soloist be-comes lost, it means going all the way backto the beginning of the movement. Each ofthe MMO releases has its own unique fea-tures; thus, I will discuss each of the ninealbums separately.
The individual MMO albumsMMO album 3356, entitled Renais-
sance Dances and Fantasias, offers the op-portunity to play with the New York Re-
naissance Band (as it existed in 1973) withLucy Bardo, Lawrence Benz, Allan Dean,Ben Harms, and Sally Logemann. This al-bum contains 31 lively selections by Prae-torius, Attaingnant, and Banchieri. Thesoloist plays the top line throughout, andwill play with Renaissance instruments in-cluding viol, vielle, sackbut, recorders,krummhorns, cornetto, shawm, dulcian,rackett, and a variety of percussion. TheseRenaissance selections are really fun, and areal change of pace, after having playedcountless Baroque sonatas with continuoteams! Concerning the printed music, thePraetorius dances from Terpsichore arepublished in full score, but the other selec-tions only include the top line. When thesoprano recorder has a brief solo, there isno doubling of the melodic line, and nometronome taping to assure that thesoloist will merge with the ensemble at thecorrect time, so this is a real test of rhyth-mic steadiness!
Another MMO album released in 1973and performed by the New York Renais-sance Band (same personnel) is entitledEchoes of Time (MMO 3357). This albumcomes with two CDs; CD A contains thefull performance, and CD B contains thelower three voices only. All of the missingparts are the top line. Thus, if you wouldrather give the bass line a try, you will beplaying with the full performance. This isone of the MMO albums that has problemswith leakage of the solo line onto the ac-companiment CD. You will hear what issupposed to be the missing voice ever sofaintly in the background. But don’t letthat discourage you from pursuing the al-bum. It is still great fun, and a great way toobtain experience with Renaissancerhythms in a comfortable setting. All musi-cal selections contain complete scores andinclude pieces from Susato’s Danserye aswell as Sicker’s Ein altes Spielbuch, includ-ing such composers as Agricola, Ock-eghem, Isaac, Obrecht, Josquin, Brumel,and Compère.
English Consort Music (MMO 3359),first released in 1975, is your opportunityto be the only recorder player with the NewYork Consort of Viols. This also comes withtwo CDs, one with complete performance,and the other missing the top voice. Muchto my delight, all of the music in this albumcomes with complete scores. Members ofthe group included Fortunate Arico, LucyBardo, Judith Davidoff, Grace Feldman, Al-ison Fowle, Ben Harms (percussion) andEdward Smith (harpsichord). This in-cludes some wonderful selections by Cop-erario, Dowland, Brade, Lawes, Schein,
Playing along in publicBefore using any of these playalongCDs in a public performance, checkwith the company about any usage re-strictions. While DiscContinuo andDowani do not currently restrict theuse of their CDs, policies such as thisare always subject to change. MMOdoes not object to an occasional re-corder player using the tracks for pub-lic performances. However, there aresome restrictions in some circum-stances where license fees are required(such as the creation of a new CD witha track from an MMO CD). Although Inever received any type of policy fromMusicPartner, the CDs themselvesstate: “Unauthorized copying, hiring,lending, public performance, andbroadcasting of this record prohibited.”
16 American Recorder
Byrd, and Woodcock. Included are “TheLeaves be Green” by Byrd and the “Wood-cock ‘Browning’ Fantasy.” Many of the se-lections are enriched with delightful per-cussion. In some selections, the recordersoloist will blend in with the viol playersmuch more easily using a tenor recorderrather than a soprano. Unfortunately, theleakage of the solo line onto the accompa-niment CD is quite prominent on this al-bum. However, it is still enjoyable just toplay along with the full performance. Manyof the selections are rhythmically complex,and this makes great rhythm reading andsight-reading material for those who wantmore experience with Renaissancerhythms.
MMO album 3360, recorded in 1974,is called Dances of Three Centuries, andcontains a collection of dances rangingfrom the 16th through 18th centuries bysuch composers as Joanambrosio Dalza,Pierre Attaignant, Augustus Normiger,Claude Gervaise, Nicolaus Ammerbach,Claudio Monteverdi, Peter Philips, Jacquesde Chambonnieres, John Bull, ErasmusKindermann, Girolamo Frescobaldi, J.J.Froberger, Johann Krieger, Johann Kuh-nau, J.G. Böhm, and J. K. F. Fischer.
This album is a bit different from theother MMO recordings in that there are nofull performances. All of the music is inthree parts (SAT), and all of the selectionsare recorded twice—first minus the topline and again minus the middle line.Those who love to play consort music, butdon’t like to sail on the top part will reallyenjoy this album. The printed music pro-vides full scores for every piece. Performersinclude LaNoue Davenport (recorders,krummhorns, tenor viol), Judith Davidoff(treble and bass viol, vielle), and SusanEvans, (percussion). I am very happy to re-port that there are no problems with leak-age of the solo line on this album, andagain, like the other MMO consort releas-es, this one is enriched with playful per-cussion.
MMO 3358 is entitled 18th Century Re-corder Music and contains two Sammartinitrio sonatas (IX in G major and XI in F ma-jor), two Telemann trios (G minor for re-corder, violin and continuo and F major forrecorder, gamba, and continuo) and theLoeillet (Loeillet de Gant) Trio Sonata in FMajor. Performers include LaNoue andMark Davenport on recorder, JudithDavidoff on gamba, and Edward Smith onharpsichord. Again a two-CD set, the com-plete performances are on the first CD, andthe second CD contains tracks that omitthe top part of the trio sonatas as well as
tracks that omit the second recorder part.The complete performances include someornamentation, though certainly not theflorid ornamentation that you will hear onsome of the Dowani CDs. This was origi-nally released in 1974, and the sound qual-ity on the recording does reflect olderrecording technology. The printed musicfor the Sammartini and Loeillet selectionsincludes both recorder parts, but not thefigured bass. The Telemann trios includeonly the top line with no bass line cues.This album also has some problems withleakage of the solo line on the accompani-ment CD. Regardless, this is still a usablerehearsal recording for those who are in-teresting in learning this repertoire.
MMO 3340 is called 3 Sonatas for AltoRecorder, Harpsichord & Viola da Gamba,and includes the Telemann Trio in F Major(the same trio that is also on MMO 3358),the Handel Sonata in C Major, and theTelemann Trio Sonata in B� major. This wasoriginally released in 1972 and performedby the Rameau Trio, which consisted ofJean Austin on modern flute, JocelyanChaparro on harpsichord, and MarySpringfels on viola da gamba. This comeswith only one CD, but the accompanimenttracks are separate from the full perfor-mance tracks, so there is no need to adjustbalance to get accompaniment only. Thealbum has a very slight bleed of the sololine on the accompaniment tracks for thetwo Telemann pieces, but I don’t hear anyof this on the Handel sonata. There aresome exceptionally expressive momentscoming from Mary Springfels during restsin the solo line. Ornamentation of the flutepart tends to be minimal.
Also performed by the Rameau Trio isMMO 3341 (like MMO 3340 entitled 3Sonatas for Alto Recorder, Harpsichord & Vi-ola da gamba). This album contains threesonatas in the key of F major by Handel,Telemann, and Marcello (Op. 2, No. 1).There is no problem with leakage of the so-lo line on this album. The tempi of the fastmovements tend to be very fast for thosewho are working on these pieces for thefirst time, so a variable speed CD playersuch as the Superscope may be a usefultool here. Because of the rapid tempos, thesecond movement of the Telemann F ma-jor sonata is recorded twice, once at a “ripsnorting” tempo, followed by a slower ver-sion. The concert performance containssome ornamentation of the melodic line bythe flute player, but it is very minimal whencompared, for example, to the first move-ment of the Handel F Major on the DowaniCD (DOW 2004). This recording has some
Music Minus Onewill soon be selling a
variable-speed CDplayer called the
Superscope. With it,students can alter the
tempo of any particularmovement withoutaffecting the pitch.
Since some of the MMOfast movements are
performed at breaknecktempi, the Superscope
might be a very valuabletool for those who wish
to work extensively withplay-along CDs.
September 2001 17
nice harpsichord realizations, especially inthe Largo of the Marcello.
MMO methodsAlso recorded by MMO are two method
books. The first is called Folk Songs of ManyNations (MMO 3337, recorded in 1973),with the subtitle “A Method for the Sopra-no Recorder by Erich Katz.” This is basi-cally a reprint of the first 16 lessons of theErich Katz method, (a method that teach-es C and F fingerings simultaneously), andall of the rounds and tunes are recorded onthe CD with the lower voice only. This is agreat find for those of you who know andlove the Erich Katz method book. It is ashame that the top parts were not alsorecorded so that the student could play thealto parts with the recorded soprano parts.
The second method book, called YouCan Play the Recorder (MMO 3339, record-ed in 1974), is a method for adult begin-ners by Gerald and Sonya Burakoff. TheCD contains every tune in the book. To lis-ten to the concert performance, set the bal-ance in the middle. To hear accompani-ment only, consisting of guitar and lightpercussion, switch to the left or right chan-nel (depending on how your speakers arehooked up). Performers include the au-thors on recorder as well as Sam Brownand David Spinozza on guitars, and GeorgeDuvivier on bass. A student who has al-ready mastered the material in this methodon soprano might think about using it tolearn “alto up,” since some of the melodiesand accompaniments are quite nice.
MusicPartnerMusicPartner in conjunction with Pe-
ters Editions sells a series of six accompa-niment CDs all for alto recorder, seven ifyou include Bach’s Brandenburg ConcertoNo. 5, which was written for transverseflute but could be played on a voice flute.The scores and CDs can be purchased ei-ther separately or together. However, forthese selections, there is no package dis-count for purchasing the printed musicand the CD together. But players do havethe choice of reading the recorder part orthe full score. Like DiscContinuo, Music-Partner CDs are accompaniment only—nocomplete performances are included.
Recorded in the early ’90s, the digitalsound on these MusicPartner CDs is cer-tainly respectable. The first track on theCD presents a tuning note. Like theDowani CDs, practicing with these accom-paniments is not unlike practicing with amusical metronome—an extremely steadybeat with sometimes only a hint of a ritard
at the ends of movements. Generallyspeaking, the tempi of the fast movementstend to be very fast, and tempi for the slowmovements tend to be just a bit slow formy personal taste. The continuo playingon these CDs is very “straight”—somearpeggiation of chords on the harpsichord,but limited in general. Nor do I hear muchuse of expressive devices such as notes iné-gales on these recordings. The tempi-set-ting metronome taps, and the metronomespeeds, are not indicated in the Petersscores, and this can lead to some confu-sion for less experienced players. Also,there are no extra track numbers within themovements. Although the MusicPartnerCDs are modeled on the Peters Edition, theharpsichordist is thinning out the realiza-tions—adding little extra melodic touchesand generally playing the chords at lowerpitches than they appear in the Petersscores.
The first MusicPartner CDs I playedthrough were the four standard Handelsonatas: G minor, A minor, C major, and Fmajor (MP 4552). Remember those inter-nal metronome taps that I discussed in theHandel A minor sonata on the DowaniCD? The MusicPartner CD has neither themetronome taps nor doubling of the re-corder line during these unaccompaniedtriplets. Consider this another test of yourrhythmic steadiness. In the same sonata,the second movement is accompanied byan enjoyable lute stop on the harpsichord.Concerning the lovely Larghetto from theC Major sonata, the MusicPartner accom-paniment has a few arpeggiated chords,but in general sounds “punctuated” withblocked chords. In contrast, the DiscCon-tinuo recording of this movement (at a sig-nificantly faster tempo) is more fluid andmore flavored with arpeggiation.
I had a great time playing along with theMusicPartner accompaniment to Tele-mann’s Suite in A Minor (MP 9438) ac-companied by the Polish Chamber Phil-harmonic Orchestra on modern instru-ments. This CD could use some extra tracknumbers in the longer movements, espe-cially between the two Minuets and thetwo Passepieds as well as at the trio sectionof the Polonaise. This suite is marketed onthe MusicPartner homepage for flute, butthe CD itself says “blockflöte (Flöte).”
The Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (MP4414), performed by the Sinfonietta Köln,is great fun for sight-reading with a voiceflute. Contrary to most of the MusicPart-ner CDs, this one is not performed withrock-steady metronomic regularity, espe-
WHERE TO FIND THE DISCSDISCCONTINUOKATastroPHE Records6389 Florio St.Oakland, CA 94618510-601-9631www.katastrophemusic.com/
DOWANI 3 TEMPI PLAY ALONG
Dowani AGIndustriestraße 24PO Box 146FL-9487 BendernLiechtenstein, EuropePhone: +423-370-11-15 Fax: +423-370-19-44www.dowani.com/
US Distributor: Sam Taylor Phone: 877-536-9264,
or 406-829-3634 Fax: 877-636-9264
Also distributed by Magnamusic Distributors, Inc.P.O. Box 33874 Amenia Union RoadSharon, CT 06069-0338Orders: 888-665-2721Inquiries: 860-364-5431Fax: 860-364-5168www.magnamusic.com
MUSIC MINUS ONEMusic Minus One, Inc. 50 Executive BoulevardElmsford, NY 10523-9921Phone: 800-669-7464, or
914-592-1188www.musicminusone.com
MUSICPARTNER C.F. Peters Corporation70-30 80th StreetGlendale, NY 11385Phone: 718-416-7800Fax: 718-416-7805www.edition-peters.com/musicpartner/
Continued on page 38
18 American Recorder
OVER THE COURSE of the past fewdecades, we recorderists have been
the beneficiaries of substantial growth inboth the number and the variety of selec-tions available for recorder ensembles. Wenow have access to published music for al-most any taste: traditional Renaissanceand Baroque, jazz, pop, ethnic, avant-garde, country-western, “oldies”—all ofthese and more. True, some of these selec-tions seem a bit ill-suited for the recorder(almost like an arrangement for tuba of“The Bell Song,” from Lakme!), but this ac-tivity surely demonstrates vitality and in-novation in the recorder music field.
One large “availability gap” remains,however: music of the Romantic era. Thereis only a relative handful of selections inprint by 19th-century composers arrangedfor recorder ensemble, and thisnumber is growing at a very slowpace. David Lasocki, in his annualreview article, “The Recorder inPrint” (AR, May 2001) demon-strates this point when he dividesthe section on “Repertoire” into justtwo parts, “Early” and “Modern,”indicating that nothing much for re-corder happened in the time-periodbetween!
Since Romantic-era music is ar-guably the staple of most orchestralrepertoires and an important com-ponent of solo and chamber musicprograms, this gap surely calls for anexplanation. And several possiblereasons have been offered. One isthe resistance on the part of some tomusic that was not written for re-corders or at least played by re-corders several hundred years ago.Thus Renaissance music is accept-able, as is contemporary musiccomposed expressly for recorders;but music transcribed for recorders
is not. It seems that this attitude is sharedby a number of publishers as well.
Fortunately, this attitude seems to befading. Not only are more and more “non-traditional” kinds of music being pub-
lished, as weobserved
earlier,but
these works are appearing in-creasingly in programs andrecordings by professionalrecorderists. However, for somereason, this loosening of the resis-tance to different kinds of music forrecorder ensembles has not thus farextended appreciably to Romantic-era music.
It is also possible, secondly, that Ro-mantic music tends in the minds of someto be identified with loud, bombastic,complex music à la Berlioz, Mahler, et al.But surely this is a misconception. For ex-ample, Liszt and Berlioz composed much“gentle” music, and there are lovely choralcompositions by Schubert, Brahms, Men-delssohn, and other Romantic composersthat are most suitable for recorder ensem-
ble. Some organ and piano works areeasily arranged, in part or entirely, forrecorder ensemble.
Just as was the case for the recordermusic of the Renaissance, “[b]oth thesolo lied and the choral song [in theRomantic era] were composed pri-marily for informal use on social mu-sical occasions—the famous “Schu-bertiad” evenings are the primeexample—but many a German fami-ly and friends, professional or ama-teur musicians, enjoyed this music”[From the notes by Edward TatnallCanby on the label of the Nonesuchrecord “Choral Songs of the Renais-sance Era”]. So it is not surprisingthat this kind of music, like that of theRenaissance, can ususally be adaptedfor modern recorder ensemble andenjoyably played.
The third possible reason for thelack of Romantic music for recordersis a variant of the old “chicken-egg”problem. Publishers of recorder mu-sic, most of which are small-scale
Romantic Musicfor Recorder Ensemble: Why Not?by Thomas E. Van Dahm
Point of View
FROM RECENT ISSUES OF AR:“I have to say, that even if I’m playing the enormousrepertoire of the recorder, there still remains a largeand very important repertoire that you are missing.And what you find with a lot of people such as FransBrüggen, John Eliot Gardiner, and Nikolaus Harnon-court, is that they often turn to this repertoire, toMozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, and others.” (From an interview of Matthias Weilenmann by Eric Davis, May 1995, p. 14)
“We who have played 19th-century repertoire on other instruments often don’t realize how muchrecorderists might enjoy it as well.” (From a Music Review by Constance Primus of 471 Tunes for Soprano Recorder, May 1997, p. 30)
“Since there was virtually no original music com-posed for the recorder in the entire Romantic era,modern transcriptions from this period should bewelcomed.” (From a Music Review by Piers Adams of several publications, March 1993, p. 37)
September 2001 19
businesses,are understandably hesitant to pub-lish this music unless there is ademonstrated demand for it. But aprospective purchaser of recorder mu-sic, even if he or she would prefer to buy,say, an arrangement of a Schubert part-song if it were available rather than yetanother edition of a “Gagliarda” byGiuseppe Mozzarella, has no satisfacto-ry way of making this preferenceknown, so must buy what is offered.Hence, a virtual impasse.
There is evidence, however, that po-tential demand for Romantic recordermusic exists, and this demand wouldundoubtedly grow if more of this musicwere available. In these very pages, onecan find endorsements over the years forplaying Romantic music on the recorder(see box).
A few publishers, bless ’em, are will-ing to take a chance: Arcadian Press isone, and also Moeck, Sweet Pipes, and afew others. Moreover, the ARS has pub-lished Bruckner’s “Ave Maria” and myown “Two Brahms Lieder” in its Mem-bers’ Library. Gradually the numbersare growing, albeit slowly.
In summary, all the elements are inplace now, I believe, for a renaissance ac-tually, a “naissance,” a birth of music forthe recorder from the Romantic period:
1) aloveof this mu-sic by the audience for serious music, 2)suitability of some of this music foradaptation to recorder ensembles, 3) in-creasing interest on the part of leadingrecorderists in expanding the availabili-ty of Romantic music for recorders, and4) a growing willingness on the part ofpublishers of recorder music to includeRomantic-era music in their offerings.As more publishers begin to offer Ro-mantic music for recorder groups and asrecorderists gain familiarity with thismusic and an appreciation of its possi-bilities, this gap should gradually fadeaway.
Thomas E. Van Dahm is a member ofthe American Recorder Society and direc-tor of The Recorders of Merrywoode inKenosha, Wisconsin. He has published anumber of arrangements of Romantic mu-sic for recorder, including “Two BrahmsLieder” for the ARS Members’ Library.
There are lovely choralcompositions by Schubert,Brahms, Mendelssohn, andother Romantic composersthat are most suitable forrecorder ensemble. Some organ and pianoworks are easily arranged,in part or entirely, forrecorder ensemble.
MY COMPOSITION STYLE has acquiredthe label neo-Baroque. Though it is
modern music, it generally follows therules of voice leading, harmony, andcounterpoint from the 17th and 18th cen-turies (but modern times allow me to re-lax those rules). My approach to compo-sition uses chords, cadences, and simplerhythms as building blocks, and derivesits interest from creative use of scales, pat-terns, and counterpoint (intertwinedmelodies). I use familiar chords and avoiddissonances on strong beats unless theyresolve quickly, usually at cadences. Likethe genuine Baroque music that inspiresit, my neo-Baroque music is very key-cen-tric, with non-threatening intervals and afocus on melodic and contrapuntaldetails.
One of my favorite Baroque forms towrite is the fugue (Latin fugare “tochase”). This is like an elaborate round,with stricter rules but many creative op-portunities. Fugues are easy to write be-cause their imitative nature providesready-made material for musical expan-sion: Steal from what you’ve written ear-lier, and if you get stuck you can justthrow in the subject (main melody)somewhere.
The SubjectThe subject is the melody upon which
the entire fugue is based. When creatinga subject for recorders, the melodyshould fit on all sizes of recorders andshould not depend on notes in the ex-
tremities of the recorder range. The ex-ample subject, from my Prelude & FugueNo 1 in D Minor, spans one octave and ahalf-step, and only the lowest note isweak. I get away with it because the weaknote is part of a slurred group. I also useone of my favorite tricks when writingfugues for recorders: the 2nd, 3rd, 4th,and 5th entries of the subject are all fin-gered the same way, and because they areplayed on successively larger recorders,they are a fourth or fifth down from eachother.
Second, I like to be sure there are oneor two “hooks” in the melody that I canexploit. In my example, the opening threenotes form a little pick-up motif that I useas mortar to keep the music unified.Through repetition of the “hook,” I ex-tend the entry in the bass and build uptension that gets released at the cadence.
The ExpositionA fugue begins with the exposition,
where you introduce the subject and re-lated material you will develop later. Theexample fugue, a modified excerpt fromthe original, presents the exposition withannotations, and at the cadence I at-tached the final two measures of theoriginal fugue.
The subject is announced alone. Thesecond entry, or answer, follows in thesecond key (usually a fifth up or fourthdown), while the first voice continueswith new material called the countersub-ject. Subsequent voices join the conversa-
tion and take up the subject according tothe key schedule, while one or morecountersubjects continue alongside, un-til all voices have entered.
One of my favorite parts of the exposi-tion is the codetta, an extra interplay be-tween voices before the next entry of thesubject. Codettas are optional, but I likethem because they are an easy way to pre-pare the key for the next entry whilemaintaining interest. In measures 16-21of my example, I have written a codettabetween voices 1 and 2, before the thirdentry of the subject (another of my fa-vorite parts). I recommend putting cuenotes at the codetta into the extractedparts to aid in sight-reading, because acodetta may throw off the counting.
Episodes and Middle EntriesNext, episodes and middle entries
lead up to the final section. An episode isa digression linking two statements of thesubject. Here you can develop a counter-subject, capitalize on part of the subject,or use completely new ideas. You can getaway without much extra work by recy-cling, repackaging, and reusing whatyou’ve already thought up. Rewrite anidea but switch the voices around—if itstill sounds good, you have invertiblecounterpoint, one of the hallmarks offugal writing.
When an episode has run its course, itis time for a middle entry of the subject,which should appear at least once in itsrelative major/minor key (for example, Aminor if the original key is C major). Also,try it with a new countersubject, in a newkey, or against itself in another voiceclosely behind the first (a techniquecalled stretto) for interest.
Glen Shannon is president of the EastBay (CA) Recorder Society and a member ofthe Association of Recorder Composers andArrangers (ARCA). His Prelude & FugueNo. 1 in D Minor won first place in the Chi-cago Chapter’s 1997 Composition Contest.
20 American Recorder
Composing a Fugue for Recorders
Composers/Arrangers
This is the second in a series of articles featuring the works of composers andarrangers who write for the recorder. Each installment will be accompanied bydiscussion of the the composer’s own working methods, including performanceconsiderations that went into creating the selected piece of music. It is hopedthat the considerations that composers and arrangers have to keep in mind willbe of general interest to all AR readers, who will also be able to add to theirmusic collection a series of performable short pieces or excerpts.
Stan McDaniel, Series Editor
by Glen Shannon
��Andante -� = 92
FugueExcerpted and condensed from Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in D Minor
Glen Shannon(1966-)
5f
gS1 ��
* N CSubject
D D� D D D D D D D� D D D D D D D D D D� D D D D D D D D D D D D D� D0 D Q D�
10 15f
g
S1
S2
��
* D D�1st Countersubject
D D D D0 D D0 D D D D� D D D0 D D� D D D D Q D� D D D D D D� D D D D D D D D D D D0 D D� D D D D D D D
��
* N CAnswer
D D� D D D D D 0 D D� D D D D 0 D D D D D D� D D0 D D D D D D0 D D
CodettaD0 D D� D� D Q D0
20f
g
S1
S2
A
��
* D D D D D D�G D D D D D D D D� D� L D� D0 D D D D D D D D D D D D D� D D D2nd Countersubject
D D D D D D D D D D D D� L D D D D D D D D D D� D D D
��
* D Q D D D D� D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D�Free melody
D D D D D D D D D� D D D� D D D D D D D0 D D� D0 D D D D
�* ? ? ? ? N C3rd entry of Subject in original key
D D� D D D D D D D� D D D D D D D
25 30f
g
S1
S2
A
T
��
* D D D D D D D D D� D D�� D D D D D D D D 6 Q Q� D D D D D D� C N C D D D D
��
* D D D C L D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D0 D3rd Countersubject
D D D D D0 D� D D D D D D D0 D
�* D D D� D D D D D D D D D D D D D� D0 D Q D� D D�1st Countersubject (modified)
D D D D0 D D0 D D D D D D D D D0 D D� D D D D Q D�
�* ? ? ? ? N C4th entry of Subject in 2nd key
D D� D D D D D0 D D� D D D D 0 D D D
35 40f
g
S1
S2
A
T
B
��
* D D D D D D D0 D Q D� D L D. D� D D0 D D0 D D D D D Q D D D C N C D D D D D D D� C N
��
* D D D0 D D D D� D D Q0G D C N C D0 D D D� D Q D D D C N C D� D D D D D0 D C N
�* D C Q D D D D D D D D D D D D D D0 D D� D0 D D D D D D D D� D D D DMotivic repetition of the “hook”
D D� D D D D D D C D D D D D D
�* D D D� D D0 D D D D D D0 D D D0 D D� D� D Q D� D D�3rd Countersubject
D D D D D D D D D C N D D D� D
�� * ? ? ? ? N CFinal entry of Subject in original key
D D� D D D D D D D� D D D D D D D
45f
g
S1
S2
A
T
B
��
* C D D Motivic repetition of the “hook”D D D D D D D� D D D D D D� D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Q QGpoco rit.
D C C L!�
D . Q D&� L C
��
* C D D D D D D� D D D D D D D D D C D C D C D C D C Q D Q D�poco rit.
D D D� D Q D&. L C
�* D D D C Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q D L D� D D
poco rit.
D� C L D � D� Q D&� L C
�* D C N N D D D D Motivic repetition of the “hook”D D D D D D D� D D D D D D� D D D D D D� D D D D D D C Dpoco rit.
D L D � . Q� Q D&. L C
�� * D D D� D D D D D D D D D D D D D� D0 D D D D D D D D D D D D D LFirst big Cadence!
D� D Dpoco rit.
D D Q� Q D&� L C
©Screaming Mary Music. All rights reserved. www.screamingmarymusic.comARS members may, for their own use only, make photocopies that include this copyright notice.A MIDI playback of this piece is available in AR On-Line at <www.recorderonline.org>.
22 American Recorder
MUSICREVIEWS___________________________________
Christmas chestnuts, Australian studies, modern works fromEngland and Germany, and a number of London Pro Musica editions
LIEDER ZUR WEIHNACHT, ARR. EGON
ZIESMANN. Moeck 726/727 (Magnamu-sic), 1999. SAT, sc 10 pp. $8.00.FIVE CATALAN CAROLS, ARR. M. HALL.Hawthorns Music RA 140 (Magnamusic), 1999. SAT, sc 11 pp, pts 4 pp each. $9.50.2 CHRISTMAS HYMNS, BY JOHANN
WALTHER. London Pro Musica LPM 516(Magnamusic), 1998. 5 voices or instru-ments, sc 7 pp, 7 pts (2 extra in alto clef) 2pp each. $7.00.3 CHRISTMAS HYMNS, BY LEONHART
SCHRÖTER. London Pro Music EML 358(Magnamusic), 1998. 8 voices or instru-ments, full sc 12 pp, 8 split scores 4 ppeach. $11.00.NU KOMM DER HEYDEN HEYLAND,BY MICHAEL PRAETORIUS. London Pro Mu-sica LPM 517 (Magnamusic), 1998. 6 voic-es or instruments, sc 4 pp, 9 pts (3 extra inalto or bass clefs) 1 p each. $5.50.IN DULCI JUBILO, BY ROBERT PEARSALL
(1834), ARR. GREG LEWIN. Hawthorns Mu-sic RA 141 (Magnamusic), 1999. 2xSATB,sc 12 pp, pts 2 pp each. $9.50.SUITE ON EARLY CAROL TUNES, BY
PETER SEIBERT. PRB Productions, Contem-porary Consort Series No. 36, 2000. SATB,sc 14 pp, pts 4 pp each. $10.00. Extra set ofparts $4.00.HOLIDAY MEDLEY: ROASTING SOMEOLD CHESTNUTS IN NEW FIRES, BY
LANOUE DAVENPORT. Landmark Press Spe-cial Editions LP SE-1 (415 E. Fir Ct.,Louisville, CO 80027; ph 303-543-8695 ),1998. SATB, sc 8 pp, pts 2 pp each. $10.00.
Reviewed here are some early and mod-ern settings, in a variety of styles and diffi-culty, of traditional Christmas songs, inthree to eight parts. The two sets of trios(Lieder zur Weihnacht and Five Catalan Car-ols) are modern, but harmonically conser-vative, arrangements of folk carols.
The Lieder collection, translated “Songsfor Christmas,” is intended for sing-alongsand is easy enough for lower intermediaterecorder ensembles. Most of these eightpieces begin with a short introduction bythe three recorders to set the pitch; thenthe singers join in on the melody, which isalso played by the soprano recorder over a
simple two-part instrumental counter-point. Although the Preface has beentranslated into English, there is no transla-tion of the titles or texts, so this collectionis largely limited to singers who know Ger-man. The only two songs familiar to manyAmericans are “Kommet, ihr Hirten,” a Bo-hemian carol known to us as “Come, All YeShepherds,” and “O du fröhliche,” whichis the Sicilian hymn “O Sanctissima.” Thepieces are pleasant, though, played on justrecorders, but they are so very short thatfor performance they need to be repeatedseveral times, preferably with some varia-tion in instruments or with added orna-mentation.
The Five Catalan Carols, also arrangedfor SAT recorders but without optionalvoices, provide a worthwhile and achiev-able challenge for somewhat more ad-vanced intermediate groups. With a lot ofvariety in tempos and moods, they workwell together as a suite, ending with thelively “Fum, Fum, Fum.” The other fourcarols in this collection are unfamiliar tome, so it is disappointing that the titles arenot translated into English. The arrange-ments are well crafted with the use of imi-tation, solis-tuttis, and echo effects, mak-ing each part interesting.
For larger ensembles, with or withoutvoices, here are some early settings of oldGerman Christmas hymns by JohannWalther (1496-1570), Leonhart Schröter(1532-c.1600), Michael Praetorius (1571-
1621), and Robert Pearsall (1795-1856).“Joseph Lieber Joseph mein” (Joseph,Dearest Joseph Mine), a popular Germancrib song using the melody of an olderLatin hymn “Resonet in laudibus,” is infive parts in Walter’s 2 Christmas Hymnsand in eight parts (high and low choirs) inthe Schröter’s 3 Christmas Hymns. In Wal-ter’s five-part arrangement, dating from1524, the top three parts and the lowerthree parts (the middle part playing withboth choirs) often play/sing in dialogue. InSchröter’s setting of 1587, the melody al-ternates between the high and low choirswhen they are not playing together.
“Nun komm der Heiden Heiland”(“Savior of the Nations, Come” in modernhymnals) is an advent chorale attributed toMartin Luther based on the chant “Veni re-demptor gentium,” here set in five parts byWalther and in six parts by Praetorius.Both composers set the melody in imita-tion throughout, but the Praetorius ver-sion, composed some 80 years later, dis-plays more complex polyphony.
“In dulci jubilo,” a melody dating fromthe 14th-century often sung in English to“Good Christian Men, Rejoice,” is set fordouble choirs by both Schröter andPearsall. Schröter hides the familiarmelody in the altus (the part below the toppart) of both choirs and wraps it in elegantcounterpoint. Pearsall (a 19th-centuryEnglish antiquarian, composer, and earlyadvocate of the revival of Renaissance mu-sic) intentionally composed in the style ofthe 16th-century, as is evident in his settingof “In dulci jubilo.” This is the version thatis sung in Cambridge, England, by theKing’s College Choir in their Festival ofNine Lessons and Carols. Originally for so-lo octet and five-part chorus, this tran-scription for recorders (without voices) isfor two equal choirs, with parts often dou-bled, and makes use of solis and tuttis fordynamic effects. The Pearsall setting is sim-pler in style than the Schröter, but it islonger, having four verses plus a coda.
The third piece in the Schröter collec-tion is a double-choir setting of the 16th-century melody “Ein Kind geborn zu Beth-
The Five Catalan Carolsprovide a worthwhile andachievable challenge forsomewhat more advancedintermediate groups. With a lot of variety intempos and moods, theywork well together as asuite, ending with thelively “Fum, Fum, Fum.”
September 2001 23
lehem” (Puer Natus). In this very shortpiece the initial phrase is sung first by thehigh choir, then repeated a fourth lower bythe low choir, and finally both choirs joinfor the last phrase and Alleluias.
For the more adventurous, we have twoquartet collections by composers who arebetter known in the recorder world asworkshop teachers and as conductors oflarge groups of early instruments. PeterSeibert is the director of the Port TownsendEarly Music Workshop and longtime musi-cal director of the Seattle Recorder Society.The late LaNoue Davenport was a pioneerAmerican recorderist who performed foryears with the New York Pro Musica, andmany of his compositions, arrangements,and transcriptions are now being pub-lished by his son Mark (Landmark Press.)
Both Seibert’s Suite on Early Carol Tunesand Davenport’s Holiday Medley are origi-nal instrumental compositions based onpre-existent melodies. Both explore mod-ern harmonies but avoid avant-garde tech-niques and notation, so they are quite ac-cessible to amateur recorder groups.
Seibert’s Suite has five movements,each based on a Medieval carol, includingthree familiar to many recorder players:“Personent hodie” (On This Day), “Now-ell—Tydynges trew” (Salutation Carol),and “Puer nobis nascitur” (Unto us a Boyis Born). The composer makes use of Me-dieval effects such as ostinatos, drones,open and parallel fifths, but players neednot be bored for long because, as stated inthe Preface, “Melodic material movesamong the parts, giving each player achance to shine from time to time, andthere is some fun in discovering new har-monic implications of the tunes.” The lastmovement presents the most challengewith three quarter notes against two, cul-minating in a flurry of sixteenth-note runsin all parts.
The subtitle, “Roasting Some OldChestnuts in New Fires,” of Davenport’sHoliday Medley, is quite apt because thissuite is based on three well-worn carols(“God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman,” “AngelsWe Have Heard on High,” and “Good KingWenceslas”) with “some re-thought har-monies and a few little variations.” Eachmovement begins “more or less straight-forward except for harmonization,” thenthe “fires” begin with chromatic passages,broken-up melodies, sixteenth-notes thatcascade through the parts, and startlingharmonies. Both the Seibert and Daven-port pieces are great fun to play and willamuse sophisticated audiences.
Constance M. Primus
TOUT DE SOUR, BY ELISABETH MIDDLE-TON. Orpheus 035 ([email protected]), 1999. SATB, sc 8 pp, pts 3pp each. Abt. $7.50 + P/H.DARK GREY, SPUN GOLD, BY BEVERLEY
LEA. Orpheus 048, 2000. SATB, Sc 5 pp,pts 1 p each. Abt. $7.50 + P/H.STARLESS NIGHT, HIDDEN FLAME,BY QUENTIN S. D. GRANT. Orpheus 043,1993. TT (both doubling pn S’o) and BB,Sc 12 pp, pts 7 pp each. Abt. $9.50 + P/H.
Tout de Sour, by Australian composerand educator Elisabeth Middleton, is acompanion piece to her work Tout deSweet, also for recorder quartet (Orpheus013). Like Tout de Sweet, this work is inthree brief movements, each with expres-sion markings relating to sourness—“With acerbity,” “With less acerbity,” and“With more acerbity.” Throughout thepiece, “biting” sonorities and dissonancesare used to good effect. There are no ex-pression or phrasing marks except for dy-namics. It is moderately easy, and the en-semble texture is almost entirely homo-phonic. It would be an excellent choice fora group wanting to “expand their harmon-ic palate” slightly without trying anythingtoo difficult. Score and parts are easy toread. There are no page turns except be-tween movements.
From another Australian composer,Beverley Lea, comes Dark Grey, Spun Gold,a two-minute long, two-movement workfor quartet. The names of the two move-ments are those of the two halves of the ti-tle. “Dark Grey” is rather slow whereas“Spun Gold” is quite fast. The only difficulttechniques are the numerous short glis-sandi that occur throughout both move-ments; however, the composer providesspecial fingering suggestions to help play-ers execute them. Other than that, the con-tent is quite straightforward. Copious ar-ticulation, phrasing, and dynamic mark-ings are given. To this reviewer, the workseems a bit “slight”; the material has morepotential for development and further ex-ploration than what is given. However, itwould be effective in a setting where a veryshort contemporary work with contrasts isneeded. The score and parts are clear andreadable.
Starless Night, Hidden Flame, by com-poser Quentin Grant, makes extensive useof minimalist compositional techniques.The work is eight minutes long and is castloosely in three sections within one con-tinuous movement. In the opening sec-tions, the two basses play extended droneswhile the two tenors play interlocking re-peating patterns on top. At times the drone
MollenhauerRecorders
Free presaletuning/voicing
Sent on approval
Lowest US Prices
Award-winningDenner models:
Strong lows,easy highs
Modern alto
New Canta series
Bill [email protected](408) 737-8228
http://members.aol.com/jblazar/mollenhauer.html
24 American Recorder
texture prevails, with all four players play-ing interlocking ones. Then the interlock-ing fragments return. This leads to a shortsection marked “with an aura of sensualmysticism,” in which a melody and ac-companiment texture prevails within aslow pulse. For the second half of the work,the tenor players switch to sopranino re-corders, and the opening textures are ex-plored again with the drones and frag-ments changing voices. Some interestingsonorities are achieved by means of therange contrast of the sopranino and bassinstruments. Ensembles that are not usedto minimalist works may find they need aconductor at first to assist in the pulsingand counting. The music itself is not diffi-cult, although good breath support andlegato tonguing are required throughout.This is a good piece for groups interested inminimalist music. For others, it might like-ly become rather boring quite quickly. Thisis especially true for the second bass play-er, who plays almost nothing but longdrones for the entire duration. The score isin rather small print, but is readable. Partsare easy to read, and page turns are madeduring extended rests.
Carson P. Cooman
12 INTERMEDIATE STUDIES FORTHE TREBLE RECORDER, BY BEN-JAMIN THORN, ZANA CLARKE, MIGGS COG-GAN, RODNEY WATERMAN, AND TALLIS
FIORE. Orpheus Music OMP 044 (Box1363, Armidale NSW 2350, Australia,[email protected]), 2000.A rec, 12 pp. Abt. $8.00 + P/H.
12 Intermediate Studies for the Treble Re-corder contains selections by five Aus-tralian composers (see above). BenjaminThorn has composed numerous works forrecorder as well as vocal, choral, and musictheater works. His Voice of the Crocodile isconsidered the first great work for bass re-corder of the 1990s.
Zana Clarke is active in recorder per-forming, teaching, and composing. Shehas toured throughout Australia and NewZealand and has recorded several CDs andperformed in ABC broadcasts. She teachesrecorder full time in Armidale NSW, whereshe directs the Batalla Famossa RecorderEnsemble.
Miggs Coggan lives in Armidale, NSW,and has worked with children for manyyears, teaching classroom music, creativedance, recorder, piano and early childhood
music. She has been influenced very muchby the teachings of Carl Orff and Dalcrozeand blends their ideas in with her own. Themusic she has written up to date has al-ways been for her students to perform.
Rodney Waterman is a recorder special-ist from Melbourne who graduated fromMelbourne University with first class hon-ors. His performing repertoire includesearly, Baroque, folk, contemporary, andBrazilian music.
Tallis Fiore, from Newcastle, has beencomposing for over twenty years. Since1992 he has taught at a Rudolf SteinerSchool and within that environment hasinitiated a diverse musical program. He di-rects a brass band, a wind octet, and achamber orchestra.
Benjamin Thorn has contributed fivestudies to this book. The first, entitled“Study on La Romanesca,” has a fairlystraightforward melody with an impliedground bass harmony. The second Thornstudy is called “Hexatonic Study for a Bel-ly Dance.” This delightful, fun-to-playmelody is created with a six-note scale (D,E�, F�, G, A�, B) and is in 7/8 time. Heavyusage of the half steps as well as the aug-mented second give this melody its “bel-ly dance” flavor. The melody is trans-posed up a major third and transposedagain up a tritone. You are instructed toplay this “seductively” and with each rep-etition of the melody to play faster.
The next Thorn piece is called “Studyfor Leaps and Double Melodies.” As thetitle implies, intermediate players will getvaluable practice playing very wide as-cending and descending intervals, as wellas practice bringing out both parts of acompound melody. Then comes Thorn’s“Study for a Jig,” an amusing, jolly littlepiece in the typical 6/8 “gigue” meter.
The final Thorn study is called “Studyin Alternate Fingerings.” Because the tar-get audience for this book is the interme-diate player (who may or may not beaware of the intended alternate finger-ings), I feel that this study would be bet-ter served if a fingering chart had been in-cluded.
Zana Clarke has contributed “Peb-bles,” an interesting piece that exploresthe upper range of the recorder by climb-ing higher and higher in sequential pas-sages.
Miggs Coggan has contributed onepiece entitled “Come Into My Study,
MUSIC REVIEWS (cont.)
Honeysuckle Music
Recorders & accessories. . .
Music for recorders & viols
Jean Allison Olson1604 Portland Ave.St. Paul, MN 55104
651.644.8545 [email protected]
Courtly Music Unlimited
800-2-RICHIE (800 274-2443)
www.courtlymusic.com
"Everything for the recorder enthusiast, or those who
would like to be."
Fine wood and plastic recorders, sheet music, method books, play-along CDs,
accessories, workshops.
September 2001 25
Son!” The rhythm of this piece is basedon a poem with the same title about a fa-ther trying to instill the values of thegrandfather onto the son, with words like“Before he had his breakfast he’d be outchopping wood. No one said he should.He just did it! He just did it!” When thetext and the music are compared, the mu-sic becomes humorous, especially in the“He just did it!” sections.
Rodney Waterman has contributedtwo interesting pieces entitled “GrassTree Study No 1” and “Grass Tree StudyNo 2.” The first opens up by exploring thedescending tritone between b' and f'.Then it goes on to explore the stratos-phere of the alto recorder’s range, endingon a d'''', not the most pleasing note onmost alto recorders! The second studyexplores the difficulties involved in jump-ing back to low F from various intervals,many of them quite wide. The piece alsoexplores shifting time signatures with theeighth note held constant.
Tallis Fiore has contributed three so-los. “Recorder Solo 1” is an appealingstudy that explores various transposi-tions of the Dorian scale. It contains somewide ascending and descending leaps,descending seventh chords, repetitivesixteenth-note patterns in ascending halfsteps, as well as winding sequential pas-sages. “Recorder Solo 2” is a nice studyunified by an attractive theme using dot-ted rhythms as well as triplets. Thistheme undergoes various transpositionsand other transformations, alternatingwith work in sixteenth notes and gradu-ally widening intervals. “Recorder Solo 3”is composed in C minor, but when a sur-prise D� sneaks in, the flavor changes to CPhrygian. Later, a G� leads to a cadence inB� minor. With many flats and sixteenthnotes to deal with, this piece, labeled “Al-legro,” is fairly difficult for a developingintermediate player, but good experience.
Overall, this book of studies meets itstarget audience of the intermediate play-er admirably well. An advanced playermight be able to sight-read right throughthe book, but an intermediate player willgrow in many ways by studying thesepieces, which are quite attractive in theirown right. They are not the type of stud-ies that introduce one new concept at atime, such as the Rooda exercises. Eachpiece will introduce many new chal-lenges, including rhythmic complexities.There are many books of etudes for thedeveloping recorder player out there, andnow you have one more from which tochoose.
GECKO, BY GARY MONGER. OrpheusMusic OMP 029, 1998. S rec, pt 1 pg. Abt.$5.00 + P/H.
Gary Monger, the composer of Gecko,was born in Sydney in 1973 and studiedcomposition at the University of Sydney.In 1996, his ensemble piece Red Rocksand Dolphins was the runner-up in a radiocompetition for young composers. Heteaches music part time in a school andarranges musicals and band music forschools.
Gecko is a one-page composition forsolo soprano recorder that can be per-formed in less than a minute. The rhythmis complex, using constantly shifting timesignatures, syncopation, and some addi-tive rhythms. It has a key signature of onesharp, starting on a B, ending on a D, andin between using every note in the chro-matic scale. Technically speaking, thiscould be learned by an upper intermedi-ate player. The range is from low D to highC, one whole step short of a two-octaverange. There is one measure of fluttertonguing and one easy-to-play doublestop. The tempo marking is � = 128, butplayers who are less secure with complexrhythms might need to set their metro-nomes to the eighth note.
This piece almost seems like a tran-scription of an improvisation, scurryingaround much like a lizard (thus the title).The main organizational principle is mo-tivic development—reminiscent of Cop-land or Schoenberg. The composer takesa motivic shape, manipulates and ex-tends it, thereby “growing” the piecefrom one idea to the next. At the begin-ning, most motives are based on “quartalharmony” associated with Copland. Lat-er, there are some whole-tone scale refer-ences. I would call this piece “post-tonal”or perhaps “freely tonal.”
I liked it the first time I played it, and Ilike it more upon each repetition. I enjoythe clever development of motives and es-
pecially like the final measure, which isan echo effect separated by a 5/8 measureof rest.
CAPPUCCINO BREAK, BY CAVIN
ADAMS. Orpheus Music YCS 008, 2000. Trec and pf, sc 4 pp, pt 1 pg. Approx. $5.00+ P/H.
Cavin Adams is currently a student atMelbourne University, studying both re-corder and oboe. He was born inChristchurch, New Zealand, in 1982 andstarted learning the recorder at theChristchurch School of Music at the ageof seven. He played with the school’smost senior recorder group, theChristchurch Youth Recorder Ensemble,until 1999. In January 2000, CappuccinoBreak won the under-18 composition sec-tion of the Third National Recorder Com-petition at the Call of the Four Winds In-ternational Recorder Festival.
This is a jazzy piece for tenor and pi-ano that sounds like its title. With a rangeof two octaves plus a major third, it givesmy tenor a workout, including some highnotes never used before! Although theperforming instructions state “cool andrelaxed,” it is fairly complex rhythmicallyand uses slides and flutter tonguing, andincludes three sections where you can ei-ther play what the composer has speci-fied or go off on your own improvisation-al frenzy. Since two of these are towardsthe end, the performer has been set upwith many wonderful ideas that couldeasily blossom into an improvisation. Butthe material that the composer has writ-ten is also great. Such a choice to make!The piece ends with a “non-optional” im-provisation against the specified pianoaccompaniment. This is a short piece (78measures total), but packed with interest-ing melodic and harmonic ideas. Thereare no ad lib sections in the piano part,and it can be sight-read by a pianist witha good sense of rhythm. This is a veryvaluable addition to the somewhat limit-ed repertoire of original compositions fortenor recorder and piano.
Susan Groskreutz
LA MATIGNON (PREMIERE GENTI-LESSE, OP. 33) (1731), BY JOSEPH BOD-IN DE BOISMORTIER, ED. CHARLES NAGLE.Cheap Trills (Magnamusic), 1998. AA, bc,sc 11 pp., pts 2 pp. $5.50.
As Charles Nagle points out in his in-formative note to this edition, the title Gen-tilesse (“Pleasantry”) may call up associa-tions with Boismortier’s very accessibleFrench style, which usually consists of
Gary Monger’s Geckoalmost seems like atranscription of animprovisation, scurryingaround much like a lizard(thus the title). I liked itthe first time I played it,and I like it more uponeach repetition.
26 American Recorder
short dance movements and melodic mo-tion that moves predominantly in thirds.However, La Matignon is in fact a modestthree-movement Italianate concerto com-plete with “orchestral” unisons and solopassages in running sixteenths. Althoughset for two treble parts and continuo, Bois-mortier has inserted indications for soloand tutti playing in a manner that sets offthe soloistic passagework.
The piece was originally scored for thefashionable musette, or hurdy-gurdy, butBoismortier also specifically mentionedthe recorder as an alternative. The six-teenth-note passages take the music out ofeasy reach of beginners, but intermediateplayers will find the music quite comfort-able and effective. Nagle’s edition presentsthe music clearly, with only a few misprints(for instance, in the continuo part in bar129 of the first movement and bars 9, 61and 119 of the last movement). One of theedition’s idiosyncrasies is a separate partfor the continuo keyboard along with thefull score, but this does make for fewerpage turns. Those used to Boismortier’smore pastoral style will enjoy exploringthis more cosmopolitan side of his musicalcharacter.
SONATA NONA SOPRA L’ARIA DELTENOR DI NAPOLI (1642), BY SALAM-ONE ROSSI, ED. BERNARD THOMAS. Lon-don Pro Musica CS14 (Magnamusic),1998. Two soprano instruments and bc,sc 8 pp, pts 2 pp. $6.75.TWO SONATAS (1645), BY MARCO UC-CELLINI, ED. MARTIN NITZ. Moeck 1137(Magnamusic), 1998. SS (or violins), bc,Sc 25 pp, pts 5 pp. $25.00.17TH-CENTURY ITALIAN CHAMBERMUSIC, ED. JÁNOS BALI. Editio MusicaBudapest Z.14213 (Theodore PresserCompany), 1999. 2 melody instruments,bc, sc 55 pp, pts 15 pp. $19.95.
One of the most exciting and unusualrepertoires for the recorder player to ex-plore is that of the early Italian Baroque, aperiod of great drama and innovation inmusic. While the violin and the cornettowere usually the first choice for com-posers of the time, the recorder is almostalways a good second choice. These threeeditions adapt a wide range of music ofthe period for recorder players (althoughBali’s edition is published for “twomelody instruments and continuo,”some of the music has been transposedspecifically to accommodate recorders).
Salamone Rossi’s music generally hasmore architectural shape than that ofmany of his contemporaries, and his writ-ing, though florid, does not demand thesame virtuosity as does music morespecifically intended for violins. Thissonata published by London Pro Musicais based on a repeated bass pattern andhas the forward drive of most music withthat structure. The upper parts lie well forrecorders and should be manageable byintermediate players. As usual, the LPMedition is musicologically sound, practi-cal, and attractively presented.
Marco Uccellini’s two sonatas aremuch more in the typical manner of theperiod, with several short, highly con-trasting sections leading to a virtuosic fin-ish. He also includes passages of extend-ed solo writing for each upper voice, es-pecially in the second sonata. His musicis more clearly intended for the tonal andtechnical resources of the violin, but Nitzhas made transpositions where necessaryand provided a detailed preface to helprecorder players make the most of Uc-cellini’s bold and inventive writing. Theedition makes clear where there havebeen changes to the original markings,and the presentation is thoughtful andaccurate with just a few discrepancies ofslurring and phrasing marks betweenscore and parts. The moving sixteenthnotes and the quick changes of characterwill make this music a good challenge forintermediate players.
János Bali’s anthology is one of themost extensive available of music fromthis period. It includes: Sinfonia Primusand Sonata Seconda detta la Casalasca(1613) by Salamone Rossi; Passacaglio(1655) and Sinfonia La Cornera (1617) byBiagio Marini; Canzona Nona detta La
Gualterina and Canzona Decima dettaL’Henricuccia (1628) by Girolamo Fres-cobaldi;, Sonata Prima and Sonata Terza(1621) by Dario Castello; Sonata Ottavaand Sonata Undecima (1641) by G.B.Fontana. The book is progressive, startingwith the shorter tuneful pieces by Rossiand working up to the highly virtuosicsonatas of Fontana. The collection nicelydemonstrates the variety that exists in themusic of this period, and players willspend many rewarding hours workingtheir way through it. Although some ofthe music is very difficult, the majority ofthe pieces are well within the reach of in-termediate players willing to put in somepractice time. Bali contributes an exten-sive and informative introduction to themusic. Although there are some mis-prints and several phrasing discrepanciesbetween score and parts, the presenta-tion is clear with good page turns in keep-ing with the other two editions listedhere.
Scott Paterson
A BOOK OF SONG AND DANCE, BY
ROBIN WALKER. Forsyth Bros. Ltd. (Phone44-161-834-3281; fax 44-161-834-0630;www.forsyths.co.uk), 2000. S/A/T (oneplayer) & pf, sc 20 pp, pt 12 pp. Abt.$14.00 + P/H.DAS MANNLEIN IM WALDE, BY GER-HARD BRAUN. Heinrichshofen N2497 (C.F. Peters), 2000. S, sc 10 pp. $9.95.
Folk and children’s songs (the two cat-egories overlap to a large extent) can bebeautiful and durable source material formodern recorder music. They have beenrelatively neglected because of the stigmaof simplicity, which, to many composersand players, may seem to reinforce theimage of the recorder as a child’s toy. Yet,this music can be either utilized directlyor be a source of inspiration for substan-tive works.
These compositions serve as a goodexample. Robin Walker’s A Book of Songand Dance consists of eleven miniaturepieces, five of which are for recorder andpiano. Four of the remaining six are un-accompanied pieces for recorder, and theother two feature the piano alone. Thetwo for solo piano offer an interestingcontrast: one is a fast, exciting odd-me-tered piece that sounds like it might havecome from Bartok’s Mikrokosmos, theother, a sweet and gentle two-part canon.Three of the solo recorder pieces aremodal: two are simple folk-like melodiesin the Mixolydian, the other a fast 6/8dance in the Locrian. The remaining solo
MUSIC REVIEWS (cont.)
Salamone Rossi’s musicgenerally has morearchitectural shape thanthat of many of hiscontemporaries, and hiswriting, though florid,does not demand the same virtuosity as does music more specificallyintended for violins.
September 2001 27
piece is a slow, wandering melody with asomewhat shifting tonality. All are de-lightful to play and to listen to.
Some of the recorder/piano pieces ac-tually do use folk melodies. The onesbased on “O My Luve is Like a Red, RedRose,” “Clark Sanders,” and the famous“Shenandoah” have spare, minimal-styled accompaniments that are wonder-fully sonorous and quite imaginative inthe way they seem oblivious to the tonalcadences of the melodies. Another piece,called “Rite,” offers a biting scherzo inminimalist style. The most shocking ofthe pieces is the last—its title, “TiredBoy,” gives no clue (in advance) to whatwe are in store for. It is based on “Rock-a-by Baby,” and, while the accompanimentis as spare as in the previous pieces, thetonal cadences are preserved.
Gerhard Braun’s Das Mannlein imWalde (“The Little Man in the Woods”)offers a set of twelve delightful piecesbased on German children’s songs andloaded with witty surprises. Braun ex-plains in his preface that these songs“contain basic essential features charac-terizing Western music such as A-B-Aform, regularity of meter, a melody linebased on triads, the I-IV-V-I harmonic se-quence, and fundamental rhythmic mod-els.” Braun then seeks to “break up”these characteristics by repeating smallnote groups, changing meter, insertingmusical non sequiturs, employing coloreffects such as multiphonics and fluttertonguing, and by introducing sounds ex-ternal to the recorder, such as foot stamp-ing. One need not be familiar with theoriginal source melodies to enjoy thismusic. Braun’s manipulations are clear-cut and easy to follow.
Both editions are beautifully printedand have no bad page turns.
Pete Rose
D’UNG AULTRE AMER (4 SETTINGSC. 1500), ed. Bernard Thomas. LondonPro Musica EML 359 (Magnamusic),2000. 3 instruments, 3 sc, 4 pp each.$4.50.
Johannes Ockeghem’s rondeau “D’ungaultre amer” was one of a select list ofchansons favored by Franco-Flemish com-posers around 1500 for instrumental re-
ARS Membership Enrollment and RenewalPlease enroll/renew me as a member of the Society. I’m looking forward to:✰ American Recorder, ARS Newsletter, and the Members’ Directory✰ Members’ Library musical editions✰ Eligibility for the ARS Education Program examinations✰ Discounts to some recorder workshops and on ARS publications✰ Mailings from suppliers of materials, music, instruments. (ARS list is made
available only to purveyors of goods and services for recorder players.)✰ Information on all aspects of playing the recorder
U.S./Canadian membership: ❏ one year $40, ❏ two years $75
Foreign membership: ❏ one year $50, ❏ two years $95
U.S./Canadian Student* membership: ❏ one year $20 ❏ two years $40
Foreign Student* membership: ❏ one year $25 ❏ two years $50
Workshop membership: ❏ one year $60 Business membership: ❏ one year $120
❏ Address and/or phone information has changed in past year.❏ Do not list my name in Directory.
*Enclose proof of full-time enrollment.
All dues paid in U.S. funds by check on U.S. bank, or by international money order.
Family members residing at the same address may share a membership. However, thestudent rate is not applicable to a shared family membership. For an additional listing inthe ARS Directory under different surnames at the same address, add $5.
Please check to be included on the ARS list of ❏ Recorder teachers and/or ❏ Professional performers. (Since your recorder activitiesmay change, you must indicate on each renewal if you want to continue to be listed.)
❏ I wish to contribute $_________ to help sustain the work of the Society.
Please charge to my VISA/MASTERCARD:#____________________________________ Exp. Date: ______________________Cardholder’s signature___________________________________________________
NAME________________________________ PHONE (______) ________________ADDRESS _________________________________________________________________________________________________E-MAIL ________________________CITY_________________________________ STATE ____ ZIP _________________
CHAPTER/CONSORT AFFILIATION, IF ANY: ______________________________
OPTIONAL INFORMATION:
Chapter officer or committee member? ❏ Yes (officer/committee: _______________)❏ No ❏ Have served chapter in the past
Age: _____ For how many years have you played the recorder? _____
Level of recorder playing: ❏ Amateur ❏ Semi-professional ❏ Professional
Annual income: ❏ Under $10,000 ❏ $10,000-30,000 ❏ $30,000-50,000 ❏ $50,000-75,000 ❏ $75,000-100,000 ❏ Over $100,000
Portion of your income derived from music: ❏ All ❏ Some ❏ None
Portion of music income derived from the recorder? ❏ All ❏ Some ❏ None
If all or some, what kind of recorder activities are involved? (Check all that apply.)
❏ Teach privately ❏ Teach/lead workshops ❏ Teach elementary school music ❏ Performance ❏ Recorder maker ❏ Musical director/coach ❏ Other _____________________________________________________________
What type of recorder music do you play? (Check all that apply.) ❏ Medieval/Renaissance ❏ Baroque ❏ Modern/pop ❏ Folk ❏ Solo ❏ Recorder Orchestra ❏ Chamber music with other instruments (such as trio sonatas) ❏ Broken consort with other instruments (such as a collegium) ❏ Consort involving three or more recorders playing one-on-a-part ❏ Grand consort(format used in many chapter meetings, with several recorders playing on each part)
AMERICAN RECORDER SOCIETYP. O. Box 631, Littleton, CO 80160-0631, U.S.A.Fax (with handset down) or call in credit card renewals to 303-347-1181
KEY: rec=recorder; S’o=sopranino; S=soprano; A=alto; T=tenor; B=bass; gB=great bass; cB= contrabass; Tr=treble; qrt=quartet; pf=piano; fwd= fore-word; opt=optional; perc=percussion; pp= pages;sc=score; pt(s)=part(s); kbd=keyboard; bc=bassocontinuo; hc=harpsichord; P/H=postage and han-dling. Multiple reviews by one reviewer are followed bythat reviewer’s name.
28 American Recorder
workings. Seventeen such arrangements ofthat piece have survived, including someby distinguished composers. The originalrondeau with underlaid text in the topvoice is included in an earlier London ProMusica edition (EML 341).
All four of the anonymous settings inthe present edition were transcribed fromprimary sources. Each of these settingstreats Ockeghem’s chanson in a differentway. In No. I, his original discantus andtenor lines are retained and a new bassusadded. No. II is a parody rather than a can-tus firmus setting. The first two measuresof Ockeghem’s piece are quoted exactlyand the remainder treated freely. In No. III,the original discantus is preserved and twoelaborate free parts added, including somemelodic sequences and an eccentric finalcadence with parallel fifths. In No. IV, acanonic pair is added to the originaldiscantus.
All of these settings are playable on re-corders, but they are not all equally wellsuited to recorders. Nos. I and IV are bestin that all three lines lie in a comfortablerange for Renaissance instruments (ATB).No. II can be played on STB or ATB re-corders but requires a bass that can get upto the high F. No. III is also playable on ATBrecorders, but the tenor line includes anumber of awkward low E�s. That line canalternatively be played on bass but requiresan instrument that speaks well in the up-per register.
Comparison of these settings with theoriginal rondeau in EML 341 shows whereto breathe in the cantus line. Since thephrases are long, a fairly fast tempo is need-ed. Because the rhythms are quite intri-cate, these pieces are best suited to high in-termediate and advanced players.
CHI ’NDE DARA LA BOSE, BY ANDREA
GABRIELI, ED. BERNARD THOMAS. LondonPro Musica EML 365 (Magnamusic),2000. 3 voices or instruments, 3 sc, 4 ppeach. $4.50.
This “giustiniana” is taken from Ga-brieli’s Greghesche et justiniane (Venice,1571). It is a kind of comic popular song inVenetian dialect, sung by actors dressed asold men, and featuring nonsense syllables.The title means “Who will give voice (to asol fa).” The text is underlaid in all threevoices, and a translation is included.
Textural and rhythmic variety give this
MUSIC REVIEWS(cont.)ARS PUBLICATIONS
Erich Katz Contemporary Music Series Members Non-Members
Suzanne M. Angevine, A Short Tale for two basses (Level II) (2 scores) $ 5 $ 8Peter Ballinger, Double Quartet for Recorders (Level II-III) (score & parts) $10 $18Anthony Burgess, Sonatina for Alto Recorder and Piano (Level II) (2 scores) $7 $12Cecil Effinger, Dialogue and Dance (SATB) (Level II-III) (score & parts) $10 $18Lee Gannon, Sonatine for three altos (Level III) (score & parts) $14 $26
(score, parts & demo cassette) $23 $43Erich Katz, Suite of Jewish Folk Tunes (S S/A8 A/T) (Level II) (three scores) $10 $18Vaclav Nelhybel, Six Short Pieces for Three Recorders, (AA/TT) (Level II)
edited by Alan Drake (3 scores) $8 $14Stanley W. Osborn, Kyrie and Vocalise for soprano voice and recorders
(SATB) (Level II) (2 scores & 4 recorder parts) $ 8 $14Frederic Palmer, Entrevista (SATB) (Level II) (2 scores & 4 recorder parts) $ 8 $14Sally Price, Dorian Mood (SATB) (Level II) (score & parts) $10 $18Jeffrey Quick, Picnic Music (SATB) (Level II) (score & parts) $ 5 $ 8
Musical Editions from the Members’ Library:ARS members: 1 copy, $3 2 copies, $4.50 3, $6 4, $7.50 5, $10 6, $11.50Non-members (editions over 2 years old): 1 copy, $5 2 copies, $8.50, 3,$12 4,$15 5, $19.50 6, $23The ARS is happy to provide photocopied enlargements of any Members’ Library edition at the same prices.Please specify “Members’ Library Enlargement.” * = Editions not yet available to non-members.
Other Materials from ARSARS Information Booklets:ARS members: 1 booklet, $13 2 booklets, $23 3, $28 4, $35 5, $41 6, $47 7, $52Non-members: 1 booklet, $18 2 booklets, $33 3, $44 4, $55 5, $66 6, $76 7, $86
Adding Percussion to Medieval and Renaissance Music (Peggy Monroe)American Recorder Music (Constance Primus)The Burgundian Court and Its Music (Judith Whaley, coord.)Improve Your Consort Skills (Susan Carduelis)Music for Mixed Ensembles (Jennifer W. Lehmann)Playing Music for the Dance (Louise Austin)Recorder Care (Scott Paterson)
Education Publications The ARS Personal Study Program in Thirteen Stages to Help You Improve Your Playing (1996).
First copy free to ARS members, replacement copies for members or non-members, $3. Guidebook to the ARS Personal Study Program (1996). Material formerly published in the Study
Guide and Study Guide Handbook, plus additional resources. Members, $11; non-members, $20.ARS Music Lists (1996). Graded list of solos, ensembles, and method books.
Members $8; non-members, $14.Package deal available only to ARS members: Guidebook and Music Lists ordered together, $15.
Junior Recorder Society Leader’s Resource Notebook. ARS members, $20; non-members, $40 (updates at reduced rates after initial purchase). Special rate for previous purchasers of JRS Class Program, $15. Dues for each JRS student member sponsored by an ARS member, $5 ($4 each for groups of 10 of more). JRS student members receive activities plus “Merlin” badges and stickers.
Other Publications Chapter Handbook. A resource on chapter operations for current chapter leaders or those considering forming
an ARS chapter. ARS members, $10; non-members, $20 (updates free after initial purchase).One free copy sent to each ARS chapter with 10 members or more.
Discography of the Recorder, Vol. I (1989). Compiled by Scott Paterson and David Lasocki.Discography of the Recorder, Vol. II (1990-1994). Compiled by Scott Paterson.
Either single volume: ARS members $23; non-members, $28. Both Discography volumes together: ARS members only, $40.
American Recorder: Cumulative Index for Vols. I-XXXX. ARS members, $20; non-members, $32.Index Supplement, Vol. XXXIV-XXXX. ARS members, $8; non-members, $14.
All prices are in U.S. dollars and include U.S. postage and handling. For Canadian or foreign surface postage,please add an additional $1 per item; for Canadian or foreign air mail, please add an additional $3 per item. When ordering five or more items to be shipped anywhere at the same time, ARS Members maydeduct an extra $2 on top of the discounted members' price. Please make checks payable to the ARS.VISA/MasterCard also accepted.
American Recorder SocietyP.O. Box 631, Littleton, CO 80160-0631, U.S.A.
303-347-1120
Après Paul (David W. Solomons)Bruckner’s Ave Maria (arr. Jennifer W. Lehmann) Dancers (Richard Eastman)Different Quips (Stephan Chandler)Elegy for Recorder Quartet (Carolyn Peskin)Elizabethan DelightsLos Pastores (arr. Virginia N. Ebinger)New Rounds on Old Rhymes (Erich Katz)Other Quips (Stephan Chandler)Poinciana Rag (Laurie G. Alberts)*Santa Barbara Suite (Erich Katz)Sentimental Songs (arr. David Goldstein)
Serie for Two Alto Recorders (Frederic Palmer) Slow Dance with Doubles (Colin Sterne)Three Bantam Ballads (Ann McKinley)Three Cleveland Scenes (Carolyn Peskin)Tracings in the Snow
in Central Park (Robert W. Butts)Trios for Recorders (George T. Bachmann)*Triptych (Peter A. Ramsey) Two Bach Trios (arr. William Long)Two Brahms Lieder (arr. Thomas E. Van Dahm)Vintage Burgundy
September 2001 29
piece a good deal of musical interest. Thereare imitative passages, homophonic pas-sages, and two-voice passages with hu-morous echo effects. Naive word paintingincludes ascending scale passages on thewords “ut re mi fa sol la,” triplets on theword “sesquialtera,” and rapidly waveringsixteenth notes on a word that means“warbling.”
Although a vocal rendition is requiredto obtain the full comic effect, the piece isalso fun to play and hear on recorders (SSAor TTB). This is, however, not easy music.A successful performance requires rhyth-mic precision and careful articulation. Werecommend this piece as a lively encorenumber for high intermediate or advancedplayers.
SUSANNA FAIR (1589), BY WILLIAM
BYRD, ED. BERNARD THOMAS. London ProMusica EML 354 (Magnamusic), 1999. 3voices or instruments, 3 sc, 4 pp each.$4.50.
This splendid madrigal is taken fromByrd’s Songs of Sundry Natures. The serioustext, based on the story of “Susannah andthe Elders” in the Apocrypha, is an Englishtranslation of a poem made famous in asetting by Roland de Lassus (“Susanne unjour”). As in most of Byrd’s vocal polypho-ny, the prevailing texture is imitative coun-terpoint.
This piece is a recorder player’s dream.It fits ATB recorders beautifully, lying in acomfortable range for Renaissance instru-ments. The text is underlaid in all threevoices, making phrasing and articulationeasy to determine, and the phrases areshort enough to be played on one breath.The music is simple enough to be per-formed by intermediate players and yetlovely enough for inclusion in professionalrecorderists’ repertoire. As with all EMLeditions, one score is provided for eachplayer, print is large and clear, and there areno bad page turns. This edition is right inevery way. Go for it!
2 CONTRAPUNTI SOPRA IL CANTOFERMO (LA SPAGNA), BY COSTANZO
FESTA, ED. BERNARD THOMAS. London ProMusica EML 353 (Magnamusic), 1999. 3instruments, 3 sc, 4 pp each. $4.50.3 RICERCARI SOPRA CANTO FERMO(1606), BY ASCANIO MAYONE, ED. BERNARD
THOMAS. London Pro Musica LPM IM14(Magnamusic), 2000. 3 instruments, sc 11pp, pts 4 pp each. $9.50.
Here are two editions of three-part Ital-ian consort music based upon the samecantus firmus, the old bassadanza tune
known as “La Spagna,” which has beenused by a number of composers for poly-phonic settings from the late 15th throughthe early 17th century.
According to New Grove, Costanzo Fes-ta (1490-1545) was a “consummate masterof sacred and secular vocal polyphony”and “probably the most important Italiancomposer between the periods of Josquinand Palestrina.” His skill as a contrapuntistis also evident in his 157 (!) settings of theSpagna melody, which are preserved in MSC36 of the Civico Museo Bibliografico Mu-sicale in Bologna. The two chosen for EML353, “Contrapunto 9” and “Contrapunto20,” are among the most rhythmicallyelaborate in the collection.
In both of these pieces, the cantus fir-mus appears in the bassus line, abovewhich are played two interweaving, rhyth-mically complex lines featuring close imi-tation of short motives. Both of these set-tings work well on recorders. TTB re-corders are preferable, but othercombinations are also possible. Because ofthe very elaborate rhythms and the uncer-tainty of phrasing, these pieces would bestbe performed by advanced players butwould make good exercises in handling Re-naissance rhythms for high intermediates.
The Neapolitan composer AscanioMayone (c1565-1627) is known todaymainly for his rather innovative keyboardmusic, similar in style to the early keyboardworks of Frescobaldi. The three Spagnasettings selected for London Pro Musica’sIM14 edition were taken from Mayone’s Li-bro primo di ricercari a tre voci (1606).
Mayone’s Spagna settings are believedto be modeled after those of Costanzo Fes-ta, since both composers used the sameshortened version of the Spagna melody,but Mayone’s use of imitation is more per-vasive and involves whole phrases ratherthan short motives, and his harmonies, in-cluding some surprising dissonances, aremore advanced than Festa’s.
All of these ricercari are well suited torecorders. ATB instruments are best fornos.14 (cantus firmus in the top line) and15 ( cantus firmus in the tenor line). SAB isthe best choice for no.16 (cantus firmus inthe basso line). Since these settings arerhythmically less difficult than those in theFesta edition, we would recommend thesericercari as exercises for intermediate play-ers and performance pieces for high inter-mediates. They would also make good violconsort selections, and an extra tenor part,written in alto clef, is included for tenor vi-ol players.
Carolyn Peskin
FOR INFORMATION ON:•More than 2,000 reviews of music
new and old, printed and recorded
•Articles on the recorder in history, itsplayers, and performance practice
•Teaching ideas and practice tips
LOOK INTHE INDEXES FOR AMERICAN RECORDER
CUMULATIVE INDEX FOR VOLS. I -XXXX. Compiled by Scott Paterson.
ARS members, $20 per copynon-members, $32 per copy.
INDEX SUPPLEMENT, VOLS. XXXIV -XXXX. Compiled by Scott Paterson.
(for those who own the CumulativeIndex for Vols. I - XXXIII).
ARS members, $8 per copynon-members, $14 per copy.
Back Issues are available at the followingprices (including postage).
VOLS. V-XXVI (1964-1985): 1 copy-$5; 2 copies-$8; 3-$11; 4-$14VOLS. XXVII XLI (1986-2000): 1 copy-$6; 2 copies-$10; 3-$14; 4-$18
Please inquire regarding availability ofspecific issues (including Vols. I-IV). Please do not order issues not yetpublished. Prices include postage. ForCanadian or foreign surface postage,please add an additional $1 per item.For Canadian or foreign air mail, pleaseadd an additional $3 per item. Whenordering five or more items to beshipped to the same address at the sametime, ARS members may deduct afurther discount of $2 from the total.
Need a copy of just one article? Articles in American Recorder since1988 may be ordered through the fax-back service of The Uncover Company(http://uncweb.carl.org/).
Box 631, Littleton, CO 80160• 303-347-1120
AMERICANRECORDERSOCIETY
September 2001 31
BOOKREVIEWS___________________________________
Books on teaching recorder in the public schools and how the printing of music is related to its composition and performance
COMPOSITION, PRINTING AND PER-FORMANCE: STUDIES IN RENAIS-SANCE MUSIC. BY BONNIE J. BLACK-BURN. Ashgate Publishing, 2000. 352 pp.Hardcover, $105.95. ISBN: 0-86078-831-8.
Bonnie J. Blackburn has been one of themost effective investigators into the mys-tery of how musicians in the Renaissancethought about music. Composition, Print-ing and Performance is a reprinting and up-dating of seven of Blackburn’s journal arti-cles originally published between 1981and 1998. The articles are grouped intothree sections: “Tinctoris and the Art ofComposition,” “Petrucci and His Sources,”and “Advice on Performance ca. 1600.”
The three articles devoted to Tinctorisinclude Blackburn’s important 1987 study,“Compositional Process in the FifteenthCentury,” in which she examines in somedetail the question of when composers ofthe time conceived all the parts of a com-position together and when they mighthave composed them one after the other, adifferentiation she relates to the shift in thenature of dissonance treatment that oc-curred with Dufay’s generation. The othertwo articles explore Tinctoris’s ideas andthe degree to which they coincide with theactual practice of composers of the time.
The articles concerning Petrucci aretimely in the year of the 500th anniversaryof his collection Odhecaton, the first pub-lished music. They primarily concern thesources for the music in the Odhecaton,which probably came from the collectionof Petrus de Castello, the music director ofa large Venetian church.
The book’s final section presents a let-ter by a 16th-century musician, Luigi Zeno-bi, to an unnamed prince listing the ap-propriate qualifications for various types ofmusicians (composers, singers of variousvoice ranges, and wind and string players,though with no mention of recorder play-ers specifically). The letter stands alone asan entertaining and informative docu-ment, but Blackburn’s extensive annota-tions (picking up on work done by Edward
Lowinsky) illuminate the letter’s context.The articles will be best appreciated by
those comfortable with scholarly writing.However, several sections are quite ap-proachable (especially the article concern-ing Zenobi’s letter), and anyone with a se-rious interest in Renaissance music willfind “On Compositional Process in the Fif-teenth Century” to be of central impor-tance. As usual with scholarly publica-tions, the book is rather expensive, butwell worth tracking down in a library forthose without the means to purchase it.
ED. NOTE: A “Quincentenary PerformingEdition” of Petrucci’s Odhecaton was pre-pared for this year’s Amherst Early MusicFestival under the general editorship ofDavid Fallows. The elegant, spiral-boundedition will be availailable in November for$40 postpaid in the U.S. Contact [email protected] for information.
TEACHING RECORDER IN THE MU-SIC CLASSROOM. BY FRED KERSTEN.MENC: The National Association forMusic Education, 2001. 128 pp. Softcover,$15.00 ($12.00 for MENC members; orderitem #1666 from 800-828-0229, orwww.menc.org). ISBN: 1-56545-141-4.
Fred Kersten has written a concise butwide-ranging handbook for classroom re-corder teachers at all levels. Although thebook is primarily directed toward thoseteachers who are new to the instrument,experienced teachers will also find manyideas to compare with their own work andto stimulate their imaginations.
The book is divided into nine chapters
(including “Using the Recorder in the OrffClassroom” by Konnie Saliba) roundedout by fingering charts provided by Dol-metsch Musical Instruments. While not a“how-to” manual for recorder teaching,the book is roughly progressive, with eachchapter serving as an independent exami-nation of topics such as “Selecting andPurchasing Recorders,” “Teaching Tips forthe Classroom,” and “The Recorder andthe National Standards.”
By combining general advice and spe-cific practical suggestions, including somemusical exercises, Kersten is able to pre-sent a fair amount of helpful material in arelatively small space. Grounding his ad-vice in the real world and adding to itspractical value, he makes reference to hisown and other successful teachers’ experi-ences in the classroom. While some maydisagree with Kersten’s ideas here andthere, he is generally quite sensible in hissuggestions, and his chapter on “Literatureand Other Resources” gives pointers tomany other sources of information.
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of thisbook is Kersten’s advocacy of the recorderas a secondary school instrument on a parwith traditional band and string instru-ments. By itself, this book will not turn thetide on that question, but to have suchideas clearly expressed in an MENC publi-cation is surely a step in the right direction.In the meantime, classroom music teach-ers, and even private recorder teacherswith children’s groups will find this to be abook full of intriguing ideas and helpfulpractical advice.
Scott Paterson
The articles concerning Petrucci are timely in the yearof the 500th anniversary of his collection Odhecaton,the first published music. They primarily concern the sources for the music in the Odhecaton, whichprobably came from the collection of Petrus de Castello, the music director of a large Venetian church.
32 American Recorder
CHAPTERS & CONSORTS___________________________________
Play-the-Recorder Month reaches out to thousands
The ninth annual Play-the-RecorderMonth celebration last March again afford-ed opportunities for ARS chapters to teamup with young players in events showcas-ing the recorder. The Chapters & ConsortsCommittee chose three co-winners of the“Most Imaginative Event” contest forchapters: East Bay (CA) Recorder Soci-ety, Greater Cleveland (OH) Chapter,and Sacramento (CA) Recorder Society.
For this year’s event, the East Bay Re-corder Society expanded the inauguralprogram they presented in March 2000during Kids’ Month at Borders Books andMusic in Emeryville. Several ensemblesfrom within the EBRS performed a multi-part concert that also involved two chil-dren’s groups: the East Bay Junior Re-corder Society and a group of seventhgraders from a Mill Valley middle school.Instrument demonstrations were given bya member of one of the EBRS consorts (inperiod costume) and also by one of the JRSyoungsters. The chapter’s new logo wasprominently displayed on a music stand infront of the group, to draw attention andalso clearly identify the performers toshoppers, many of whom stopped duringthe two-hour show to enjoy the music. Se-lections included several pieces by J.S.Bach, plus Renaissance and modern worksincluding a composition by a JRS member.
Cleveland Chapter’s program was atwo-hour Recorder Festival in the classicalmusic section of Joseph-Beth Booksellers,a new upscale bookstore. Ten members ofthe chapter, plus eight young Suzuki re-corder students, ages four to nine, gave in-formal performances including a potpour-ri of Renaissance music; Baroque-era en-semble music ranging from sonatas byQuantz and Finger to selections from Han-del’s Water Music; European folk songsfrom the Suzuki Recorder School (per-formed by the children); and 20th-centurymusic including Poinciana Rag by LaurieAlberts (from the ARS Members’ Library),a jazzy work by Andrew Charlton, and twopieces by Tadanori Morooka suggested byJapanese members who are temporarily
living in Cleveland. (The last included a re-corder arrangement of “Grandfather’sClock,” written by American composerHenry Clay Work in 1876, but now fre-quently sung with Japanese words inJapanese elementary schools. More infor-mation about Morooka’s works will bepublished in the fall issue of Leader Link,sent to all ARS chapter leaders.)
The Sacramento Recorder Societycapitalized on a local incident, incorporat-ing it into a regular Play-the-RecorderMonth event. At the end of February, SRSofficer Kathryn Canan received a tele-phone call from a fisherman living on aboat on the San Joachin Delta. In the waterhe had found a briefcase containing threerecorders, which he wanted to return totheir owners. Although the recorders werein good shape and didn’t appear to havebeen floating for long, a flyer in the casefrom the Greater San Francisco Area Re-corder Society was dated 1971. The mys-tery went public when several local publi-cations including the Sacramento Bee ranstories to try to find the owner of the in-struments. After receiving a number ofspeculative scenarios in response to post-ings on several e-mail lists, the chapter wasinspired to launch the “Sacramento Re-corder Society Recorder Mystery StoryContest.” The contest winner, Mark Van-ek, was announced during an afternoon oftea, coffee, sweets, and music played bySRS early music groups at the Belle Cool-edge Library, a venue also previously usedby the chapter during Play-the-RecorderMonth.
The chapter with the greatest percent-age membership increase during Play-the-Recorder Month was a new chapter, theNorth County Recorder Society near SanDiego (CA). The group formed and sent intheir initial dues for new members duringthat period, resulting in an increase of sixmembers—from one member (the found-ing chapter leader) to seven. Prizes for allfour winning chapters, ranging from re-corder ensemble music to music stands,were donated by Von Huene Workshop,
Courtly Music Unlimited, and BoulderEarly Music Shop.
ARS Chapters & Consorts Committeemembers were pleased at the number ofevents that included young players in sig-nificant roles, an obvious effort by chaptersto counteract the “greying of recorder play-ers” trend. Besides EBRS and Cleveland, aquartet from the Fort Collins (CO) Re-corder Society played music from a vari-ety of periods for about 60 fourth-graders,who joined in using Orff instruments andrhythmic clapping on some pieces. “Eric’sIrregulars,” from the Twin Cities (MN)Recorder Guild, played for about 100 stu-dents in two middle schools in St. LouisPark, demonstrating the range of instru-ments from great bass to garklein. The Or-ange County (CA) Recorder Society alsosent an ensemble to play for over 100 chil-dren at Laguna’s Top-of-the-World School.Their audience included third-graders whowere learning to play recorder, as well assecond- and fourth-graders who wanted toattend the concert. The quartet of OCRSchapter members became a quintet withthe addition of a visiting nine-year-oldgrandson of one of the quartet members.Repertoire for the concert ran the gamutfrom Bach chorales to rock music. St.Louis (MO) Recorder Society membersgave presentations at an elementary schooland hospital, in addition to its third annu-al spring concert in March.
Three Colorado Chapters—the FortCollins Recorder Society, Greater Den-ver Chapter and Boulder Chapter—hosted multi-hour events featuring con-sorts of recorders at their local Barnes andNoble Bookstores. Incorporating a perfor-
September 2001 33
CHAPTER NEWSLETTER EDITORSWant to see your chapter in the news? Check
to be sure that a copy of your chapternewsletter goes to American Recorder, 472Point Road, Marion, MA 02738; or e-mail
text to [email protected].
mance by third- and fourth-graders fromShepherd of the Hills Lutheran School in-to the afternoon also brought out parentswith cameras to Denver’s fifth annual Re-corder Faire. Members from all three chap-ters enjoyed a March concert and masterclass with Marion Verbruggen.
Chapters regularly play for the worshipservices of churches in which they meet.During Play-the-Recorder Month, groupsfrom the Fort Collins Recorder Societyand Westchester (NY) Recorder Guildplayed for church services. The La MerConsort of the Riverside (CA) Early Mu-sic Society and 12 members of the Societyfor Early Music of Northern Marylandgave recitals in local churches—the Mary-land event including five dances from Play-ford’s English Dancing Master with eightdancers from the Baltimore Folk Music So-ciety.
Other venues became the sites for per-formances by ARS chapters: the Princeton(NJ) Recorder Society at Princeton Mar-ketfair, Montreal (PQ) Recorder Societyin a downtown commercial location, andSouth Bay (CA) Chapter at Espresso Gar-den (where place cards on tables promot-ed the event).
Several consorts also sponsored con-certs. Carmina Consort (Indianapolis,IN) at Barnes and Noble; Galena (IL) Re-corder Consort at a local church; and theC-Pipers (Cape Canaveral, FL) at a con-dominium gathering. The last event in-cluded a poem composed for the occasionby “resident poet” Toni DiRocco.
A staple of Play-the-Recorder Month ac-tivities is the chapter workshop. True toform, March workshops were hosted bythe Birmingham (AL) Area Chapter,North Coast (CA) Chapter, Sacramento(CA) Recorder Society, Hawaii Chap-ter, Twin Cities (MN) Recorder Guild,Triangle (NC) Recorder Society, andAustin (TX) Chapter. At the request ofNorth Coast Chapter, the mayor of Eurekaalso issued a proclamation that March wasPlay-the-Recorder Month.
Now is the time to see your local may-or—or the manager of your local book-store or other venue—to begin planningevents for the 10th annual event in March2002. For more ideas, visit the ARS website to read reports of past years’ successes.
The ARS CD Club makes hard-to-find or lim-ited release CDs by ARS members availableto ARS members at the special price listed(non-members slightly higher), postage andhandling included. An updated listing of allavailable CDs may be found at the ARS website: www.americanrecorder.org.
BACK IN STOCK!____J.S. BACH: TRIO SONATAS Judith Linsenberg,recorders; Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; ElisabethLe Guin, ‘cello; Edward Parmentier, harpsichord. Sixworks arranged by Linsenberg from trio sonatas fororgan, BWV 525-530. Supported by the 1992 ARS Professional Recording Grant. Virgin Veritas. $17ARS/$20 others.____CELESTIAL WINDS I David Young, recorders;Lisa Franco, celtic harp. Relaxing recorders accom-panied by gentle harp. Universe Music. $17 ARS/$20others.____ENGLISH CONSORT MUSIC: BROWNING MYDERE Marion Verbruggen and Flanders RecorderQuartet (Bart Spanhove, Paul Van Loey, Joris VanGoethem, Geert Van Gele). Subtitled work by Hen-ry Stonings, “The leaves be greene” by WilliamByrd, other 16-17th century consort works. Quali-ton. $17 ARS/$20 others.____PERGOLESI: LA SERVA PADRONA Elissa Berar-di, recorder; Julianne Baird, soprano; John Osten-dorf, bass-baritone; Philomel Baroque Chamber Or-chestra. Title work, an opera buffa from 1733, withVivaldi, “Recorder Concerto in A,” nestled as an en-tr’acte between the two comic opera acts. Omega.$17 ARS/$20 others.
NEW ADDITIONS____CHARLESTON PRO MUSICA Marsha Evans,Lewis Fitch and others, recorders, gemshorns, guitarand voice. Medieval and Renaissance music. Mille-nium Music/Charleston SC. $17ARS/$20 others.____CHARLESTON PRO MUSICA ON TOUR MarshaEvans, Lewis Fitch and others, recorders,gemshorns, guitar and voice. Medieval and Renais-sance music with consort and singers. MilleniumMusic/ Charleston SC. $17 ARS/$20 others.____CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTLE Blue Oak Consortand guests, Richard Geisler, director. Five centuriesof holiday music from many lands; a Christmas con-cert set in a castle, played and sung by 17 musicianson recorders, strings, percussion and voice. $17ARS/$20 others.____DANCING DAY Scott Reiss, Tina Chancey andJane Hershey, recorders and other early instruments;Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano; Mark Cudek, lute & cit-tern; Joshua Lee and Daniel Rippe, bass viol & per-cussion. Medieval, Renaissance and traditionalChristmas music spanning about 500 years—fromthe British Isles, Italy, France, Spain, Germany andAmerica. Koch International. $17 ARS/$20 others.____THE FOOD OF LOVE Tina Chancey, Grant Her-reid and Scott Reiss, recorders and other early in-struments. Early instrumental music of the BritishIsles, with works by Byrd, Gibbons and Simpsonthrough Dowland, Playford and Coperario. Dorian.$17 ARS/$20 others.____MANCINI: CONCERTI DI CAMERA Judith Lin-senberg, recorders; Elizabeth Blumenstock and LisaWeiss, violin; George Thomson, viola; David Morris,‘cello; John Schneiderman, archlute & baroque gui-tar; Charles Sherman, harpsichord & organ. Sevensonatas by Francesco Mancini, plus one work eachfrom his contemporaries Francesco Durante and
Domenico Scarlatti. “Highly recommended”
citation from the 2000 Vival-di Prize for Recordings of Ital-ian Early Music—Giorgio CiniFoundation, Venice. Dorian.$17 ARS/$20 others.____MIDNIGHT SUN AlisonMelville and Colin Savage, re-corders; with other members ofEnsemble Polaris playing flute,clarinet, guitar, ‘cello, hurdy-gur-dy, percussion. Traditional musicfrom Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Nor-way and Scotland in new arrangements.A Classic CD Disc of the Month, August2000. Dorian. $17 ARS/$20 others.____MY THING IS MY OWN: BAWDY MUSICOF THOMAS D’URFEY Tina Chancey, Grant Her-reid and Scott Reiss, recorders and other early in-struments; Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano. Commontunes of love, sex and seduction in 18th-centuryEngland, collected by D’Urfey in his “Pills to PurgeMelancholy,” used as vehicles for improvisation.Koch International. $17 ARS/$20 others.
RECENT LISTINGS:____AIRES AND DUETS FOR TWO FLUTES ANDBASS Vicki Boeckman and Dorte Lester Nauta, re-corder; Mogens Rasmussen, viola da gamba; ViggoMangor, archlute and chamber organ. Trio sonatasfor two recorders and continuo by Handel, Tele-mann, G. B. Braun, T. Merula, S. Rossi. Primavera.$17 ARS/$20 others.____DISTRIBUTION OF FLOWERS Cléa Galhano,recorder; Tony Hauser, guitar. Latin CD featuringworks by Argentinian accordion virtuoso AstorPiazzolla. Ten Thousand Lakes. $17 ARS/$20 others.____FRUIT OF A DIFFERENT VINE Alison Melville,Natalie Michaud, and Colin Savage, recorders; A. Hall, piano. Works by Berkeley, Genzmer,Hindemith, Leigh, Staeps, and others. Supported bythe 1994 ARS Professional Recording Grant. S.R.I. $17 ARS/$20 others.____IMAGINE II David Young, recorders. More con-temporary interpretations of classic songs from the1970s by Neil Young, Jim Croce, Carole King, andMoody Blues. Universe Music. $17 ARS/$20 others.____A JOURNEY AMONG TRAVELLERS (CDSHORT) Peter Bowman and Kathryn Bennetts per-form Donald Bousted’s 26-minute quarter-tonalpiece for two alto recorders. $12 ARS/$14 others.____LES AMIS DU BAROQUE Paul Nauta,recorder/Baroque flute; Koen Dieltiens, recorder;Jan de Winne, Baroque flute; Christina Mahler,cello; Shalev Ad-El, harpsichord/organ. Ensemble inCD title plays music by Bassani, Corelli, Vivaldi, etc.Highlight Intl. $17 ARS/$20 others.____MUSICK FYNE PLAYS MUSIC OF THE ITALIANBAROQUE Alison Melville and Colin Savage,recorders; with other members of Musick Fyne.17th- and 18th-century duos, trio sonatas, arias,diminutions. Upbeat Classics. $17 ARS/$20 others.____NEO-MEDIEVAL Tina Chancey, Grant Herreid,and Scott Reiss. Medieval improvs for a postmodernage. Dorian Discovery. $17 ARS/$20 others.____POPULAR MUSIC OF THE RENAISSANCE,Anne & Rob Burns (A Reasonable Facsimile) play re-corders, shawm, cittern, Renaissance guitar, strawfiddle, and a variety of drums, whistles, and pipes.Second From the Bottom. $17 ARS/$20 others.____SACRED LOVE SONGS David Young, recorders.Contemporary interpretations of traditional songs:Ave Maria, Amazing Grace, Scarborough Faire, OdeTo Joy, Somewhere, Pachelbel’s Canon, and more.Universe Music. $17 ARS/$20 others.
____A. SCARLATTI: CONCERTI DI CAMERAJudith Linsenberg, recorders; with other membersof Musica Pacifica. Seven sonatas for variousinstrumentations.. $17 ARS/$20 others.____SHINE AND SHADE Piers Adams, recorder;Julian Rhodes, harpsichord. Works of NormanFulton, Edmund Rubbra, York Bowen, LennoxBerkeley, Edward Gregson, Stephen Dodgson,Donald Swann. $17 ARS/$20 others.____SONGS IN THE GROUND Cléa Galhano,recorder, and Vivian Montgomery, harpsichord.Works by Pandolfi, Belanzanni, Vitali, Bach and con-temporaries Thomas, Morrison and Setti, featuringsongs based on grounds. Ten Thousand Lakes. $17ARS/$20 others.____TELEMANN: TRIO SONATAS WITH RECORDERVicki Boeckman, recorder; John Holloway, violin;Jaap ter Linden, cello/gamba; Lars Ulrik Mortensen,harpsichord; Aloysia Assenbaum, chamber organ.Trio sonatas for recorder and violin, recorder andgamba, recorder, and harpsichord. “Expertly playedcollection of chamber music...”—Early Music Ameri-ca Magazine. Qualiton. $17 ARS/$20 others.
Please indicate above the CDs you wish to order,
and print clearly the following:
Name _______________________________________
Daytime phone: (_____) _______________________
Address: _____________________________________
City/State/Zip: _______________________________
Check enclosed for
_____ single CDs x $____ = $______
_____ 2-CD sets x $____ = $______
TOTAL = $______
Please charge the above amount to my MasterCard
or Visa:
#___________________________ Exp. Date: ______
Cardholder’s signature: ________________________
Mail to: AMERICAN RECORDER SOCIETY,Box 631,Littleton, CO 80160-0631, U.S.A. You may fax or call in your credit card order to 303-347-1181.
Order your recorder discsthrough the ARS CD Club!
September 2001 35
The English recorderist John Turner hasrecently recorded some new and interest-ing chamber music on three different CDs.Turner, once a member of the DavidMunrow Consort, has managed to attractmany composers to writing for the re-corder and has been a champion of musicthat he refers to as being in the “Britishtradition.”
In this day and age that tradition is notso easy to define in concrete or even in the-oretical terms. In the early part of the 20thcentury, it could be said to emanate fromthe English folk song discoveries of CecilSharp and the incorporation of Englishfolk song idiom into a modern style byRalph Vaughan Williams. By the time thefirst modern English recorder works werewritten (the late 1930s), the influence ofthis idiom was being challenged by outsideforces and would soon be equally chal-lenged from within by Benjamin Britten,who looked to the composers of the Eng-lish Renaissance period for inspiration. Atany rate, such early modern English re-corder compositions as Lennox Berkeley’sSonatina, Franz Reizenstein’s Partita, andCyril Scott’s Aubade do not fit the Sharp-Vaughan Williams mold.
Today, the “British tradition,” at least inlarge view, can perhaps only be defined ei-ther as an unqualified (other than the na-tionality of its composers) aggregate bodyor in terms of a murky area we generally re-fer to as personality. It is the latter, an elu-sive quality at best, that seems to allow usto consider the majority of works writtenfor Turner to be distinctly British.
Two of the three CDs feature Turnerwith a group that includes Alison Wells,soprano, Keith Elcombe, harpsichord, andJonathan Price, cello. Animal Heaven(Metier MSV 2036), a compilation of songsby six different composers, is the mostconservative. One of its sets of songs—Four Findrinny Songs by Sally Beamish—stays very close to the Vaughan Williamsstyle. Most attractive among the pieces isLyell Cresswell’s Prayer to appease the Spir-
it of the Lamb, written for only sopranovoice and recorder, yet amazinglysonorous for a duet. The title track, Ken-neth Leighton’s Animal Heaven, is alsoquite attractive with nice sounding poly-tonal harmonies.
The same group of musicians appearson the title track of Letters to the World(Metier 92062), a CD featuring the cham-ber music of George Nicholson. The com-position Letters to the World is a large-scaleset of eleven songs that offer interestingtimbres and textures. The ensemble pas-sages imaginatively highlight the texts andare in no way related to what we would ex-pect from a Baroque ensemble with thesame instrumentation. Nicholson’s musicis at its best when it is either tense andscurried or slow, colorful, and impression-istic. The colors available from the ensem-ble are considerably enhanced via the useof different sizes of recorders. This also in-creases the possibilities for timbre modu-lation, a device that Nicholson utilizes ininteresting and sensuous ways. In addi-tion, the same CD contains a solo recorderpiece entitled Spring Song. Its five briefmovements alternate between what thecomposer refers to as “the reflective andthe athletic” and they employ, among oth-er effects, microtones and flutter-tonguing.
The third CD, Dream Carousels (NMCD068), features the chamber music of An-thony Gilbert, one of the finest composersTurner has connected with. The recordingonly contains one piece that uses the re-corder but it’s a gem worth hearing. Itbears the Russian name Igorochki, meaninga little thing to play—a game or a musicalinstrument—and is scored for the unusu-al and intriguing combination of recorder,percussion, cimbalom, guitar, and stringquartet. The first movement, “Lullaby”,sets the wonderfully witty tone of the piecewith its combination of Stravinsky-like dy-namism and Webern-like pointillism.Movement two, “Song,” is a microtonalrecitativo that becomes bird-like towardsthe end. The third, “Dance,” features irreg-
ular and constantly changing meters thatgive the sensation of stumbling out of con-trol while, at the same time, projecting anaura of containment in a surreal, motion-less state. The fourth movement, Improvi-sation, allows the recorder player to im-provise using a collection of given motives(which Turner does brilliantly, by the way)over a static background. The result is astrange polytonal and polyrhythmic simul-taneity. The exciting final movement,“Moto Perpetuo,” features a stream ofoverblown staccato sounds on the bassrecorder.
Growing up with technologyAmong the entrance requirements for
the Virtuoso Recorder Program at theAmherst Early Music Festival is the sub-mission of a demo tape. This year, half ofthe applicants sent in their own home-made CDs instead of the tape.
The disk by one of the applicants,Daniel Koschitzki, included an originalelectro-acoustic and partially improvisedwork called Phoenix. It’s an overly long pre-sentation with too many different ideas butit nevertheless reveals Koschitzki’s un-questionable talent, imagination, and in-genuity.
Also on his demo CD is a version ofFrans Geysen’s solo composition Geroes-terol (written for Geert Van Gele) per-formed with a computer generated hip-hop background. Though the end result allbut obliterates the composer’s intention,it’s also more interesting than the solopiece by itself.
Pete Rose
ON THE CUTTING EDGE___________________________________
The mutable face of tradition
John Turner
36 American Recorder
RESPONSE___________________________________Letters about three composers for recorder
Block RememberedThe obituary for Robert Paul Block in
the May 2001 issue focused primarily onBob as a composer and as an editor of hun-dreds of editions of music, including manyfor recorder. But Bob Block’s contributionsto recorder playing and to the AmericanRecorder Society go far beyond composingand editing.
Bob was music director of the IowaCity, IA, chapter of the American RecorderSociety for several years as it struggled toget on its feet, part of that time for no pay.He spent two decades with the Universityof Iowa’s Collegium Musicum, passing onhis enthusiasm for early music and hishigh standards to several generations ofcollege students.
Bob was also an excellent recorderteacher, and I feel lucky to have studiedwith him. Strict but gentle, Bob ensuredstudents learned good technique withoutmaking them feel bad about mistakes. Welearned to play the scales and correspond-ing arpeggios of every key with whatever al-ternate fingerings were appropriate. Eachtime I play a piece with G flats or B sharps,I mentally thank Bob for all those hours wespent on scales. Lessons were relaxed, of-ten starting with a cup of tea and endingwith Underfoot the cat snoozing on mylap. Even as an adult student, I looked for-ward to receiving the reward for a lessonwell played: a frog stamped on my music.When my recorders had problems, Bob al-ways managed to fix them, usually withnothing more than a bit of wax or a thinshaving of cork.
Bob was a true original. He neverowned a car, getting around by bicycle—a
feat requiring great endurance in the frigidwinters of Iowa and Minnesota. He put upfriends at his house for months or evenyears. He crafted true-voiced Renaissanceflutes out of plastic tubing and old corks.He was as enthusiastic about folk dancingas he was about music.
Bob Block was a wonderful teacher anda wonderful friend, and I will miss himgreatly.
Shauna S. Roberts, memberNew Orleans Early Music Society
New Orleans, Louisiana
Burgess Praised1 was intrigued by Scott Paterson’s ar-
ticle about the recorder music composedby the novelist Anthony Burgess (Septem-ber 2000). As a modest pianist, I can echohis caution that Burgess must have hadrather large hands! Having lived close tohis birthplace, I can also confirm that hewas born amid rows of traditional industri-al terraces. However, the Catholic gram-mar school he attended in his teens pro-vided him with an excellent and supportiveeducation, where his progress in musicaltalent was well appreciated. The school al-so educated boys from prosperous foreignand commercial families, providing a morecosmopolitan environment than experi-enced by most of Burgess’ contemporaries.
There are some other points I wouldlike to add to Mr. Paterson’s account,which I hope will encourage your readersto take Anthony Burgess seriously as acomposer for recorders. First, Burgess ac-cumulated a wealth of practical musical ex-perience, though he never studied musicin an academic institution. He played the
piano and composed music for dancebands, for musical theater, for army en-sembles, and for groups in schools whenhe worked as an English teacher. Certainly,his ability to exploit the different charac-ters of the standard wind instruments isstriking in his later works for wind ensem-bles. He wrote some excellent works forvoice, for similar reasons.
Second, Burgess found his musicalvoice in the 1930s, as Mr, Paterson sug-gests. This was a time when some contem-porary composers thought that Schoen-berg and Stravinsky were already out ofdate (as contemporary book Music Ho!, bythe English composer Constant Lambert,confirms). The young Burgess said he didnot find these composers too difficult, buttoo boring. His later orchestral scores con-firm that he had studied and understoodthe works of virtually every major compos-er in the 20th century.
Third, and perhaps most important Ihope to your readers, is that the compos-er’s son, Andrew Burgess Wilson, plays re-corders himself. As Mr Paterson says, An-drew’s first instruments were the oboe andcor anglais, but he soon turned to playingand teaching recorders at a time when thiswas still unusual. Andrew owns and playsRenaissance, Baroque and modern instru-ments, from sopranino to great bass. Inshort, Anthony Burgess had his own son togive him advice on technical questionsabout the recorder—naturally includingthe ranges of individual instruments. Thegreat bass works that Mr Paterson citedprovide an interesting case; I have seen anearly sonata that really did stretch the in-strument to its limits, in a work Andrewfreely admits he could barely play. On theother hand, I have a tape of Andrew play-ing one of the later great bass sonatas thatshows how much his father had learnedabout writing for this delightful instru-ment. The performance (accompanied ona concert grand by British composer ShielaMcQuattie) is particularly effective inbringing out the singing quality of the in-strument in the slow movement, and was arevelation to me when I heard it in the stu-dio. Certainly, Andrew showed no sign ofstrain when negotiating the topmost notes
I have a tape of Burgess’s son playing one of the later great bass sonatas that shows how much hisfather had learned about writing for this delightfulinstrument. The performance is particularly effective in bringing out the singing quality of theinstrument in the slow movement. Certainly, Andrew showed no sign of strain when negotiating the topmost notes on his own Moeck great bass!
September 2001 37
on his own Moeck great bass! I should addthat I myself have had the pleasure of ac-companying Andrew on a number of occa-sions—when playing the easier pieces.
Indeed, I would not claim that AnthonyBurgess’ recorder music is easy to play. Myguess is that it was usually aimed at playersof the semi-professional standard at whichBurgess played the piano himself. A fewpieces are more accessible, while some ear-ly experiments are almost impossibly diffi-cult. The restless intelligence he displayedin his novels is always present in his music,however, so none of his works, whethereasy or hard-to-play, is uneventful. I hopeyour readers will appreciate that I haveconfined my comments almost completelyto works I have either heard in live orrecorded performance or have accompa-nied myself. I heartily recommend readersto try out Burgess works for themselves inturn—and make up their own mindsabout the quality and enjoyment they canoffer!
Mark BonesHull, England
ED. NOTE: Mr. Bones used to be managingdirector of Saga Music Publishing, Ltd.,but now has no connection with the com-pany nor financial interest in the music ofAnthony Burgess. U.S. inquiries aboutSaga scores should now be addressed to:Elkin Music Services International, 305-522- 3611, ext. 7; 305-522-3609 (fax).
Ocarinas FeaturedThanks for the copies of the Members’ Li-brary Edition of my composition AprèsPaul and for helping with the connection toAR On-Line (www.recorderonline.org). ARdoes indeed look a very grand publication.I see that the March issue has an article onocarinas (“The Clay Pot That Sings,” page9). You may be interested to know that Ihave written three ocarina septets (yet tobe performed). The link to these pieces isat <www.clayz.com/solomons.html>.
David W Solomons Sale, Cheshire, England
ED. NOTE: And there is nothing to keep re-corder ensembles, too, from downloadingand playing these colorful, extendedworks.
Letters in response to material in AR are welcomed. They may be sent to AR Response,
472 Point Road, Marion, MA 02738, or e-mailed to [email protected]. Letters
may be edited for length and style.
The Recorder Magazine
we invite you to visit the sitewww.recordermail.demon.co.uk
�Write or call for free catalogs and specify areas of interest.
Boulder Early Music ShopP.O. Box 428Lafayette, CO 80026
Monday through Friday:10:00 am - 5:30 pm
1822 Powell StreetErie, CO 80516
800.499.1301303.926.4301Fax: 303.926.4302E-mail: [email protected]: www.bems.com
38 American Recorder
PLAY-ALONG CDS FOR RECORDER (cont.)
cially in the second movement, where theharpsichordist (Siegfried Petrenz) createssome really nice effects with rubato and or-namentation. Is there any more sublimeexperience for a wind player than the in-teraction with the violinist in the secondmovement of the Fifth Brandenburg? Thisrecording makes me wish for more orches-tral play-along CDs (as noted, Branden-burgs No. 2 and No. 4 appear as flute play-alongs in the Music Minus One series).
Also recorded by MusicPartner are twoMozart Sonatinas, KV 439b (MP 4555).These are technically (not musically) easyto play. The accompaniment is played byKarl Kammerlander on a modern piano.
Accompaniments for three of the 12 Ve-racini sonatas (F major, G major, D minor)can be found on MP 4965-1. The secondmovement of the first sonata is recordedtwice, once at a breakneck tempo, andagain at the end of the CD at a more mod-erate tempo. Although these accompani-ments are modeled on the Peters Edition,there are some repeats in the printed mu-sic that are not taken on the CD. These aregreat sonatas, challenging and yet fun toplay.
MP 9433 features the Sonata No. 1 in DMinor by Mancini. This is great fun, main-ly because it is one of the technically easiersonatas and easily sight-read by an ad-vanced intermediate player. Of course,performers will need a real live continuoteam in order to play the “cadenza ad libi-tum” at the end of the first movement, asthe CD accompaniment gently leads thesoloist to the final chord with four de-scending eighth notes, leaving no time fora cadenza.
Accompaniments for four Telemannsonatas (F major, B� major, F minor, and Cmajor, all TWV 41) are presented on MP9438. These sonatas are played at somevery fast tempi—especially the Vivace inthe F minor sonata. In the B� major Tele-mann sonata, the opening measures of theAllegro and the Vivace are unaccompa-nied; thus, the harpsichord doubles the re-corder line. The continuo accompanimenton this particular CD is stable and easy tofollow, but is perhaps a bit “dry.” For ex-ample, most performances I have heard ofthe first movement of the B� major sonataare graced with delicately rolling chords in
the harpsichord. I hear no arpeggiation onthe MusicPartner accompaniment. Also,many performances I have heard use vary-ing degrees of notes inégales, especially inthe Largo from the B� major sonata. TheMusicPartner accompaniment is verystraight, and some performers may preferthis. These interpretive decisions weremost likely deliberate, considering the pur-pose of the CD as an aide to rehearsal.However, I believe that the accompani-ments can be a little more daring, andusers can be trusted to listen carefullyenough to play successfully with a moreflowing accompaniment. Sections withinTelemann sonatas where the bass line is incannon with the solo line are brought outnicely in the recorded accompaniment,and come through easily as you play along.
Composers representedIt appears that two composers are over-
represented in the play-along market—Handel and Telemann. The Partita No. 2 inG Major by Telemann is produced byDowani and DiscContinuo. Telemann’sSonata in F Major is produced by Music-Partner, and MMO, and Dowani. The fourstandard Handel sonatas are produced byMusicPartner. Ken Andresen also pro-duces a cassette tape and a printed editionof these sonatas (which I have not heard)that sells for $15.95. While only Music-Partner produces the Handel G minorsonata, the A minor sonata is produced byMusicPartner and Dowani. The F majorsonata is produced both by MusicPartnerand MMO, and the C major sonata is pro-duced by MusicPartner, DiscContinuo, aswell as MMO! This is not surprising, sincethese Telemann and Handel sonatas arestaples of the repertoire, and virtually everyrecorder player learns them. Perhaps themajor companies in the recorder play-along industry might spread out a bit inthe future to include currently unrepre-sented composers.
Susan Groskreutz reviews music forAmerican Recorder and serves as presidentof the American Recorder Teachers Associa-tion. She encourages readers to send hernames of pieces they would like to have in play-along format ([email protected]) andpromises to forward these to the companies.
September 2001 39
QUESTION: I have an adult student whohas difficulty covering the lowest holes on
the alto recorder due to arthritis. Can anyonerecommend an alto recorder with keys, or onewith a shorter finger spread?—C. L., FortWorth, Texas
ANSWER FROM LEE COLLINS: Several choices are available. The Moeck 237R
sycamore alto has double F/F� keys on thefoot. The Adler 2001K and the Aura ZamraVA500K (both of maple) each have a singleF key on the foot. The Adler Filius 443 altohas a slightly shorter finger spread thatshould be easier for older hands, but itdoes not have a foot key—an importantfactor, because I think foot keys will be nec-essary for arthritic fingers.
My firm and several overseas makerscan add keys to middle sections of re-corders, which often help ease the fingerspread. Since most feet have double holes,however, it is usually not possible to addfoot keys that will play both the lowest noteand its sharp. Some makers, including theones above, will sell a player a new keyedfoot to replace an unkeyed foot, if thatmodel is available with keys.
Lee Collins is a restorer and repairer ofhistoric woodwinds.
ED. NOTE: In plastic, the appropriatechoice is probably the Dolmetsch Nova al-to, which has a remarkably small spreadfor the fingers of the right hand, with onlysome loss of power in the low A as a result.
QUESTION: The needlepoint kneeler pro-ject at my church was recently complet-
ed, and the designs are truly beautiful. I wassurprised, though, to see that one of them fea-tures an angel holding a recorder with theright hand on top! Is it possible that the de-signer was given wrong information? Tell me,was the recorder ever played with the righthand on top?—Lenore Wulff, SagamoreHills, Ohio
ANSWER: There’s a danger in trying toidentify musical instruments repre-
sented in works of art. I checked with achurch official who told me that the designwas modeled after a stained glass window
in the National Cathedral in Washington,D.C., and the instrument probably isn’t ac-tually a recorder.
But to answer your question, recorderswere often played with the right hand ontop in the Renaissance. In fact, diagrams inRenaissance treatises (and surviving in-struments) show that recorders were com-monly built to be played with either handon top. That’s where the expression “fluteof nine holes” comes from. There were twoholes in position 7, one on the right side ofthe instrument and one on the left side.Thus, the lowest hole could be covered bythe little finger of either hand. The unusedhole was plugged with wax. And keys onRenaissance instruments were shaped likea butterfly for the same reason.
There are many examples in Renais-sance art of recorders being played withthe right hand on top. One of the threeplayers depicted on the frontispiece ofGanassi’s Fontegara (Venice, 1535), theoldest known recorder method book, isholding his instrument that way. Furtherexamples from France, Italy, the Nether-lands, and Germany are shown in the firsttwo chapters of Anthony Rowland-Jones’sCambridge Companion to the Recorder(Cambridge University Press, 1995). Stillother examples can be see in an article byRowland-Jones in the November 1997 is-sue of American Recorder, which includesphotos of angel musicians painted on altarpieces from 15th-century Spain. Curiously,only three of the ten recorder playersshown in that article are using the normal(for us) left-hand-on-top position.
Carolyn Peskin
ED. NOTE: Even today, some teachers learnto play recorder “wrong-handed” becauseit makes it easier for students to “mirror-image” a teacher standing before them.The one rational reason for preferring aleft-hand-on-top position (leaving asidesome tone-holes drilled off-center andhand-specific keywork on larger instru-ments) is that it makes it easier for fourth-graders to switch to mainstream wood-winds. But given the recorder world’s hopethat the recorder not be considered just apre-band instrument, how rational is that?
Q & A___________________________________ Readers ask two questions related to holding the recorder
40 American Recorder
CLASSIFIED___________________________________
FOR SALE: Moeck Renaissance consort (SATB) innear-new condition, with padded carrying case -$800. Moeck Rottenburgh tenor with padded car-rying case - $300. Moeck bass with padded carry-ing case - $200. Plus several others. Contact: GivCornfield, 701 Koko Isle Circle, Honolulu, HI96825-1812; 808-396-9644; e-mail: [email protected].
FOR EXCHANGE: One-keyed ivory-ring boxwoodtransverse flute for bass recorder comparablevalue. Call Raymond 914-235-8148, or [email protected].
FOR SALE: Heinrich bass recorder, old but playswell. $250. Coolsma Aura alto, Conservatorium,$200. 518-446-0811; [email protected].
FOR SALE: Recorder, Hohner, West Germany, so-lo-Luxus Konzert, original box, 1965. Also, The Re-corder Guide, by Kulbach and Nitka, 1965 OakPublications. Both excellent condition. Contact:[email protected].
AMERICAN RECORDER seeks articles on re-corder: history, performance practice, artists andrepertoire, education, instrument building, etc. Al-so, photographs and reports of news events. Willconsider artwork, poetry, riddles, puzzles. Modesthonoraria by arrangement with editor: Benjamin S.Dunham, 472 Point Road, Marion, MA 02738.Phone: 508-748-1750 (bus. hrs.); fax: 508-748-1928; e-mail: [email protected].
SCHOLARSHIPS for recorder players to attend recorder/early music weekend workshops duringthe year. Apply two months before funding isneeded. Weekend workshop scholarships aremade possible by memorial funds set up to honorJennifer Wedgwood Lehmann and Margaret De-Marsh. Contact ARS, Box 631, Littleton CO 80160;303-347-1120; [email protected].
MUSIC REVIEWERS for AR needed. Reviews mustbe submitted by e-mail or on disk. Please send abrief bio with a list of the types of music you are in-terested in reviewing to Connie Primus, Box 608,Georgetown, CO 80444, or [email protected].
Classified rate for American Recorder: 60¢per word, ten-word minimum. “FOR SALE”and “WANTED” may be included in thecopy without counting. Zip code is oneword; phone, e-mail, or web page is two.Payment must accompany copy. Dead-lines are one month before issue date.Send copy with payment to: ARS, Box631, Littleton, CO 80160.
ADVERTISER INDEXAMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
AMERICAN RECORDER SOCIETY. . . . . . . 27, 28, 29, 34, 40
STEPHAN BLEZINGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
JEAN-LUC BOUDREAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 30
BOULDER EARLY MUSIC SHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
COLLINS & WILLIAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
COURTLY MUSIC UNLIMITED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
DOWANI AMERICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
HONEYSUCKLE MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
KATastroPHE RECORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
KELISCHEK WORKSHOP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
BILL LAZAR, MOLLENHAUER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
KEITH E. LORAINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
MAGNAMUSIC DISTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC
MOECK VERLAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
MOLLENHAUER RECORDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
MUSIC MINUS ONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC
PRESCOTT WORKSHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
PROVINCETOWN BOOKSHOP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
THE RECORDER MAGAZINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
RECORDER SHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
SWEETHEART FLUTE CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
VON HUENE WORKSHOP, INC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
YAMAHA CORPORATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC
DOMINIK ZUCHOWICZ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Where the havesand have-nots
of the recorder world can find each other
CONSIDER ADVERTISING IN
Full page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5002/3 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3651/2 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3001/3 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2401/4 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1801/6 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1401/8 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1051/12 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 751 column inch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 45Web link in AR On-Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20
Circulation: Includes the membership of theAmerican Recorder Society, libraries, and music organizations.
Published five times a year: January, March, May,September, November.
Reservation Deadlines: December 1, February 1,April 1, August 1, October 1.
Rates good through November 2001. Please inquire about discounts on multiple-issue contracts,inserts, or other special requests. Extra charges fortypesetting, layout, halftones, and size alterations.133-line screen recommended. Advertising subjectto acceptance by magazine. First-time advertisers must include payment with order.
For more information, contact Benjamin S. Dunham, Editor472 Point Road, Marion, MA 02738508-748-1750 (bus. hrs.); Fax: 508-748-1928E-mail: [email protected]
PLEASE PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS
SWEETHEART
FLUTE CO.
Baroque Flutes: our own“Sweetheart” modelFifes, Flageolettes
“Irish” Flutes & Whistles.Send for brochure and/or
antique flute list.
32 South Maple StreetEnfield, CT 06082(860) 749-4494
