Music in the world of podcasting

I don’t know about you, but when I’m on the road I often listen to podcasts rather than music to speed me on my way. What began as niche format around 2006, when the first Apple iPod was released, has become a mainstream form of media. Most broadcasters now also share their radio programmes in podcast format, and if you’re willing to spend time searching, there are individuals creating podcasts about a vast array of subjects.

The recorder has yet to feature in many podcasts but, if you’re interested in a variety of music there are plenty of shows that might pique your interest. While the Score Lines blog takes a break, I thought I’d bring together links to some of my favourites - all of them connected to music. Some of these are shows I’ve discovered via my subscribers, but others were already in my library.

While the podcast came about in response to a specific audio device, most of them can also be found via the providers’ websites so I’ll share those here, so as to open them up to as many people as possible - I realise not everyone uses a smartphone or MP3 player. That said, if you want to search for them in the podcast directory on your own portable device, many of them will be available there too.

Let’s make this an ongoing project which we can all contribute to. If you have a favourite music or recorder related podcast I haven’t mentioned here, please do leave a comment below or drop me an email and I can gradually add them into the list below.

The Recorder Podcast

Created by recorder maker Estelle Langthorne, these short episodes give a glimpse into the way recorders are made and how to get the best out of them. Find the Recorder Podcast at www.recorderpodcast.com.

Available to listen via a browser or via podcast apps.

Key Matters

Many thanks to one of my subscribers who led me to this one in response to my blog post about the theory of key signatures. Each 15 minute episode explores a particular key, talking about the characters of each one and some of the music composed with a given set of sharps or flats.

Find Key Matters here.

How to Play

This was another programme suggested to me by a pupil and each episode brings insights into a piece of music from the performer’s perspective. The mix of music covered is wide, but it includes Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (which features the recorder) and other early music too.

Find How to Play here.

The Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

As you’d expect from a classical music magazine (which has been going for over a century now), the Gramophone podcast covers a wide range of musical styles. Some of them talk about the latest recordings, while others feature interviews with composers and performers, but with episodes stretching all the way back to 2009 you’re bound to find something to pique your interest.

Find the Gramophone Podcast here.

Available to listen via a browser or via podcast apps.

This Cultural Life

Another offering from the BBC, featuring In-depth conversations with creative people from the theatre, visual arts, music, dance, film and more. In it the host, John Wilson, invites his guests to talk about the influences on their own creative work. I particularly enjoyed a recent episode featuring the conductor Antonio Pappano.

Find This Cultural Life here.

Available to listen via a browser or via podcast apps.

Add to Playlist

I mentioned this podcast a few months ago in one of my Score Lines emails after the recorder player and flautist Heidi Fardell appeared on the show. Each programme features a playlist of five pieces of music, chosen by the hosts and guests. Each piece of music has a connection to the previous and following pieces and it never fails to amaze me how they are able to create links between apparently disparate styles of music.

Find Add to Playlist here.

Episode featuring recorder player Heidi Fardell

Available to listen via a browser or via podcast apps.

Desert Island Discs

This is surely the best known music podcast and you’ll never run out of episodes. Devised in 1942 by Roy Plomley, it’s been running ever since and there are now nearly 2500 episodes available to listen to in the archive. Each guest chooses the eight recordings, plus a book and a luxury, that they’d wish to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island and the choices can be very revealing. I bet most people have considered their own hypothetical desert islands discs and in the early days of the Score Lines blog I created my own recorder themed one!

Find the Desert Island Discs podcast here.

Available to listen via a browser or via podcast apps.

Tweet of the Day

Ok, I know I’m stretching things here, but there’s long been a connection between the recorder and birdsong in music, so I hope you’ll forgive me this one. These tiny little podcasts were originally devised in 2013 by Sir David Attenborough in 2013 and were broadcast at 6am each day. Each one lasts less than two minutes, but it’s amazing how much you can marvel at learn about different birdsongs in such a short time!

Find the Tweet of the Day podcast here.

Available to listen via a browser or via podcast apps.

Sounding Pipes, Edition 7

It’s all too easy to get pulled into curious rabbit holes on the internet, scrolling endlessly between videos on platforms like YouTube, and it can become a tremendous timewaster. But there are plenty of gems hidden among the nonsense too. Every time I discover something I find interesting I save it, to share with you in my periodic Sounding Pipes playlists. Currently I have a huge list remaining on my longlist, so I think it’s fair to say there’s plenty more to share and inspire you in future editions!

For this seventh edition I’ve pulled together a collection of performances in which the recorder is combined with other instruments - some more surprising than others. We often hear the recorder in partnership with string instruments, but less so with brass or modern woodwind. I think these recordings show just how flexible our favourite instrument really is in the right hands, and I hope you derive as much enjoyment from them as as I have seeking them out to share with you.

Telemann - Concerto in F major, TWV 42:F14

Allegro - Loure - Tempo di Minuett

Croation Baroque Ensemble: Stjepan Nodilo - recorder, Bruno Grošić - horn and the Croation Baroque Ensemble.

Most modern brass instruments would be overpowering when combined with a recorder (although I did once play a duet for sopranino recorder and trombone!) but instruments from the Baroque period have a gentler tone and can be great partners. Telemann was a multi-instrumentalist himself (playing flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba, recorder, double bass and more besides) so he wasn’t afraid to bring together instruments you might otherwise not consider pairing together. Here we have a delightful Concerto for recorder, horn and continuo, which demonstrates the flexibility of earlier members of the brass family.

Gordon Jacob - Suite

Daniel Koschitzki & Clair-Obscur Saxophone Quartet

Back in Edition 2 of Sounding Pipes I shared a movement from Gordon Jacob’s Suite, performed by Annabel Knight with a string quartet - the instruments originally named by the composer. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this new version, where our soloist is accompanied by a saxophone quartet! At face value you’d think four saxes would overpower a single recorder, but a combination of sensitive accompanying and the use of modern recorders makes for a wonderful effect. The tone of a saxophone is just as flexibile as any string instrument, and you can sense there’s a real connection and unanimous sense of intent between Daniel Koschitzki and the members of the Clair-Obscur Saxophone Quartet. I’ve long been a fan of this piece, but I think the use of saxes brings renewed life to the bluesy harmonies of the Pavan and the bossa nova rhythms of the Burlesque (movements 3 and 4 respectively).

Dario Castello - Ottava Sonata

Anna Stegmann - recorder, Inga Maria Klaucke - dulcian & Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya - harpsichord

We come back to the early years of the Baroque period for this Sonata by Dario Castello - part duet, part duel, for two very contrasting instruments. Anna Stegmann chooses a descant recorder to contrast with the dulcian - an ancestor of the modern bassoon - and the effect is enchanting. It may well have been composed originally for violin, but music from this period was often played on a variety of instruments so I don’t think we should have any hesitation in borrowing repertoire this good if it fits our recorders!

Viktor Fortin - Walking the dog

Clémence Grégoire - recorder & Tomás Braun - guitar

This humorous movement by Viktor Fortin is one of four character pieces for bass recorder and guitar, and it proves to be an attractive combination. I can’t help but wonder what breed of dog the composer had in mind when writing this. Thinking of the dogs I’ve met over the years who share these relaxed characteristics, my mind wanders back to the Basset Hound belonging to my clarinet teacher when I was teenager, who used to sing along in my lessons!

Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto in G minor, “La Notte”

Apollo’s Cabinet

https://youtu.be/kV3SnDAPrkA?si=BPZYu9EFtBJiBEXH

Vivaldi composed a good number of concertos for the recorder, but this one for flute is often purloined as a pseudo-recorder concerto too, even though it was originally intended for the flute. Vivaldi’s title, La Notte, conjures up a whole host of images and Apollo’s Cabinet have chosen to focus on the concept of this being a nightmare. The addition of theorbo and some subtle percussion played on a tenor drum add to the colour palette. The dramatic staging just adds a finishing spooky touch!

Which of those did you enjoy the most? I’d love to hear what you thought of my choices in the comments section below. Do you have your own favourite pieces featuring the recorder alongside other instruments? If you do, please do share them so we can all continue our musical explorations!

Arranging and composing for recorder consort

The recorder has a wider range of native repertoire than many instruments thanks to its long history. We have Renaissance consorts (many of which were composed for unspecified instruments so they’re definitely fair game for recorders), a plethora of Baroque sonatas and concertos (even a smattering of consort pieces from the period) and a vast array of works composed since the recorder’s 20th century revival. But still we have a perpetual desire to broaden the range of music we play. This invariably leads us to raid other sources for music we can borrow, including vocal and instrumental repertoire.

If, like me, you want to explore beyond the recorder’s native repertoire you have three choices - transcriptions of pre-existing music, making more creative arrangements or composing something from scratch. Let’s consider each of these in turn…

Transcription

I would class this as a piece where you can take a work and transfer it quite simply to recorders. You might need to change the key of the music (more about that later) or play a little with the parts to make them fit, but otherwise it’s generally a fairly simple process. This approach often works well with vocal music and many Renaissance instrumental works will translate easily to recorders too.

Creative arrangement

In this category you might choose to create a new piece from a tune you already know - for instance combining folk tunes and adding your own twist of creativity. I think this could also include arrangements of music which isn’t immediately obviously suitable for recorders. Perhaps a piece for piano where you have to create individual lines from a more homogenous texture.

Composing

Handel’s manuscript

Here the only limit is your own imagination!

You have complete control over the choice of instruments, style of music, level of difficulty and much more. Whether you feel comfortable composing may depend on your musical knowledge and level of experience, but I would argue there’s nothing to stop you having a go. As with writing a novel, I would suggest you begin by drawing on your own experiences. Perhaps start with your recorder, noodling around with the sort of musical shapes you enjoy playing and if something great comes to you try writing it down. You could begin with a single line and work on from there. Even if you never share the music with anyone else you’ll learn from the experience and it’ll give you a greater understanding of what composers do. You don’t need fancy music typesetting software for this - all that’s required is some manuscript paper, a pencil and eraser. You can even download and print manuscript paper from the internet these days. Blanksheetmusic.net will even insert the clef for you before you print.

I’m going to focus mostly today on arranging as that’s my main area of expertise - I’ve never been much of a  composer. But many of my tips will apply just as much to composing, so if that’s what tickles your fancy do read on…

Let’s say you fancy trying your hand at arranging or transcribing - where’s a good place to start?

Again, personal experience of music can lead you in a particular direction. Is there a piece of music you’ve heard that you’d like to try on recorders? Or maybe you have a favourite composer who neglected to write for your favourite instrument? These ideas may be enough to get you started, but I have some other ideas about the type of music you could mine.

Vocal music

Don’t be overambitious to begin with - pick something simple for your first arrangement. Vocal music often works really well because the range of the human voice is very similar to that of the recorder. Maybe begin with a hymn tune or a simple piece of Renaissance choral music? If you have a work for soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices, the chances are it’ll fit perfectly on descant, treble, tenor and bass recorders.

Renaissance instrumental music

Many pieces from this period don’t specify the instrumentation and may work well on recorders. If the music was originally for viols you might have to change the music from alto or tenor clef to something more familiar. You may find the notes need a little adjustment (shifting occasional low notes up an octave for instance) to fit the recorder. Unless you’re arranging the music for low recorders (tenor downwards) you’ll almost certainly need to shift all the notes an octave higher to make them fit, but we’ll talk about recorder pitch later.

Later music

Music intended for modern orchestral instruments may have lines which are too long for a single recorder to play, but we’ll look at how to cope with this in a while. It’s often tempting to try and fill the classical and romantic gap in the recorder’s repertoire, but sometimes pieces just don’t translate to recorders well. Many years ago I heard Wagner’s Procession to the Minster from Lohengrin played by a brass band and wondered if it might work on recorders. A brass band is a monochromatic ensemble (all the instruments basically make the same type of sound), just like recorders, so it seemed logical. Of course, a brass band has a much wider dynamic range and sadly I discovered a recorder orchestra (even if it’s made up of 130 people) just doesn’t have the same impact as a brass band at full power. It was a useful learning experience though, even if the music has only been used once!

If you’re considering arranging music originally intended for a symphony orchestra it’s worth bearing in mind the effect the transition to recorders may have on the impact of the music. Orchestral music derives a lot of its colour from the use of different instruments - for instance a melody played by a solo oboe against a string accompaniment. With a monochromatic recorder ensemble we lose this variety of colour so you may need to find ways around this. For instance, you could double a line an octave higher (say, a treble line doubled by sopranino) to bring a little sparkle. Some orchestral music will work this way, while other pieces just seem to lose their magic. That said, don’t be afraid to try - if nothing else you’ll learn something in the process!

The example below comes from my arrangement of The Shepherds’ Farewell by Berlioz. You can see that at bar 45 I’ve chosen to give all the music to the lower instruments to create a contrast of tone colour.

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Keyboard music

A recorder transcription of keyboard music which contains clear musical lines (a fugue for instance) can be very effective. On the other hand, keyboard music (whether for piano, harpsichord or organ) can take many forms - single lines for each hand, chords or arpeggio patterns. These can require some imagination and creativity to make them work on recorders, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend keyboard music as the ideal starting point if you’re new to arranging.

The examples below come from Bach’s Little Fugue in C major. The original (on the left) is composed for keyboard, but the different voices are clear within the music so it transfers very easily to four recorder parts (on the right).

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Listen to music for inspiration

As you listen to music ask yourself if you can imagine it being played on recorders. This is where my arrangements often start - sometimes I’ll hear a piece which immediately strikes me as being ‘recorder-like’ in some way. For instance, the Palestrina Sicut cervus I shared as a consort last year was something I discovered via YouTube. Its beauty and simple lines immediately struck me as being recorder-friendly so I went in search of the music.

Where to search for music?

Actually tracking down sheet music has become immeasurably easier over the last twenty years. Once upon a time you had to buy a physical book of sheet music or hope to find it in your local library. Now a search online can be all that’s needed. My first port of call is always the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) which is a vast repository for music that’s out of copyright. If you’re looking for something by a composer who died more than 70 years ago there’s a good chance you’ll find it here.

Other useful sources are the ChoralWiki (previously known as the Choral Public Domain Library or CPDL), 8Notes and the Mutopia Project. All of these sites offer free access to public domain music, but many have a paid tier to remove adverts or allow you unlimited downloads.

Getting started

Whether you’re arranging or composing for the recorder here are some basic pieces of practical advice which will help you get started.

Notation

Recorder notation can be confusing at first and sometimes trips up the unwary. You’ll often hear people talk about recorders in F and recorders in C. This suggests they’re transposing instruments, like the clarinet (which comes in B flat, A and E flat varieties). In reality all the letter describes is the pitch of the recorder’s lowest note. Therefore a recorder in F (treble, bass or sopranino) plays an F if all the finger holes are covered. Unlike real transposing instruments, any note on a recorder is written at its sounding pitch.

This brings us onto clefs….

Recorder clefs

All recorders either play from the treble or bass clef - which clef largely depends on the pitch of the instrument. Generally, any recorder down to the tenor plays from treble clef, while bass and lower use the bass clef. Having said that, some bass and great bass players prefer to play from treble clef so they don’t have to learn to read bass clef.

One small complication is the use of a little 8 above some clefs. This indicates that the instrument in question either sounds an octave (eight notes) higher or lower than the written pitch. This is a purely practical thing, so no one has to read too many leger lines. If descant recorder music was really notated at playing pitch, the lowest note would be in the third space of the stave and the high C would have five leger lines, making it very hard to read! As a result it can look as though treble music is higher in pitch than descant music because it tends to have more leger lines - something often confuses people.

Here’s a chart showing the clefs and sounding ranges of each type of recorder - you can see how using the octave clefs results in far fewer leger lines for some of the instruments:

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Recorder ranges

While we’re thinking about notation, let’s also consider the range of notes you might use for each recorder. For most recorders, the easily useable range is two octaves and a note. Yes, higher notes are possible, but not very user friendly. It’s a good idea to think about the type of players you’re arranging the music for. Professionals should be able to play the entire compass, but if your intended audience is made up of middle of the road amateurs I would go for a more modest range. Fluent players will probably be comfortable with two octaves, but if you’re aiming your arrangement at those who are less confident I would restrict yourself to around an octave and six notes from each instrument’s lowest note.

Here’s another chart showing the written ranges for each instrument. Each instrument shows the range you could expect from advanced players, followed by an easier playing range for those who are less experienced.

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Choose your instruments

Before you start arranging you need to decide which recorders you’re planning to write for. If you have a particular group in mind, do they have the full range of instruments? It’s no good writing a piece for the classic descant/treble/tenor/bass (SATB) quartet format, only to find that no one plays the bass! If you have access to more players, doubling up the inner parts (say, two treble and/or two tenor parts) can add richness to the sound because it allows you to write more layers into the music.

The following example comes from A Thousand Christmas Candles and you can see how the arranger has chosen to have two treble and tenor parts to increase the richness. He also uses octave doubling of the melody (shown by the circled bars) to create greater depth.

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What sort of sound world are you aiming to create? An SATB quartet can be quite high pitched, while a low consort of tenor, bass, great bass and contrabass creates a much mellower effect. If you have enough players at your disposal, doubling lines at the octave can also be an effective way to enrich the sound. This works especially well in Renaissance music where the texture and harmony is often quite simple to start with.

In my arrangement of Bach’s By the Rivers of Babylon I chose to double the tenor melody line on great bass to enhance and enrich the sound.

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Key signatures

Here I would encourage you to be kind! I’m sure you know from experience that playing in keys with many sharps or flats can be difficult on the recorder. This is largely because the accidentals often require forked or cross fingers (think of E flat on the treble, or B flat on the descant). These notes not only have a slightly different tone colour (sometimes weaker) but because such fingerings are more complex they can be difficult to play at speed and tuning can also be more of a challenge.

Many years ago a tutor on a course I attended arranged the Hebrides Overture by Felix Mendelssohn for a massed playing session in its original key of B minor. Two sharps isn’t so bad, but by the time we got to the point in the overture where the music shifts into F sharp minor only a small handful of us were actually able to play the fast moving semiquaver scales in three or four sharps!

Sometimes such difficulties can be overcome by transposing the music into another key entirely. For instance, I’ve recently arranged a part song by Sir Arthur Sullivan, originally composed in A flat - a key signature of four flats. I knew most recorder players would find this very difficult, so instead I shifted every note down a semitone into G major (just one sharp in the key signature) and every group I’ve tried it with has thanked me for my kindness because it’s much more playable!

Beware of troublesome notes

There are a handful of notes which can be particularly awkward, regardless of the playing ability of the musicians and it’s sensible to avoid these if you can.

For example, top F sharp on the treble can only be played in tune by using the top G fingering and then stopping the bottom of the recorder with your knee. (The same applies to top C sharp on the descant). This requires a degree of gymnastics more easily achieved while sitting down, but even then there’s a small risk of clouting one’s teeth with the recorder if you’re not careful! Professional players will be practiced at this technique but less advanced players often hesitate when faced with a top F sharp and the resulting sounds can be very variable. One way around this is to place the line requiring a top F sharp into a descant line, where it will be placed in a more comfortable part of the instrument’s range.

There’s other note which requires less dental jeopardy, but nonetheless is also probably best avoided - top C sharp for the bass recorder. This fingering works well on smaller instruments, but for some odd reason it’s reluctant to speak on many basses - in particular plastic models. If you really need this note to be played by a bass there is an alternative fingering (shown below) which produces a sweet tone, but it can be tricky to find if you haven’t practised using it. Alternatively, slurring to the C sharp from the previous note will sometimes overcome the problem.

A fingering for top C sharp which works on all bass recorders.

Think about the voicing of your musical lines

As I’m sure you’re aware, not every note in a recorder’s range is dynamically equal. The lowest notes are quiet and fragile, while the tones in the upper register are stronger. You can use this to your advantage when arranging. If you need a melody line to sing out from the middle of the ensemble you might be better to place it higher in the range of a tenor recorder rather than low on a treble. This way you can influence the way any one musical line will either pop out of the ensemble or recede into the background.

Dynamics and range

This topic relates to the previous one because you can also use the natural characteristics of the recorder to create dynamic contrasts.

If you want your piece to end with a quiet chord, place the notes low in the instruments’ range. In contrast, if you’re after a triumphant fanfare to finish you’ll be better placing the notes higher in the range for added strength. Equally, if you include dynamics in the music, don’t be surprised if a top C on a descant isn’t played pianissimo - it just isn’t the nature of such high notes!

It’s worth noting that the recorder is capable of playing genuine dynamics, but how successful they are will depend on the ability of your players. Varying the speed of breath creates some dynamic contrast, but the pitch will often slide up or down a little with high or low breath pressures. Advanced players will frequently employ alternative fingerings to combat this issue - for instance playing a slightly sharp fingering for a quiet note so they can blow more gently and remain in tune. For many players this may be beyond their technical comfort zone, so be realistic about your expectations.

Ensure everyone has some musical interest

There’s nothing worse than playing in a consort and realising the descant line is the only one to contain a melody. Yes, accompanying is an important and enjoyable part of ensemble playing, but the joy can wear off if all you have is oom-pah-pahs! When arranging music, do try to ensure everyone has at least a small slice of the action. It might be you’ve chosen a piece to arrange which has a cracking bass melody in the middle section, or perhaps you could decide to give the tenors the tune while the descants and trebles play a light accompaniment above them. Your players will thank you if you give everyone some interest rather than just an accompaniment of long notes.

Get creative with accompanying patterns

If you’re creating accompaniments from scratch rather than just transcribing another composer’s lines, don’t be afraid to play and explore different textures. There is a place for sustained long notes, but sometimes you can add rhythm to create more variety. For instance, an ostinato rhythm (one that repeats) can add a sense of excitement and drive. In this extract from my own Polish Folk Song Suite, I’ve used arpeggio patterns to create a more interesting texture around the melody.

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Articulation and slurs

While the recorder may not have a huge dynamic range, it does excel in its variety of articulation. Using staccato, accents and slurs can add so much character to a performance so don’t forget to employ these in your arrangements.

Recorder players often have a love/hate relationship with slurs - largely because the more complex nature of our instrument’s fingering makes some of them challenging. Most players are happy to play short slurs of two or three notes, but if you choose to use long, melismatic slurs it can be hit and miss whether they’ll be played. If you really want them played as slurs (rather than just indicating the length of a phrase) it’s worth noting this in the score, although that still doesn’t guarantee the players won’t inadvertently cut them down into smaller slurs anyway!

While we’re on the topic of slurs, it’s worth noting that some are harder to play than others. For example a slur across the transition from low register (covered thumb hole) to upper register (pinched thumbhole) can be a little ‘clicky’ because of the number fingers that have to be moved. It’s always good practice to take the time to play through all the parts yourself to see if they work comfortably. Doing this gives you a chance to make any tweaks before releasing your carefully honed work into the wild.

Coping with long melody lines

If you venture into less obvious musical realms (for instance music for orchestral instruments) you’ll sometimes come across melodies which are too wide ranging to be played by a single recorder. This problem can be solved by sharing the melody across two instruments, with a note or two to link up between them. Below you’ll see two examples of places where I’ve done exactly this. The first is from my arrangement of Bach’s Esurientes, where the alto vocal line was a too long to be played comfortably by just the tenor recorder. Here I’ve shared it out between tenor and bass (the red lines show the path of the melody), so the breath demands are easier and the melody is always played in a strong part of the recorder.

My second example comes from an arrangement of Eric Coates’ London Bridge March. He writes a wonderful swooping melody which fits beautifully on the violin, but has too great a range for one recorder. Instead I’ve shared it between treble and tenor recorders and each voice switches back to accompanying figures when it doesn’t have the tune.

Exploring extended techniques

This may be a new term to you, but it describes the way composers sometimes use less traditional methods of playing a recorder. Our instrument is capable of so much more than just blown notes, such tapping the recorder with your fingers, blowing across the labium, using the just the head joint - the possibilities are endless! These effects are often used in contemporary music and can be a great way to create pictorial effects in your music. This example comes from Judith Bush’s Midwinter Miniatures. Holding one’s fingers across the labium creates a whistling tone which enhances the impression of a frozen winter wind whistling through the house and is so effective in performance.

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Extended techniques is a subject large enough for an entire blog, but if this concept intrigues you I encourage you to watch Sarah Jeffery’s video about the topic.

Learn from other arrangers and composers

As you begin your journey as an arranger or composer, one of the best things you can do is to learn from others. Find every opportunity to play in consorts, using the score to see how the composer or arranger has constructed the music. Take note of where the melody lines occur within the ensemble and how the composer/arranger voices the other instruments so as not to obscure the tune. Look at the way he or she uses dynamics and articulation markings to bring light and shade to the music. Exploring music from the inside can be so inspiring.

Listening to music will teach you a lot too. Listening to recorder consorts can open your ears to the way different instruments have an impact on the sound of the music, while exploring repertoire played by other instruments may give you ideas for pieces to arrange.

Always be curious and don’t be afraid to explore unfamiliar types of music - you never know where inspiration will strike.

Talk to other composers and arrangers

The recorder world is a very friendly one and if you meet a composer or arranger at a workshop or playing day the chances are they’ll be only too happy to chat with you. One of the best ways to pick up advice is to ask questions of those who already have experience, so don’t be afraid to speak to people you already know or meet at recorder events.

Over to you…

Is there anything I’ve missed out? Do you still have questions? If so, do leave a comment below and I’ll endeavour to fill any gaps. Or perhaps you’ve already had a go and you have tips of your own. Please feel free to share you thoughts and ideas with us in the comments so we can all learn more about composing and arranging.

Maybe you’ve already made some arrangements or compositions and you want to share them with others? Over the years several of my Score Lines subscribers have contacted me with their own arrangement and compositions and some have appeared in my consorts library, becoming popular downloads. If you have a piece you’re proud of why not get in touch and perhaps we can bring your creations to a wider audience - don’t be shy!

Drama and style - exploring Italian Baroque Sonatas

If I ask you to name a Baroque recorder sonata, which composer would immediately spring to mind? Handel, or perhaps Telemann? They’re two of the biggest names of the Baroque era (what a shame Bach never composed any recorder sonatas to complete the trilogy!) but there were many others who also wrote for our favourite instrument. 

In today’s blog we’re going to visit 18th century Italy to explore some marvellous repertoire from composers who were well respected in their day, but perhaps aren’t household names today. Some of these composers spent their lives working in their home country, but many visited London, which was arguably the place to be for musicians in the early 1700s, and some of them decided to stay. 

It’s been such a pleasure diving into this musical world - at times elegant, often dramatic and always oozing with Italian style. I’ve come up with a playlist of seven recorder sonatas, but each one is part of a longer playlist too. I’ve included a link to each album and I hope perhaps you’ll bookmark them on YouTube so you can explore them further. All are available to stream/download too, and some of them as CDs, so I’ve included links to these too. So sit down with a cup of your favourite beverage (or perhaps a glass of chianti or a cappuccino?) and relax as I transport us to Italy. 

If these inspire you to try them for yourself I’ve dug out links to the music for each sonata, which you can download and print. Many are also available as facsimiles of 18th century editions, which are fascinating in their own right. If you have some spare time, why not print out both versions so you can compare 18th and 21st century notation. Many of them are remarkably easy to read and I love the way these online resources allow us to go back in time and see the notation exactly as the composer would have known it.  

Francesco Barsanti - Sonata in C major Op.1 No.2

Flute Sonatas from the Italian Baroque, Vol. 2 - Frans Brüggen (recorder), Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord), Anner Bylsma (cello)

Warner Classics: 9029527253

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - Modern edition or 18th century facsimile

As recorder players we often borrow music from other instruments to expand our repertoire, but this can create problems. Sometimes the pitch has to be altered and the process of transcribing often results in music which feels less comfortable on the recorder. Happily, Barsanti’s music has none of these pitfalls. Not only were his six sonatas originally composed for the recorder, but the composer was also a talented player of the instrument and you really can tell.

Barsanti (1690–1775) trained as a lawyer in Padua but at the age of 24 he abandoned this career for a life in music, travelling to London, perhaps with composer Geminiani. A talented recorder player and oboist, he quickly found a role in the Haymarket orchestra, where Handel’s operas were produced. He stuck with this until 1735, before moving to Edinburgh for nearly a decade. Here he took up a post with the Edinburgh Music Society and enjoyed the patronage of Lady Erskine. He also married a local woman called Jean (her surname remains unknown) and their daughter Jenny became a well known actress in both London and Dublin. 

Sadly the Edinburgh Music Society wasn’t a rich institution and after receiving a 50% pay cut in 1740, and having several requests for a rise turned down, Barsanti eventually returned to London. After eight years away his previously strong reputation had faded so he agreed to become a violinist in Handel’s opera orchestra. 

An example of Barsanti’s quirky approach to slurs

Fortunately for us, Barsanti’s six recorder sonatas were rediscovered by Walter Bergmann in the 1940s and he published three of them through his work with the publisher, Schott. When you play them it rapidly becomes clear these are the work of someone who really understood the recorder. Not only do the notes lie easily under the fingers, but he has a quirky approach to articulation, adding slurs and staccato to the music where most other composers of the day left such musical decisions entirely to the performer.

The C major Sonata is one of my favourites from this set, recorded here by Frans Bruggen way back in 1972. The opening Adagio is remarkably florid and feels quite operatic at times, with its chromatic moments and highly ornamented lines. The recorder and basso continuo lines are very much equal partners throughout the sonata and there’s a lovely sense of conversation in the Allegro.

Benedetto Marcello - Sonata in F Op.2 No.12

Flauto Veneziano - Dorothee Oberlinger (recorder), Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca

Deutsche HM: 88697988632

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - Modern edition or 18th century facsimile

Benedetto Marcello

Like Barsanti, Marcello (1686-1739) also worked in the law, although Marcello did this in parallel with his musical life under pressure from his father. While living in Venice he was a pupil of Antonio Lotti and followed his teacher in composing a vast array of music, including instrumental pieces, hundreds of cantatas and many operas. Alongside the music his satirical pamphlet Il teatro alla moda (1720) became very popular in his lifetime, although initially it was published anonymously. In it he mercilessly criticises Italian opera of the period, from its artificial storylines, extravagant staging and the vanity of the singers.

He offers the following satirical advice to composers and singers:

"The modern Music Composer should possess no knowledge about the Rules of good composition, except for some principle of universal practice... He should not understand the numeric Musical Proportions, nor the optimal effect of contrary Motions, or the bad Relation of Tritones and augmented Intervals."

"To the Singers – It is not necessary that the VIRTUOSO can read, or write, or have a good pronunciation of vowels, and of single and double Consonants, or understand the sense of Words, etc., but it is better if he mistakes Senses, Letters, Syllables, etc., in order to perform Ornaments, Trills, Appoggiature, very long Cadences, etc. etc. etc."

Ironically, by the time this piece was published Marcello had himself already composed one opera of his own and subsequently wrote several more, although I wouldn’t like to say whether or not he followed his own advice!

This sonata is the final one from his Op.2 set, composed early in his career. Most sonatas from this period comprise three or four movements, but here Marcello goes for five, two of which take the form of dances from the period - a Minuet and Gavotte. He finishes the work with a beautiful Ciaccona, which is based around a repeating four bar bassline. Unlike a ground bass (where the continuo team play the same bassline throughout) in a ciaccona (or chaconne) the accompaniment explores the melodic and harmonic possibilities of this sequence, gradually becoming an equal partner with the recorder line.

Francesco Mancini (1672 – 1737) Sonata No.4 in A minor

Francesco Mancini: Six Recorder Sonatas - Yi-Chang Liang, Machiko Suto & Ensemble IJ SPACE

Claves: CD1907

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - Modern edition or 18th century facsimile

Francesco Mancini (1672-1737) hailed from Naples, and is one of a number of composers who benefitted from Alessandro Scarlatti’s absence from the Neapolitan court between 1702 and 1708. During this time he was Director of the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto and maestro of the Capella Reale. On Scarlatti’s return he resumed his original role as his deputy, finally taking a step up once again on the elder composer’s death in 1725.

I introduced you to Mancini’s charming recorder sonatas in my October 2023 Sounding Pipes playlist, but I couldn’t resist including another of my favourites here, beautifully performed by Yi-Chang Liang. You can sense Mancini’s experience as a composer of opera here, especially in the first movement with its sudden contrasts of mood and tempo.

Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani - Sonata in D minor Op.3 No.12

Upon a Ground - Tabea Debus (recorder), Lea Rahel Bader (baroque cello), Johannes Lang (harpsichord), Kohei Ota (theorbo), Jan Croonenbroeck (organ)

Classic Clips: CLCL12

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - modern edition or 18th century facsimile

Sources of information on Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani (1682-1757) seem to be rather sparse, but he was evidently an active composer, writing lots of vocal music. However, he also produced a collection of twelve recorder sonatas, a handful of which have been edited into modern playing editions.

This sonata is utterly intriguing. The opening Largo is rather abstract in its form, exploring constantly shifting harmonies rather than going for clear melodic lines. This is followed by a typical lively Allegro but from here it becomes ever more dramatic. Movement three is a solo for harpsichord (fully written out in the 18th century edition) which gives the recorder player a chance to breathe and creates a sizeable introduction to the final movement. The Sonata climaxes with an exciting set of variations on La Follia - a popular melodic and harmonic progression which has been used by composers from the 15th century to the present day.

Tabea Debus has chosen to use a large continuo team for this recording, comprising organ, harpsichord, cello and baroque guitar. They play with a remarkably light touch for such a large ensemble and I love the variety of tonal colours they’re able to create. There are moments which feel positively ecclesiastical (recorder and organ for instance) which contrast with other variations played with a sense of wild abandon in keeping with La Follia’s Iberian origins.

Diogenio Bigaglia - Sonata in A minor - descant recorder

Corelli & Co - Parnassus Avenue - Dan Laurin (recorders), Hanneke van Proosdij (harpsichord, organ, recorder), David Tayler (theorbo/baroque guitar), Tanya Tomkins (cello)

BIS: BISCD945

Listen to the complete album here

Sheet music - modern edition.

The majority of solo recorder repertoire from the Baroque was composed for the treble, so this delightful sonata for descant by Diogenio Bigaglia (c.1678-1745) immediately stands out from the crowd. Bigaglia was well respected by his peers (including notable composers such as Vivaldi, Marcello and Albinoni) but today he’s all but vanished into obscurity. He joined a Benedictine monastery in Venice when he was just sixteen, but continued to compose both instrumental and vocal music alongside his role there.

This sonata is probably the best known of his works today, but if this whets your appetite, Bigaglia’s Opus 1 set of sonatas is also worth exploring. The title page labels them as sonatas for violin or flute (meaning recorder) and continuo. This was a common strategy during the Baroque (both Handel and Telemann did the same), perhaps because composer knew the music would work on either instrument, or more likely because it gave the potential for greater sales!

Francesco Maria Veracini - Sonata no.6 for violin or recorder

Vivaldiana - Michael Form (recorder), Dirk Börner (harpsichord), Melanie Flahaut (bassoon) & Delphine Biron (cello)

Pan Classics: PC10255

Listen to the complete album here

Sheet music - 18th century facsimile

Francesco Veracini

Veracini’s Twelve Sonatas for violin or recorder (another multipurpose set, like Bigaglia’s Sonatas mentioned above) were composed for Prince Friedrich August when he visited Italy to recruit musicians for the court in Dresden. Ultimately he hired an entire opera company, including Antonio Lotti as director and the famous castrato Senesino. The company included violinist Veracini, who was reputedly paid a very high salary. Already a well known violin virtuoso, he was required to compose music for the court and in 1717 became Kapellmeister in Dresden.

Veracini had a fearsome reputation, both as a violinist and for his arrogance. A quarrel with one of his fellow musicians led to a fall from an upstairs window which broke Veracini’s leg. There are conflicting accounts of the incident (did he jump or was he pushed?) but it seems the other court musicians were relieved to be rid of Veracini when he fled Dresden afterwards.

In the sonata I’m sharing here, Michael Form creates a virtuosic performance which I imagine would have delighted Veracini. Alongside his reputation as a player, Veracini was widely recognised as a stylish and talented composer. The music historian Charles Burney said of him, "he had certainly a great share of whim and caprice, but he built his freaks on a good foundation, being an excellent contrapuntist". Michael Form has chosen to reflect this ‘whim and caprice’ with his endlessly creative ornamentation and I hope you find his infectious sense of joy as pleasing as I do.

Giuseppe Sammartini - Sonata in F major Sibley No.23

Sammartini - Sonatas for recorder & bass continuo - Maurice Steger (recorders), Sergio Ciomei (harpsichord & organ), Mauro Valli (cello), Christian Beuse (bassoon), Margret Köll (harp), Eduardo Egüez (theorbo & guitar) & Naoki Kitaya (organ)

Harmonia Mundi: HMC905266

Listen to the complete album here

Sheet music - 18th century facsimile

My final Italian sonata comes from another composer who was one of the most respected performers of his time - Giuseppe Sammartini (1695-1750). Originally from Milan, Sammartini spent the majority of his working life in London where he gained a reputation as "the greatest oboist the world had ever known". He was reputed to be able to make the oboe sound like the human voice, such was the beauty of his tone. Like most woodwind players of the day, he also played recorder and flute, working in Handel’s orchestra and many others besides. He later worked closely with Haydn, playing a part in the development of the younger composer’s classical style.

Giuseppe Sammartini

In this sonata, Sammartini’s development of the Baroque style into something even more expressive is immediately clear. Most composers of the period chose a single tempo for each movement, but Sammartini explores the dramatic possibilities of shifting the boundaries. Nowhere is this more evident than the second movement, which veers dramatically between a jaunty Allegro and slower improvisatory sections, packed with extreme emotions. As if this wasn’t enough, he continues with an astonishing Adagio, so dramatic it sounds positively operatic. Having comprehensively wrung out our nerves, the final movement is one of pure joy, allowing us a moment to come back to earth again!

~ ~ ~

There ends our brief sojourn to Italy - one I hope that’s been both inspiring and entertaining for you. It’s easy to be distracted by the big names of the Baroque period, but I hope perhaps this has opened your eyes to some of the other composers who wrote for the recorder. Do you have a favourite Italian sonata I’ve missed, perhaps by another composer? If there are other pieces you would include among your favourites please do tell us about them in the comments below - I’d love to hear which Italian Baroque composers you just couldn’t live without!

Sounding Pipes, Edition 6

With Christmas almost upon us, for this edition of Sounding Pipes I’ve gathered together another eclectic collection of music for you to enjoy during the festive break. Some of them are standalone works, while others are longer programmes you can escape into if you need some time away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas.

J.S. Bach - Cantata: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140

Netherlands Bach Society, directed by Jos van Veldhoven

As recorder players we often ‘borrow’ music from other sources to expand our repertoire - undoubtedly an enjoyable way to broaden our musical horizons. If you’re going to do this I think it’s important to also explore the original source of your music, whether that’s via live performances or recordings. One of my consort videos this week was a trio movement from Bach’s famous Wachet auf Cantata so I’m beginning this edition of Sounding Pipes with a wonderful recording of the entire cantata.

Most people will have at least a passing familiarity with the melody from this cantata’s most famous chorale movement, even if that awareness comes from a series of adverts for Lloyds Bank from the 1980s! That movement is of course just a small section of a much longer work, so this live performance helps put it into context. If you play a lot of Baroque music (and most recorder players do) I encourage you to listen to repertoire from this period as more than just background music. It doesn’t necessarily need to be played on recorders - music for any instruments or voices can help us learn more about stylish phrasing and articulation, especially when performed in a historically informed way.

Corelli Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.8 Christmas Concerto

Dorothee Oberlinger and Tabea Seibert with Sonatori de la Gioisa Marca

While I’d like these playlists to be something you can dip back into at any time of year, I wanted to include at least one Christmas related piece. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto is another very famous work, originally composed for a trio of solo string instruments (two violins and cello) with string orchestra. It’s been purloined by many different instruments but this particular arrangement is one made back in the 18th century, when the work was still quite new. Playing the solo violin lines on recorders creates a very different soundworld, and this performance has oodles of energy and drive.

Anton Bruckner - Vexilla regis prodeunt, WAB 51

Quartet New Generation Genuin GEN89143

After all that Baroque energy we come another borrowed piece, but with an altogether calmer mood. Bruckner’s choral music often fits well on recorders - the range of the human voice is comparable to the recorder and his legato melodic lines suit the instrument comfortably. Here Quartet New Generation play Vexilla regis prodeunt on a consort of low recorders and their low, mellifluous tones are just magical. The end result is perfectly tuned and is distinctly reminiscent of an organ played on its flute stop. Take a moment to stop the world, close your eyes and just let this glorious sound wash over you!

Richard Harvey - Concerto Incantanto

Michala Petri (recorders) with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, directed by Jean Thorel OUR Recordings 6220606

If you’re not already familiar with Richard Harvey there’s a good chance you might either have heard some of his film and TV music or have heard his playing in the soundtracks of films such as Harry Potter or The Lion King. He’s a fantastic recorder player and his disc of Vivaldi recorder concertos was one of my favourites when I was a teenager.

In 2009 he composed Concerto Incantanto for Michala Petri and there’s undoubtedly some film music magic going on here. Listening to the work I also spotted echoes of more traditional recorder music, including a snippet (intentional or otherwise) from Walter Leigh’s Sonatina for recorder. So often recorder concertos are just accompanied by strings, but here Richard Harvey uses a broader colour palette, incorporating woodwinds, harp, celeste and percussion to create a fantastical soundworld. Digging around on the net I also found this adorable clip from the world premiere performance where he joins Michala Petri on stage, recorder in hand, to whip through a Handel trio sonata, playing on two sopraninos with strings accompanying!

In this YouTube playlist you get an added bonus as the album also includes Sir Malcolm Arnold’s Recorder Concerto and Gordon Jacob’s Suite for recorder and strings. I’ve featured the latter piece in an earlier Sounding Pipes playlist but it’s always interesting to compare different versions of works. The Arnold Concerto is a typically dynamic piece of music and one I once heard it in the presence of the composer himself in Harrogate when I was a teenager. I was blown away by his writing and naturally went to tell him how much I’d enjoyed it, although I seem to remember he seemed distinctly underwhelmed by my naive, youthful enthusiasm for his music!

The Flanders Recorder Duo in concert

Recorded on 24th October 2021

You’re no doubt familiar with the Flanders Recorder Quartet, but did you know that Tom Beets and Joris Van Goethem have continued performing as a duo since the quartet gave their final performance in 2018? Their enthusiasm for discovering fresh duo repertoire is infectious and their programming uniquely creative. Recent projects have included a CD, editions of the music they play and a new CD recorded with the composer Sören Sieg, which is due for release in 2024 - you can find lots of information about all of these on their website here.

The video below is a concert programme featuring a huge mix of repertoire, from medieval to the current century. Alongside music by Bach and Telemann, you’ll find Vaughan William’s Suite for two pipes (a welcome addition to the more familiar one for four), melodies from Renaissance Spain and Glen Shannon’s dynamic Slingshot. Both the music and the instruments are engagingly introduced by Tom and Joris, leaving me wanting to explore more of this music myself. If you’ve never met them in person, this is a great glimpse of their creative teaching style. If the chance comes to work with them I recommend you grasp the opportunity with both hands!

Find an hour to sit down with this in a comfy chair with a cuppa or a glass of something warming and it’ll be time well spent…

Morning joy

Short animated film directed by John Henry Hinkel.

Here we have something a little different, but still with a recorder connection. This short film introduces us to a recently widowed composer who’s depressed. His attempts to compose come to nothing until he finds himself being serenaded by a bluebird, whose voice is performed by recorder player Charlotte Barbour-Condini. The film contains barely a word of dialogue who needs language when music and storytelling are combined so beautifully….

That wraps up Edition 6 of Sounding Pipes and I hope you’ve enjoyed my selections. I know YouTube can be a huge time waster, but if you look in the right places it can also be a wonderful source of musical inspiration. If you have favourite performers you enjoy listening to why not share them in the comments below and we can all go exploring online - who knows, some of them may find their way into future playlists here!