Sounding Pipes, Edition 3

As we approach the Christmas holiday I thought I’d share another of my occasional recorder playlists for you to explore. Once again, I’ve spent some time exploring my own CD collection for inspiration, as well as noting some of the gems YouTube and my various music streaming services spontaneously offer up to me.

As you already know, I enjoy an eclectic mix of music and while all of my recommendations today include the recorder, some of them aren’t necessarily repertoire you might immediately associate with our favourite instrument! There should be something for everyone and hopefully these tracks may inspire you to explore further to widen your own listening habits.

Happy listening!

John Dowland - Lachrimae Pavan (Flow my Tears)

The Flautadors Recorder Quartet - Cynthia's Revels (First Hand 2015)

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You may well be familiar with John Dowland’s melancholic lute song, Flow my Tears, or perhaps his consort version, Lachrimae Pavan. This achingly beautiful melody became very well known and has been used in compositions by countless other composers. Jacob van Eyck wrote two sets of variations upon the melody which were published in his collection Der Fluyten Lusthof in 1644. One can imagine how doleful they must have sounded, echoing off the walls of Utrecht Cathedral as van Eyck played them to passersby in the churchyard. In this beautiful recording The Flautadors have chosen to combine Dowland’s music with van Eyck’s divisions, creating a weaving line above the sonorous harmonies.

Colin Touchin - Manchester Welcome

Three Teacher's Recorder Orchestra, conducted by Colin Touchin, 2008.

The death of Colin Touchin this autumn was a sad moment for the recorder world and I wanted to share one of his pieces with you to remember him. Colin was a friend and mentor to me for many years, and well known in the recorder world for both his compositions and conducting. I worked with Colin for nearly a decade as part of the tutoring team for the National Youth Recorder Orchestra and learnt a lot from his precise and economical conducting style. Watching this video reminded me of some the conducting techniques I learnt from Colin. All conductors ‘borrow’ ideas from each other and I fondly recall a moment in a rehearsal where Colin commented that the tenors missed their entry because he hadn’t twitched his elbow. We all chuckled, thinking that was preposterous, but when he gave a twitch on the second try they miraculously came in, bang on time! That taught me an important lesson about the importance of clear gestures when conducting and I’ll miss the opportunity to learn more from Colin in the future.

Manchester Welcome was the second time Colin had composed a piece for a Society of Recorder Players national festival. The first piece, Staffordshire Festival, came in 1991 and had no contrabass part because such large instruments were still relatively rare then. Fast forward to 2003 and we had a vast hall of players, including a phalanx of contras and Colin was able to make use of these enlarged forces to create a full scale orchestral piece. The excitement was palpable, enhanced by the fact that we were playing in the hall of the Manchester school where Colin had learnt the recorder as a youngster.

J.S.Bach / Benedetto Marcello Oboe Concerto BWV 974

Simon Borutzki, Lea Rahel Bader, Magnus Andersson & Laute Clemens Flick - Bach all’ italiano (Klanglogo 2016)

I first encountered Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D minor as a teenager, when a college friend of mine performed it in a concert, and its haunting melody has been a firm favourite ever since. the film director Sydney Pollack was evidently a fan too, as it appears in the soundtrack of his film The Firm - a solitary piece of orchestral music in a score that’s otherwise entirely played on the piano.

Even in the 18th century, Marcello’s music was already being borrowed for other purposes. J.S.Bach chose several concertos by Italian composers and arranged them for solo harpsichord. It’s this version which German recorder player Simon Borutzki has used to create his own interpretation for recorder. You may recall we saw also Simon in action in my last Sounding Pipes playlist, conducting the Berlin Recorder Orchestra in a Rossini Overture.

Lennox Berkeley Sonatina

Jill Kemp & Aleksander Szram - English Recorder Works (Music & Media 2013)

We take the recorder’s huge repertoire of contemporary music for granted these days, but during the early days of the instrument’s revival new works were hard to come by. In 1938 one of Edgar Hunt’s recorder students, Manuel Jacobs, wrote the following in an article in the Musical Times under the pen name Terpander:

“It cannot be too much insisted that if the health and strength of the present recorder revival is to be maintained, the revival itself must be recognised as essentially a contemporary phenomenon and contemporary music must be written for it. Seen and treated purely as an object of antiquarian interest, it will die the speedy death that all movements which reply too exclusively and too morbidly on the past and its associations deserve to die. Actually the recorder is less remarkable for its ‘antiquity’ than for the accommodating way it fits into its 20th century surroundings.”

Jacobs was obviously a very persuasive character and his efforts resulted in works for the recorder by many young composers of the day, including Lennox Berkeley, Stanley Bate, Christian Darnton, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Eve Kisch, Walter Leigh, Peter Pope, Alan Rawsthorne and Franz Reisenstein. Many of these works are still in print today, although some have aged better than others.

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Lennox Berkeley composing at the piano

Lennox Berkeley’s Sonatina received an informal first performance by Carl Dolmetsch at the London Contemporary Music Centre in June 1939, just twenty years after Arnold Dolmetsch made the first modern recorder. Earlier in 1939 Dolmetsch gave the first of his Wigmore Hall recitals and, frustrated by the dearth of modern music, he composed a Theme and Variations of his own to fill this gap in the programme.

At his second recital there, in November 1939, the Berkeley took pride of place in the concert, receiving its public premiere, starting a pattern Dolmetsch would continue for five decades. At his annual Wigmore Hall recital, Dolmetsch would perform newly composed repertoire - some 32 pieces in all. I went to his final recital at the Wigmore Hall in October 1989, where he premiered Variants on a Tune of HH - a reference to the composer Herbert Howells.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Berkeley’s Sonatina. It may be one of the earliest 20th century works for recorder, but it’s stood test of time and remains a great piece of music. There may be moments which show a less than perfect understanding of the instrument (top F sharps and occasional unsympathetic chromatic passages) but I think we can forgive these at a time when the recorder’s capabilities weren’t yet well understood. I’ve shared the first movement below, but you can listen to the whole work, along with other works by Malcolm Arnold, Gordon Jacob and York Bowen here.

Guus Haverkate - The Marmalade Cat

Tom Beets & Recorders Incorporated

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Photo by Helen Hooker

Just this week I reviewed The Marmalade Cat for The Recorder Magazine so it was fresh in my mind when I started writing today. Haverkate is a composer you may well have come across, either through his other ensemble repertoire, or perhaps his modern studies for recorder. His music often has a pictorial quality, conjuring up mental images of an ongoing storyline. The laid back big band jazz style of The Marmalade Cat makes me think of a larger than life ginger tom cat sauntering along the street on a warm day, stopping occasionally for a wash and a spot of relaxation time in the sun.

Tom Beets recorded this performance with his orchestra, Recorders Incorporated, in Wells in January 2020 and I just love its laid back feel and Tom’s relaxed conducting style. Grab a cuppa, turn up the volume, sit back and enjoy some chilled out recorder jazz!

John Williams - The Cantina Band from Star Wars

Orlan Charles

My final choice today should put a spring in your step, although I must warn you may be humming the tune for days! This is one of those videos thrown up for me by YouTube and it immediately made me smile. Orlan Charles is a Brazilian recorder player and flautist who performs a huge variety of music, as well as arranging for many different types of ensemble. This arrangement of the Cantina Band music from Star Wars is one he recorded four years ago and it showcases his recorder playing, body percussion and some choreography too. As someone who spends a lot of time creating multitrack videos I can’t help feeling I need to raise my game after watching this!

So there you have six pieces to entertain and inspire you - some serious, some much less so! I hope you enjoyed them - drop a comment below to let me know which one’s your favourite. While you’re doing that, why not let me have any suggestions for future editions of Sounding Pipes. Perhaps you want more recorder orchestra music or repertoire from a particular period? I’m open to ideas and I’m all ears!

Composer focus - George Frideric Handel

I imagine most recorder players are familiar with at least some of Handel’s sonatas - which is your favourite? They’re a staple of the recorder’s Baroque repertoire and, while we’re not averse to borrowing music from other places, it’s always a pleasure to return to music which was genuinely written for our instrument, if only because it fits the instrument like a glove.

This week’s blog explores the history of these sonatas, revealing a fascinating tale of underhand publishing practices. We’ll also take a closer look at the individual sonatas and some performances which I hope will inspire and delight you. If you’ve not yet played these delightful pieces maybe this will inspire you to explore further…

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Handel’s neat manuscript in his fair copy of the F Major Sonata

Handel wrote his six recorder sonatas around 1712, the period when he moved permanently to London. Autograph manuscripts still exist for all six sonatas (although the C major Sonata manuscript is missing two pages), stored at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the British Museum. The manuscripts for the first four Sonatas (G minor, A minor, C major and F major respectively) are neat and clear. They’re written on Italian paper of the type Handel would probably have bought on his travels in Italy in the early years of the 18th century. The style of script is that used by Handel when writing up fair copies of his works, although not long after this he began to use a copyist to do this on his behalf.

In contrast, the manuscripts of the B flat major and D minor sonatas are much less tidy - evidently working copies from Handel’s compositional process. As you can see in this example from the D minor Sonata, there are definite drawbacks when you have to work in ink rather than pencil…

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Corrections in the D Minor Sonata manuscript

The rocky road to publication

The story behind the early publications of Handel’s recorder sonatas is full of subterfuge and industrial espionage.

To the uninformed eye it would be easy to assume the first person to publish Handel’s sonatas was Jeanne Roger, in Amsterdam. But appearances can be misleading….

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John Walsh’s fake cover for his first edition, supposedly published by Jeanne Roger.

Around 1730 English publisher, John Walsh (c.1665-1736) acquired a copy of Handel’s sonatas ‘without consent or approbation’ of the composer. He was keen to publish them, but the two men weren’t on good terms at the time. Walsh had a previous arrangement with Jeanne Roger to engrave some of Handel’s harpsichord music on her behalf which she then published with her own title page. This happened around 1719, just three years before Roger died.

Sometime between 1726 and 1732 Walsh went ahead and engraved his own edition of the recorder sonatas, even though he didn’t have Handel’s consent. To overcome this he used the same strategy, creating a title page emulating that of Jeanne Roger. The typesetting within the music itself is clearly that of Walsh’s own engravers, but the earlier arrangement with Roger must have given him the confidence to make this edition with a fake Roger title page. Of course, he would also have known by this stage that Jeanne Roger had died in 1722 so she couldn’t complain even if she wanted to!

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Walsh’s second edition

In time relations between Handel and Walsh improved and the Englishman, and in 1732 he was able to publish a new and improved second edition. A lot of the errors Walsh’s engravers introduced to his illegal edition were corrected here, although some of the changes are dubious, contradicting Handel’s own manuscripts.

On the death of John Walsh senior in 1736 his son, also called John, took over the business. His relationship with the composer was less troublesome, and Handel probably realised his music was going to be published by Walsh whether he liked it or not. Editions created by John Walsh junior contain fewer errors, suggesting perhaps Handel was also involved with their creation. In October 1739 he was finally appointed as Handel’s sole publisher for the next fourteen years.

Walsh’s position as Handel’s official publisher was no doubt a positive arrangement for both men, and Handel later dedicated his Op.4 organ concerti to Walsh. The business thrived under his auspices, often selling the work of other publishers and absorbing smaller publishers upon their liquidation. When he died in 1766 he left £40,000 (about £5.5M in today’s money) and the publishing business continued with William Randall at the helm.

I’ve collected the various manuscripts and early editions together so if you’re interested in exploring them further you’ll find them in the Resources section at the end of this blog.

Why no mention of recorder on the title page?

Walsh’s new ‘official’ edition didn’t just contain the recorder sonatas we know today, but included no fewer than twelve ‘Solos for German Flute [what we think of today as flute], a Hoboy [oboe], or Violin, with a Thorough Bass for the harpsichord or bass violin.’ Walsh, was a canny businessman and wanted to sell as many copies as possible, so it made sense to advertise the music as being suitable for several instruments.

The recorder’s popularity in England was waning by this time, so he evidently didn’t feel it worth mentioning the recorder (or flauto as it would have been known in England) on the title page. However, the sonatas intended for our instrument are clearly marked ‘flauto’, even if Walsh wanted his buyers to consider playing them on other instruments too.

By 1734 Walsh was advertising these sonatas as Handel’s Opus 1, although this classification was never used by Handel and never appeared on the title page of any publication. Between 1978 and 1986 Bernd Baselt created a comprehensive catalogue of Handel’s music, listing every known piece in musical categories with HWV numbers. The recorder sonatas’ numbers range from 360 to 377, mixed in among Handel’s solo sonatas for other instruments.

Recorder sonatas as exercises for a royal princess

There’s a theory that Handel may have used some of his recorder sonatas as exercises in basso continuo playing.

Between December 1725 and April 1726 Handel made fair copies of some exercises in figured bass and fugal composition - probably for teaching purposes. It’s thought perhaps they were made for Princess Anne, King George II’s daughter, a pupil of Handel’s who’s known to have been a fine harpsichordist and skilled continuo player. These exercises were made on the same paper as the fair copies of his recorder sonatas, as well as having similarities in calligraphy so maybe he wrote them out at the same time?

At this time the keyboard player would have created their part using the bassline, adding chords as indicated by the figures beneath the music. These numbers are a shorthand to tell the harpsichordist which chords to play above the bassline but it wasn’t uncommon for them to be quite infrequent and imprecise. The bass lines for the four sonatas (those in G minor, A minor, C major and F major) in Handel’s fair copies are unusually well figured (as well as being neatly written) and it’s been suggested they were perhaps used as additional teaching tool for use with the Princess, and maybe other pupils too.

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The first page of the G minor sonata, showing the copious amounts of figured bass. Click on this or any of the images to see them enlarged.

Why shouldn’t you use a good tune more than once?

We’re familiar with the concept of recycling to help the planet these days, but Handel was doing this with his music two and half centuries ago. Not content with using a good tune just once, sometimes he’d give a second or even third life to melodic lines! Every one of the recorder sonatas is reused in some way or another. Sometimes Handel just recycles a single line. For instance the bassline of the opening movement of the A minor Sonata is a reuse of the bass from Pur ritorno a rimirarvi, an aria from his 1709 opera Agrippina.

In contrast, the three complete movements of the B flat major Sonata do double time. The opening Allegro is used in 1726 in the Overture to Scipione. Meanwhile, the second movement became the slow movement of an organ concerto in 1735. Finally, the third movement also serves as the third movement of a Violin Concerto in A major in 1712 - around the same time we believe he wrote the recorder sonatas.

Take a listen to this recording of the Overture to Scipione and you’ll hear not just the B flat Sonata, but the second movement of the C major one too!

Let’s now take a look at the six sonatas in turn and I’ll suggest some recordings you might find inspiring and entertaining too.

Sonata in G minor, HWV360

In the first of his recorder sonatas Handel follows the typical Baroque pattern of four movements, alternating slow and fast tempi. The second movement is only marked Andante, but the music is energised from bar five, when the bass sets off in a sequence of semiquaver passages. Handel continues to give the bassline a good workout in the fourth movement, with a moto-perpetuo of running quavers while the recorder parts jogs along in a more relaxed fashion above.

These Sonatas can be accompanied in a variety of ways. The most familiar combination is to have a cello or viola da gamba playing the bassline, with harpsichord completing the harmonies indicated in the figured bass. However, there’s no reason why you can’t use different combinations, as we’ll see in some of the other recordings I’ve chosen. In Pamela Thorby’s performance she’s chosen a simple organ accompaniment, provided by Richard Egarr. I love this low key approach in this particular sonata and it complements the melancholic mood beautifully.

Pamela Thorby (recorder) and Richard Egarr (harpsichord and organ) - Handel Recorder Sonatas Linn Recorders CKD223

Sonata in A minor, HWV362

The bassline always played a crucial role in the Baroque era, setting the music’s rhythmic and harmonic shape. This is certainly true of the A minor Sonata but it also takes an equal melodic role with the recorder. This is especially true in the opening Larghetto, where it creates an athletic yet lulling counterpart to the recorder.

The rhythm in both parts is a curious mix of dotted rhythms (both dotted crotchets and dotted quavers) and triplets. If played exactly as notated the result is very angular and lacks flow, so in practice it’s usually evened out to create a lilting meter which feels more like a 9/8 time signature. The process of playing a different rhythm to that notated can be discombobulating to newcomers. I recall a class of mine at summer school many years ago tying themselves in knots about the exact mathematical length of each note! Handel probably notated the music this way for simplicity, knowing players of the day would understand he meant them to rationalise the rhythms to create a flowing line. Our twenty first century eyes and brains are used to playing precisely what the composer wrote and it can feel strange to veer away from this.

Take a careful listen to Dan Laurin’s beautiful performance and you’ll hear how he makes the dotted quaver rhythms relaxed and triplety, while the dotted crotchets are slightly over-dotted. The result is that everything seamlessly flows along with the triplets.

Dan Laurin (recorder), Hidemi Suzuki (cello), Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord/organ) - Handel The Recorder Sonatas BIS Records BISCD955

The remainder of the Sonata is just as wonderful. The second movement bounces along for the recorder, while the bassline has a real workout with never ending runs of broken chords. I recall accompanying a pupil for this movement at school many years ago with a piano whose key action was rather heavy and those semiquavers nearly crippled me! Played on a harpsichord though it’s great fun and gives an amazing sense of drive to the music.

Sonata in C major, HWV365

In his third sonata Handel diverges from the familiar three or four movement format, throwing in a fifth for good measure. The opening Larghetto is a glorious melody, accompanied by a walking bass - the perfect opportunity to try out some melodic ornamentation through the musical sequences. Perhaps the most creative take I’ve ever heard on this piece was during a concert at the Northern Recorder Course. Daniel Koschitzki finished his recital with what we thought was a performance of this Larghetto as an encore. Accompanied on the piano, the harmonies gradually became more exotic, and before our ears the music morphed effortlessly into a jazz rendition of Somewhere over the rainbow!

In this recording Stefan Temmingh sticks with Handel’s original harmonies, but creates a wonderfully dramatic performance through his creative ornamentation and by responding flexibility to the dramatic moments in the harmonies.

Stefan Temmingh (recorder) & Wiebke Weidanz (harpsichord) - Handel The Recorder Sonatas Accent ACC24353

The movement that follows is a tremendously exciting conversation between the recorder and bass lines. This Allegro really needs a one in a bar feel to make it swing along and it’s important to look out for the many hemiolas along the way. The fourth movement purports to be a Gavotte, although I suspect most Baroque dancers might find it a little busier than other Gavottes of the period. Maybe this is Handel’s nod to the active theatre scene in 18th century London, as it wasn’t unusual for operatic overtures to include dance movements. The Sonata ends with a bonus fifth movement - another whirling piece in 3/8 which arguably makes more demands of the continuo team than the recorder player!

If you’d like an alternative view of the recorder sonatas, I found this fascinating curiosity while exploring. Tatty Theo has purloined the sonatas (as indeed recorder players are so often used to doing with music for other instruments!) for the cello and, despite the lower pitch I think they translate very well.

The Brook Street Band - Handel Sonatas for Cello Avie AV2118

Sonata in F major, HWV369

The F major Sonata is often the place recorder players begin their journey with Handel. The music may be less technically demanding but there are some beautiful melodic lines and lots of opportunities to explore the possibilities in terms of ornamentation. The opening movement in particular is a wonderful blank canvas for you to experiment with ornamentation - not just cadential trills, but adding melodic shapes too.

Olwen Foulkes’ recording of this Sonata comes from a disc, Directed by Handel, devoted to the music performed in the London theatres where Handel worked. I’ve chosen the joyful Gigue which is yet another piece where Handel chose to recycle a good tune. The opening bars of this movement also appear in a trio sonata for two recorders which you may already have explored when I shared it as a ‘trio minus one’ earlier this year. You can find the music and videos for the Trio Sonata here if you want to try it out for yourself.

Olwen Foulkes (recoder), Nathaniel Mander (harpsichord), Carina Drury (cello), Tabea Debus (bass recorder) & Toby Carr (theorbo) - Directed by Handel Barn Cottage Records

Handel’s theatre work brings us to yet another reuse of the F major sonata - this time as an organ concerto. Handel used several organ concertos as interval music for theatre performances of his oratorios in 1735, and in the Op.4 No.5 Concerto he simply reuses this Sonata wholesale, just adding a short a introduction to each movement.

The Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr (organ & direction) - Handel Organ Concertos Op.4 - Harmonia Mundi HMU807446

Sonata in B flat major, HWV377

Handel’s B flat major Sonata is often known as a ‘Fitzwilliam Sonata’ (along with the D minor) on account of Thurstan Dart’s discovery of the manuscript at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge in 1948. This is the smallest of Handel’s sonatas, with just three movements, and is one of the works where we get to see his compositional process at work. In the snippet below, taken from the manuscript of the third movement, you can see Handel initially wrote a string of rising arpeggios. But later he returned to the work, crossing out the middle note of each group to simplify it to a crotchet-quaver pattern. I performed this very Sonata last month and I chose to add some arpeggios at this very point as ornamentation. it was only when I began researching this blog post that I realised that I’d unknowingly reinstated Handel’s originally musical idea as my arpeggios were identical to those shown below - what a spooky coincidence!

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One of the challenges when performing this particular sonata is getting a good balance between recorder and continuo, especially in the two Allegros. The recorder part is quite low in places, often at moments when the bassline is very active. David Antich overcomes this problem by using lute, cello and organ to play the continuo line. This creates a positively ethereal sound world and the gentler articulation of the organ reveals details which can be lost under the clatter of a harpsichord.

David Antich, Mediterrània Consort - Complete Recorder Sonatas IBS Classical IBS32022

Sonata in D minor, HWV367a

The final recorder sonata is also the longest - weighing in at an impressive seven movements! Two movements really stand out for me, the first being a Vivace in 3/2 time. Handel has bags of fun here, playing with syncopated rhythms in both the recorder and continuo. There are hemiolas galore and a number of phrases where you could also choose to explore the boundaries between the notated 3/2 time signature and bars which look more like 6/4.

Here I feel David Antich perfectly captures the sense of excitement and drive Handel wove into this wonderful music.

In both of Walsh’s editions of Handel’s Sonatas, this particular work appears in B minor for the flute, although the manuscript held at the Fitzwilliam Museum clearly shows Handel also intended it to be played in D minor on the recorder. Erik Bosgraaf takes a hybrid approach on his disc of Handel’s Sonatas by performing the B minor version on a voice flute - a tenor recorder in D. The effect is ravishingly beautiful, with Erik’s golden tone and effortless musicality. Perhaps the most astonishing movement though is the third - a Furioso which lives up to its name with a truly virtuoso performance!

Erik Bosgraaf (recorder), Ensemble Cordavento - Baroque Edition Brilliant Classics 96440

Resources:

When it comes to modern editions of Handel’s Sonatas there are many available, but two stand out for me.

Handel - The Complete Sonatas (Faber)

You really can’t go wrong with the 1979 volume of all six, edited by David Lasocki and Walter Bergmann. The volume contains reams of background information about the music, as well as clearly showing the differences between the various manuscripts and early published editions, allowing you, the performer, to make informed musical decisions.

Handel - Four Sonatas Op.1

A second edition worth looking at is Edgar Hunt’s volume containing the Sonatas in G minor, A minor, C major and F major. Edgar’s first edition of these works was published in 1940, when interest in early music was just beginning to grow. Forty years later he updated the edition, removing most of the editorial suggestions included in 1940 and offering a straightforward, un-distracting continuo realisation by harpsichordist Maria Boxall. The edition also comes with a printed copy of the Walsh edition so you can compare the two.

One curiosity of this edition is Edgar’s approach to the A minor Sonata, where he attempts to clarify the notational issues I talked about earlier. Here he converts the original 3/4 time signature to 9/8, evening out the dotted rhythms and triplets as most performers do in any case. This approach will probably infuriate Baroque notational purists, but some may find this less confusing, and you can always refer back to the facsimile of the Walsh edition to compare with Handel’s original rhythms.

Returning to 18th century sources

If the thought of playing from the music as Handel would have known it appeals to you, there are several options. With the exception of the C major Sonata (which is missing a couple of pages) it’s possible to work from Handel’s own manuscripts as all are available online. I’ve collected all six together into one PDF file which you can download by clicking on the button below.

If Handel’s handwriting is a little too scruffy for you to read, you could try the two 18th century editions I talked about earlier. For someone who’s used to reading 21st century computer typeset music these facsimiles may feel a little alien, but once you tune your eye into the noation they’re remarkably easy to interpret. Both these and Handel’s manuscripts also give you the ability to see what the bassline is doing while you’re playing as both parts appear together on the page. This is immensely helpful as you can instantly see how the two lines interact with each other, rather than playing your line in isolation.

Both 18th century editions can be downloaded via the buttons below. Remember, they also contain sonatas which are suitable for flute, oboe or violin, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try these too. To do this you may need to use the tenor recorder instead of the treble and perhaps adjust occasional high notes an octave lower to make them fit comfortably.

Are you lacking a continuo team?

If you want to play these sonatas but don’t have a tame harpsichordist you have several options. As we’ve seen, the bass lines are very much equal partners to the recorder line, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get togther with a bass recorder playing friend and try them as duets. There will be places where the bass line travels beyond the bottom note of a bass recorder, but then that problem is easily conquered by transposing the occasional note or phrase an octave higher.

Another option is to use a backing track to play along with, just as you might with my consort music downloads. I’ve found two options for this, although there may be others out there,. One of these is a free resource, while the other costs only a modest amount.

Continuo Lines - This is a project set up by recorder player Tabea Debus and harpsichordist Benedict Williams to create backing tracks for many pieces of recorder music. The library is still growing but the F major Handel Sonata is already available. Each movement is available at a choice of three different tempi and four different pitches (A392, 415, 440 and 466) which gives lots of flexibility for different ability levels and types of instrument. The site also includes pieces by Barsanti, Corelli, Telemann and others, with more to come in the future. The downloads are free, but if you find them useful there is opportunity to make a contribution to help fund future developments. You can find Continuo Lines by clicking here.

Cat on the Keys - If you’re looking for backings tracks, editions of early music or practical courses on ornamentation and more this is a great resource. Among the backing tracks I found all six of Handel’s Recorder Sonatas, priced at a modest £4 per sonata. As with Continuo Lines, each movement is available with backing tracks at a variety of speeds and pitches and they are a great way to experience playing these works with harpsichord continuo. I bought and tried the D minor Sonata but there are dozens of recorder sonatas by other composers too, including Telemann, Mancini, Bach and many more. Clicking this link will take you direct to the Handel Sonatas, but I recommend exploring the site further as it’s a real treasure trove!

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If you’re already a fan of Handel’s Recorder Sonatas I hope today’s blog has inspired you to explore them further, but if you’re new to them I hope this may have opened your eyes to their possibilities. I’d love to know which Sonata is your favourite. Mine changes from day to day, but at this moment I think it’s the beautiful A minor sonata, with its meandering conversation between recorder and bass in the opening movement. Why not drop a comment below with your favourite sonata and if there are recordings you enjoy that I haven’t mentioned why not tell us about them too?

Many shades of Browning

What comes to mind if I mention the words ‘the leaves be green’ to you? Do you think of nature? Or maybe a melody pops into your head?

Perhaps the most famous piece of music with this name is by William Byrd - a work which can bring joy or strike terror into the heart of musicians. Byrd’s set of 20 variations on this simple 4 phrase melody is chock full of creative ideas, along with a myriad of syncopated cross rhythms. But did you know that many other composers have written their own interpretation of this concept? Today’s blog explores a selection of these - not a comprehensive catalogue, but more a romp through some of my favourites!

What is ‘The Leaves Be Green’?

During the Renaissance the tune, Browning, was a popular melody. Based on a poem with the following words, it celebrates the coming of autumn and has inspired many composers to write their own take on it.

The leaves be green,

The nuts be brown,

They hang so high

They will not come down.

This is the popular melody associated with these lyrics:

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Some composers chose to name their pieces Browning, while others plumped for The Leaves Be Green in recognition of the poem’s words.

Why so many versions?

It wasn’t unusual during the Renaissance for composers to write pieces based on popular tunes of the day. For instance, Jacob Van Eyck wrote a collection of 150 solo recorder pieces, Der Fluyten Lusthof, most of which are sets of variations on folk songs, dance tunes, psalms and popular songs.

Of course, this concept wasn’t confined to the Renaissance - think of it like pop bands today recording cover versions of familiar songs - it’s their way to benefit from a song’s popularity while making their own mark. During my research I’ve found countless more reinterpretations of The Leaves Be Green from beyond the Renaissance and you’ll meet some of them here. No doubt some will already be familiar to you, but I hope others will open up new musical vistas.

William Byrd - The Leaves Be Green

SAATB recorders, available in many different editions.

To my mind this is the granddaddy of the genre and offers endless challenges to anyone who tackles it. The Browning theme appears no fewer than twenty times, working through a variety of keys along the way. Modern editions generally have a 6/4 time signature but don’t let that fool you into expecting a predictable, regular rhythm! Byrd plays endlessly with the meter, bringing in rhythms which feel more like 3/2 and even 12/8, plus a stretch with bubbling strings of triplets for good measure. Through the endless cross rhythms the Browning theme acts as musical glue, holding the voices together while they talk across each other and you’ll notice a new interaction or detail each time you play or listen to this.

To complement the theme of this week’s blog post I’ve recorded my own playalong consort video of Byrd’s The Leaves Be Green. I can’t claim to achieve the same levels of perfection as the Flanders Recorder Quartet, but it gives you the opportunity to have a go yourself. Of course it also means you can restart or rewind as many times as you wish as you get to grips with the complex rhythms! I’ve also created my own edition of the piece, which irons out one or two of the notational wrinkles which can make some other editions tricky to read.

Heather Wastie - Browning for Four

SATB recorders, published by Hawthorns Music RA125. To order a copy contact Hawthorns Music here.

Alongside the various Renaissance versions of The Leaves be Green I’ve discovered a number of contemporary reinterpretations, including this one by Heather’s Wastie. Heather’s website describes her as a singer, songwriter, poet, actor, humourist, entertainer and much more besides. She composed this particular piece during one of her courses at Pendrell Hall in Wolverhampton, although it remained unfinished for some time after that. The impetus to complete the work ultimately came from the 40th wedding anniversary of Ken and Kath Smith, two of her course members. Although it’s a 20th century interpretation of the theme, there are still some echoes of the Medieval and Renaissance period, and you can clearly hear Kath and Ken dancing with their guests later in the piece.

If you’ve not played any contemporary Brownings before and fancy dipping you toe in the water this is a really good place to start. it lies easily beneath the fingers and has some beautiful melodic lines.

Henry Stoning - Browning My Dear

SAATB recorders - music and playalong video available via the button:

Henry Stoning is one of those composers who has today been all but forgotten. However, John Hawkins, the 18th century writer on music, described him as well known in his day and he was active during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. We don’t even know his dates of birth or death - the resources I’ve found simply describe him as having flourished around 1600!

Like the Wastie version of Browning, this is a great place to start exploring. Stoning’s version is concise and pretty straightforward to play, while allowing everyone a slice of the action too. I shared my playalong consort version of this as a subscriber video in 2021 but I’ve discovered a couple of delightful commercial recordings too.

John Baldwin - A Browninge of Three Voices

AAB recorders - score and parts available to download from Serpent Publications.

Baldwin’s working life was spent as a singer, first as a tenor lay clerk at St George's Chapel, Windsor (from 1575) and later as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he became a paid member of staff from 1598. Today he is perhaps best known as the copyist of My Ladye Nevells Booke, a collection of 42 keyboard pieces by William Byrd. As a composer he wrote both vocal and instrumental music, including this Browning for three voices.

Baldwin’s version of Browning is a gem - full of rhythmic interest, with some pretty exotic key changes for music of this period. The only edition I’ve discovered of the music is unbarred and the treble parts need to be played an octave higher than written. Neither of these are insurmountable problems, but I am mulling over the idea of creating a modern edition at playing pitch and with barlines - watch this space! in the meantime, you can enjoy these two recordings!

Klaus Miehling - Browning Suite Op.148

AATB recorders, published by Edition Walhall, FEM132.

This is another contemporary take on the Browning theme discovered while I was researching this blog post. A German harpsichordist, composer and musicologist born in 1963, Miehling was a fresh name to me. He’s certainly a prolific composer (with over 1200 works to his name) and his output includes music for a vast array of instrumental and choral groups. This Browning Suite is one of a number of works which include the recorder and definitely harks back to an earlier time.

Described as a motet for recorder quartet, it is reminiscent of a Baroque orchestral suite, with a French overture followed by five dance movements and a finale. Bach would have recognised this format well, with the dances including a Courante, Sarabande and Bourrée. The musical style will be be familiar to anyone who enjoy Baroque music, albeit with the occasional modern harmonic twist!

A short extract from Klaus Miehling’s Browning Suite

Elway Bevin - Browning

ATB recorders - music and playalong video can be found via the button:

Elway Bevin’s version of Browning is one of my all time favourites. He makes amazing use of minimal resources, creating wonderful melodic and rhythmic interactions between the parts. The excitement gradually builds, climaxing in a flurry of quavers towards the end of the piece. Perhaps the most cunning section though begins at bar 57 where the Browning theme appears in the tenor part in a clear 3/2 rhythm. Either side, the treble and bass lines bounce along in 6/4 rhythms, but instead of working in tandem, Bevin places the treble and bass rhythm patterns a beat adrift from each other!

I recorded this version as one of my playalong consort videos last summer and it was such fun to try and capture the feeling of competition between the musical lines.

Steve Marshall - The Leaves be Blue

SATTBB recorders, published by May Hill Edition, MHE 20706

Most composers stick to the original lilting meter for their take on Browning, but there’s no rule to say this has to be the way. Steve Marshall’s musical background is in jazz, so it’s no surprise he should follow this route when he used the Browning theme. I’ve long been a fan of The Leaves be Blue, although recorder players aren’t always completely at ease with its Latin rhythms. I asked Steve what inspired him to write this piece and this is what he told me:

“In, I believe, 2005 the much-missed Andrew Melville took a well-known Pavan by John Dowland and transformed it - believe it or not - into a Tango. I played in the first performance of that Lachrimae Tango and, the very next day, I played in a performance of The Leaves be Green by Elway Bevin. The urge to transform that marvellous piece in some unlikely way was irresistible, and so I changed it into a rumba-inspired piece in 4/4. This was not a lucrative commission, but one of many rather quirky pieces I have written over the years, in order to exercise my compositional chops or (more likely) as a bit of fun!”

To my surprise, there don’t seem to be any recordings of The Leaves be Blue, so I figured I’d make my own!

William Inglott - The Leaves Bee Greene

Five voices, score available to download here. A recorder arrangement by Paul Clark is also available, Clark Collection CC128.

The first Elizabethan age was a golden era for music and there are so many composers from that period who are almost unknown today. William Inglott is one such name, although history suggests he wasn’t so obscure in his lifetime. He worked at both Hereford and Norwich Cathedrals as organist, replacing Thomas Morley at the latter. One of the pillars at Norwich Cathedral is decorated with the following memorial for Inglott, restored at the expense of William Croft (Master of the King’s Music) in the 18th century.

Here Willyam Inglott Organist doth rest,
Whose arte in musique this cathedrall blest,
For descant most, for voluntary all
He past: on organ, songe and virginall:
He left this life at age of sixtie seaven;
And now 'mongst angells all sings saint in heaven;
His fame flies farr, his name shal never die;
See art and age here crowne his memory

Today only a handful of Inglott’s pieces remain, including this and one other from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. This was a collection of nearly 300 keyboard pieces, including works by William Byrd, Giles Farnaby and Thomas Morley - you may be interested to see the original keyboard version of the Leaves Bee Greene here.

Once again, I’ve found a couple of different recordings for you to enjoy - one played on the organ (with added percussion!) and the second on harpsichord.

Clement Woodcock - Browning My Dear

Five voices, SATTB - Score and parts available to download. Also published by London Pro Musica, EML112

To complete my selection of Brownings from the Renaissance, we have another relatively unknown composer - Clement Woodcock. Like Inglott, Woodcock spent much of his life as a church musician, working as a lay clerk at Both King’s College, Cambridge and Canterbury Cathedral. He also spent a good deal of time in my home town, Chichester, working as Cathedral organist and master of the Choristers. I taught the recorder at Chichester’s Cathedral school for nearly two decades, so it’s rather pleasing too think that we both spent countless hours working and making music in the same Cathedral, albeit four centuries apart!

Woodcock’s version of Browning is short and sweet and fits beautifully on recorders, although you’ll need to read the second part up an octave to play it on the treble recorder.

Sue Handscombe - The Leaves be Turning, the Nuts be Brown

SATB recorders, published by Peacock Press, P544

To bring us full circle, my final version of Browning came as a result of an experience of playing Byrd’s The Leaves Be Green. Sue told me the impetus to write this came from an experience preparing the Byrd for a golden wedding celebration. Things didn’t go to plan in rehearsals, with Byrd’s complex rhythms often tripping the musicians up. Instead Sue decided to write her own jazzy interpretation of the Browning theme and this is the result. As for the golden wedding celebrations - all was well in the end and the group made it through the performance without getting tangled up!

Sue’s the Leaves be Turning, The Nuts be Brown, has its own rhythmic intricacies, altogether different from Byrd’s, but I can guarantee you’ll have great fun playing it!

Which Browning is your favourite?

There we have ten different interpretations of this iconic melody, and there are more I could have included besides. Which is your favourite? Or maybe you have a penchant for one composed by someone else? Do share your thoughts in the comments below - it’ll be fascinating to see if you come up with versions I haven’t yet come across!

Sounding Pipes, Edition 2

Easy access to streamed music is one of those things we take for granted these days. But it wasn’t so long ago that if you wanted to listen to a particular piece of music you had to go out and buy the CD, or at least borrow it from your local library. One of the things I love about our access to music now is the way it can take you down all sorts of rabbit holes, bringing fresh discoveries.

It seemed about time I created another of my Sounding Pipes playlists, so over recent weeks I’ve been rummaging on YouTube and elsewhere for gems to share with you. My choices are all linked to the recorder in some shape or form, even if the music isn’t entirely played on our favourite instrument.

G.F.Handel - O ruddier than the cherry from Acis and Galatea

William Christie and Les Arts Florissants

The Love of Acis and Galatea by Alexandre Charles Guillemot

Handel described Acis and Galatea as a “little opera” in a letter to a friend during its composition, but it’s since been called a serenata, masque and oratorio by others. However you wish to classify it, Acis and Galatea is one of Handel’s most enduringly popular works. Written in 1718 while working for the 1st Duke of Chandos in Cannons, north London, this was Handel’s first dramatic work in the English language. It features three major characters - the shepherd Acis, Galatea (a nymph) and Polyphemus, a monstrous giant, who features in this aria. Having just sung about his jealous love of Galatea (“I rage, I melt, I burn”) he then bursts into song with “O ruddier than the cherry”, accompanied by strings and a sopranino recorder!

I was lucky enough to play recorder in a performance of this while studying for my A level exams and I’ve had a soft spot for the work since then. Handel’s juxtaposition of the tiniest of recorders alongside the bass voice surely couldn’t fail to make anyone smile!

Gordon Jacob - Suite for recorder and strings

Annabel Knight and the Maggini quartet - Gordon Jacob Chamber Music with Recorder

The search for a modern recorder concerto which can hold its own against other instruments came to the fore some years ago when Charlotte Barbour-Condini and Sophie Westbrooke both made it to the concerto final of the BBC Young Musician competition in quick succession. Finding a work for recorder which contrasts favourably with large scale Romantic concertos is a challenge, especially as our instrument naturally suits a more intimate setting. Sophie chose to perform Gordon Jacob’s Suite for recorder and strings, albeit augmented with wind instruments (an arrangement made by an old school friend of mine, David Knotts as it happens).

This is a work I love very much and had the honour of performing in Chichester Cathedral many years ago. Here I’ve chosen Annabel Knight’s performance which goes back to its roots, accompanied by the more modest forces of a string quartet. I’ve always had a soft spot for this beautiful Lament, which combines a doleful melodic line and some exquisite string harmonies. Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) wrote several works including the recorder, but was adept at creating beautifully crafted music for any instrument. His catalogue includes concertos for no fewer than sixteen different instruments! Reading about him, I was fascinated to learn he studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams, Charles Villiers Stanford and Herbert Howells while at the Royal College of Music - a real who’s who of composers. Later in life he returned to the RCM as a teacher himself and Malcolm Arnold was one of his students - another composer who later wrote works for the recorder.

Samuel Scheidt - Canzon on O Nachbar Roland

Seldom Sene - Concerto Barocco

The Canzon (or canzona) was the forerunner to the sonata. Ultimately the sonata matured into a multi-movement work, but during the Renaissance the canzona instead featured shorter sections whose tempo and metre varied, while fundamentally remaining a single movement work. Sometimes, as in this case, they were based upon well known melodies or chord progressions.

I first encountered O Nachbar Roland at the Recorder Summer School when I was a teenager. Five of us worked on it in our spare time, with a plan to perform it in the students’ concert at the end of the week. During rehearsals we worked diligently on the transitions between the sections, but also made a plan for what we might do if anyone came unravelled due to nerves. Ultimately our cunning plan was vital as no fewer than three of us came adrift in one section. Unperturbed, we regrouped at the next tempo change and continued as if nothing untoward had happened!

I’m pleased to say Seldom Sene’s performance of O Nachbar Roland is altogether more polished than ours. I love its exploratory nature at the start - each part coming in tentatively until there’s sufficient group momentum for a definitive tempo to be set. While reading up about this piece I discovered a connection I’d never considered before. O Nachbar Roland was a popular tune in the Renaissance and many composers wrote pieces based upon it. However, I hadn’t previously realised its connection with Lord Peregrine Bertie Willoughby, a noted member of the 16th century aristocracy. His name may not be immediately familiar to you, but you may well know of him through William Byrd’s Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home. The melody is a near doppelgänger of O Nachbar Roland, and was composed in Willoughby’s honour when he returned to a hero’s welcome in London after his victory in the Siege of Bergen in 1588.

Gioacchino Rossini - Overture: The Italian Girl in Algiers

Berlin Recorder Orchestra, conducted by Simon Borutski

When I encountered my first recorder orchestra in 1991 the sound tended to be a rather top heavy affair. The larger bass recorders were still relatively unusual in the UK and it was difficult to achieve a really pleasing balance of sound. How things have changed in 30 years! Today it’s not unusual to have half a dozen contrabasses in such ensembles and the number of even larger recorders is gradually growing too.

In recent months YouTube has offered me a steady stream of recordings by the Berlin Recorder Orchestra and I just had to share this one with you. They seem to have hit a sweet spot in terms of balance with a small forest of big basses in the back row, and relatively few of the high instruments. The result is a wonderfully mellifluous tone, complemented by some fantastic precision playing.

The Romantic period isn’t an obvious one to raid for recorder orchestra music, but this fabulous overture by Rossini is just a joy to listen to. I’ve played in and conducted it myself with different groups (albeit in a different arrangement) and it’s so exciting to be a be part of the excitement and drive which is intrinsic to Rossini’s compositional style. After you’ve watched this video, do have a rummage through the BRO’s YouTube channel because you’re guaranteed to find some more recorder orchestra gems there.

J.S. Bach Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041

Andrew Manze and the Academy of Ancient Music - Bach Solo and Double Violin Concertos

The recorder connection with this piece may be a little tenuous, but this particular album is one of my absolute favourites and is too good not to share. The first movement of this concerto appears as the centrespread of the June issue of The Recorder Magazine, in an arrangement by James Howard Young. Bach is always a challenge to play, as his music rarely takes into account the need for wind players to breathe. That small wrinkle aside, James’ transcription fits the recorder remarkably well and I have a copy of it on my music stand right now - an excellent workout for both brain and fingers. If you’d like to try the Bach for yourself but don’t have a copy of the June Recorder Magazine you can download the music by clicking on the button below.

This recording is 25 years old now, but I adore its energy and Manze’s effortless musicianship. These days he’s more likely to be found conducting orchestras, in repertoire which stretches well beyond the Baroque, but I recommend you listen to the whole album and explore his other recordings too.

Charlie Parker - Ornithology

Lucie Horsch and Fuse - Origins

My last playlist finished with a little frippery, so it seemed appropriate to do the same this time. This track comes from Lucie Horsch’s newest album, Origins, which will be released next month. A number of behind the scenes videos are already available on YouTube though and it’s wonderful to see her delving into this classic jazz number by Charlie Parker. While many of us enjoy jazz, it’s often played badly by recorder players. This always strikes me as a curiosity because so much of the Renaissance and Baroque music we play demands a similar spontaneity in its performance. I love Lucie’s relaxed demeanour here and it’s great to see the interaction between her and the ensemble Fuse.

Hopefully there’ll be something for everyone there. If you’ve discovered a wonderful new recording recently why not share it in the comments below for us all to enjoy - there’s a world of new and exciting music out so let’s explore it together!

Sounding pipes – musical explorations

What do you listen to most when you’re travelling? When I’m on the road I’m an avid listener of podcasts, but when I begin to flag music becomes my preferred choice. There’s nothing quite like singing along loudly to a piece of music to wake you up and make the miles pass more quickly!

On recent journeys I’ve taken to putting the choice of music in the hands of Apple Music (other music providers are available!), telling the app on my phone to pick the music for me. I’ve always enjoyed a very varied listening diet – one day it’ll be Bach, followed maybe by a Brahms Symphony, some Byrd polyphony or popular music by the Beatles or Robbie Williams. The app on my phone has been learning from this and when I put it in charge it offers me an equally eclectic mix. This has proved to be a wonderful ground for discovering fresh music.

I’ve made some amazing discoveries during these listening sessions and it struck me you might be interested in some of the gems I’ve come across. The result is a new series of occasional blog posts called Sounding Pipes, where I’ll share some of the (mostly) recorder related recordings I’ve encountered and enjoyed. Of course, those long journeys in the car are only the beginning. Sometimes I’ll seek out a piece of music again once I’m home, taking me down unforeseen paths to other fascinating repertoire, or reminding me of works I’d forgotten about.

I hope you enjoy these listening suggestions and that perhaps they lead you to new discoveries of your own. All of this week’s pieces are available on YouTube to watch or listen to, but wherever possible I’ll also include details of the albums they come from so you can explore further if you wish.

Happy listening!

J.S.Bach – Ebarme dich, mein Gott from the St. Matthew Passion

Lucie Horsch – Baroque Journey (Decca 2019)

This is where the inspiration for this series originated, as this piece popped up on my playlist, performed by Dutch recorder player Lucie Horsch. I first encountered this heart breakingly beautiful aria when I performed in a St. Matthew Passion on the Isle of Wight many years ago. I clearly recall the exquisite combination of solo violin and countertenor voice and it remains my absolute favourite from the most famous of Bach’s Passions. Purists may not approve of the way Lucie Horsch swaps the vocal line for a recorder, but it’s hard not to forgive this change when she plays it so beautifully.

Following the breadcrumbs laid by Lucie, I returned to Bach’s original scoring and made a second, even more amazing discovery. Searching on YouTube, I happened upon the Netherlands Baroque Society’s project, All of Bach. This project aims to perform and record the entirety of Bach’s compositional output, making it all available to watch free of charge – an astonishing prospect in every way! Among the pieces already recorded is a performance of the St. Matthew Passion from 2015. The whole Passion is available online, but the performance of Ebarme dich, mein Gott, featuring violinist Shunske Sato and singer Tim Mead is, to my mind, even more glorious than Lucie’s one. While there are no recorders in the original, I decided to share this with you too as I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!

Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger – Pavan No.2 on Seven Notes

B-Five Recorder Consort & Sofie Vanden Eynde (lute) – The Soule of Heaven (Coviello Classics COV92108)

I have to credit my Dad for pointing me in the direction of this particular recording. He heard this Pavan by Ferrabosco on the radio recently and asked if I knew it. While I was certainly familiar with Ferrabosco I didn’t know this particular Pavan and what a find it is! The B-Five Recorder Consort play it on a wonderful set of low Renaissance recorders and the lush tones are so enchanting. The addition of lute (played by Sofie Vanden Eynde) enhances the texture, balancing the richness of the recorder tone. Needless to say I’ve downloaded the whole album and it’ll be a welcome soothing influence after a busy day!

Sour Cream performing a selection of music for three recorders

Frans Brüggen, Kees Boeke & Walter van Hauwe

I discovered this video while rummaging on YouTube for recorder trio music. My eye was caught by the inclusion of Upon Ut Re Mi Fa by John Baldwine, but this 36 minute programme contains an eclectic mix. When this was recorded in 1981 at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich, the centre had been open for just three years, designed by the then largely unknown architect Norman Foster. The building is home to an enormous art collection, spanning some 5000 years of human activity, and the music reflects this variety.

Sour Cream was formed by Frans Brüggen, Kees Boeke & Walter van Hauwe with the intention of commissioning and performing avant garde music recorder music, but their repertoire expanded way beyond that. Rather than being a straight performance to camera, the trio’s music is accompanied by an eclectic cinematic approach, using green screen techniques and even a surreal Monty Pythonesque section where they interact with the works of art and then fall asleep. I can’t but feel they had great fun making this! The music may not all be to your taste, but there’s bound to be something you’ll love. The final Bach Allegro (the Preludio from his Violin Partita in E minor) is an absolute tour de force of technique and precision.

If this quirky compilation intrigues you I suggest you explore Sour Cream’s iconic album The Passion of Reason (recorded in 1993/4 & rereleased by Glossa records 2013) which includes an equally varied repertoire from five centuries.

Incidentally, if you’re interested in hearing the original violin version of the Bach Preludio which ends this selection, I can recommend this performance by Viktoria Mullova. If you fancy the ultimate workout, Frans Brüggen also made his own transcription of the Preludio for solo recorder which is published by Moeck, along with a selection of other movements from the Violin Partitas. If you choose to try it for yourself be prepared to do lots of scale and breathing practice!

Telemann Concerto in E minor for recorder and flute

Frans Brüggen (recorder), Frans Vester (flute) & Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra

When I was at music college I regularly used to visit Leadenhall Market in the city of London to browse the CDs at Farringdon Records (a wonderful shop which sadly no longer exists). It was on one such visit that I discovered this recording and it became a firm favourite. The playing style may not be as ‘authentic’ as some (played on modern instruments rather than Baroque copies) but I was blown away by the sheer energy of the performance. To this day the vivacity of the final movement of the concerto is simply irresistible

If this recording appeals to you as much as it did to my youthful self I recommend exploring the whole album which features four other concertos and overtures by Telemann.

New Zealand Traditional - Wellerman

Ralf Bienioschek - recorders, guitar, percussion, melodica

And now, as they say, for something completely different! Early in 2021 a new craze emerged on TikTok and other social media sites, spurred by Scottish singer Nathan Evans’ performances of sea shanties. Perhaps the best known of these is Soon May the Wellerman Come, and it wasn’t long before the recorder world had its own version. One of my subscribers, pointed me to this performance by Ralf Bienioschek and it’s absolutely infectious in its drive and energy. He’s recorded several other multitrack videos of equally unlikely repertoire for recorder (Billy Eilish’s Bad Guy for instance) and there are links to these on Ralf’s website. A big thank you to Jean for leading me here and many apologies if this results in a persistent earworm!

If this whets your appetite to play Wellerman for yourself Ralf has published the sheet music for his arrangement here.

So there you have my first Sounding Pipes playlist - I hope you found something new and enjoyable within. If you have favourite recordings you’d like to share with us all please do leave a comment below - I hope this may offer an opportunity for us all to explore and listen further!