Playing the Record 002521 Mbp

8/12/2019 Playing the Record 002521 Mbp

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788*51RigbyPaying the recorders

59-10640


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JAN 2 4 1975

MAY 1 5 1979


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flaying the


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by the same a&fhor*

Published by faber and Faber LtdAisrr) GROWXU (wix:o: c. M:.

MIAK.R.IAGEPROBLEM:S OF PERSOJNTAIL RELATJOISTSHIPS

Published by S.P.a.K.r>iscTJSSioisr oisr MARRIAGE

CKCANGE RINGI3STG


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PLAYING THERECORDERSF. F. RIGBY

ivitb examples of music dranm byJ. F. RIGBY

and with aforeword byAJSTTHONY BAINE.S

ST IMARTIN'S PRESS ESTC.


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library of Congress Catalog Card Number 599872

Fred Frankland Rigby

Printed in Great Britain


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TO MY MA2STY FRIEKF3DSIN THE MANCHESTER BRAZSTCH

OF THESOCIETY OF RECORDER PLAYERS


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^AcknowledgementsJ.t is not always easy for an author to assess the value of whathe himself writes, but what can be said about this book isthat it is more accurate than it otherwise would have been hadnot kind friends so readily answered the questions put to them.Let me then thank Edgar Hunt, Carl Dolmetsch and WalterBergmann for replying so patiently

to the many letters I havesent to them and for answering the questions I have posed onthe numerous occasions when I have sat at the feet of thesemasters. I am grateful too to Joyce Wardle for her helpfulcomments on the script and also to her and Kathleen Higsonfor reading the proofs. My gratitude to my son, whose musicalknowledge and ability have always been at my disposal, isunbounded for the patience and skill he has shown in drawingthe illustrations. My acknowledgements are due to MessrsNovello and Co Ltd. for their kindness in allowing me to usethe copyright tune 'Go and tell Aunt Nancy* and I thankthem and the other music publishing houses, whose addressesI have given in the book, for passing on to me so much usefulinformation about their published music; I hope this book willbe one means of making their music for recorders morewidely known.


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(ContentsFOREWORD page u

i. THE RECORDER: SOME HISTORICAL 13LANDMARKSz. THE INSTRUMENTS 193. THE DESCANT (i) 244. THE DESCANT (2) 305. THE DESCANT (3) 376. THE TREBLE (i) 437. THE TREBLE (2) 498. THE TENOR 549. THE BASS 57

10. ORNAMENTATION 63n. CONSORT PLAYING 6712. Music AVAILABLE 7413. INSTRUMENTS AVAILABLE 81


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Foreword by Anthony RainesThe vast literature that the recorder has gained since its revivalthirty years ago still has not adequately covered every aspect ofthis deceptively simple musical instrument. There are, for in-stance, many textbooks and tutors' which give the mechanicalbasis of recorder playing in terms of elementary notation andfingering. But these are really meant to be used under thesupervision ofa teacher, who will enlarge on the finer technicaland musical points upon which good playing of any instru-ment depends; and not every lover of recorders can procure ateacher or wants to attend classes. This is where Mr. Rigbysteps in. With twenty years' experience behind him, he hasplanned this admirable work, which is something quite new:a really suitable book for the unattended beginner, giving a fulland up-to-date account of recorder technique and of its precisemusical significance at every point.

cUp to date' is also important, because so much has been re-discovered during recent years about ways of performanceduring the classic periods of recorder music. Here the readerwill be grateful to Mr. Rigby for the way he has invoked hisscholarship, like his musicianship, to lead straight to the prac-tical side of things. His directions for 'period' trills and orna-ments will be valued by teachers and players with someexperience. I have met nothing to compare with this book, andI am sure that it will receive a wide welcome.

ii


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ONE*Tbe 'Recorder: some Historical LandmarksThe recorder is one of the oldest musical wind instruments inexistence and was played in England as far back as the eleventhcentury. Not much is known about it in these early years butits popularity, along with other instruments, was well estab-lished in the sixteenth century, for it is on record that HenryVTTT pkyed both the transverse flute and the recorder and heis known to have possessed a large number of instruments ofboth types.

Shakespeare introduced a group of recorder pkyers on tothe stage in Hamlet and used the instrument frequently inseveral of his plays. Other playwrights made use of the instru-ment to provide music of a quiet and restful type.

In the following century, the famous English diarist SamuelPepys visited the theatre known as the King's House on zjthFebruary 1668 to see The Virgn Martyr and wrote that 'thatwhich did please me beyond any thing in the whole world wasthe wind-music when the angel comes down, which is so sweetthat it ravished me, and indeed, in a word, did wrap up mysoul so that it made me really sick, just as I have formerly beenwhen in love with my wife; that neither then, nor all the even-ing going home, I was able to think ofany thing, but remainedall night transported, so as I could not believe that ever anymusichath that real command over the soul of a man as this did


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The Recorder: some Historical Landmarksupon me: and makes me resolve to practise wind-music,and to make my wife do the like.*That Pepys intended to keep his resolve is evident from the

entry in his diary for 8th April 1668 where he states that afteranother visit to the theatre, this time the Duke of York's play-house, where he saw The Unfortunate Lovers^ he went *toDrumbleby's, and there did talk a great deal about pipes; anddid buy a recorder, which I do intend to learn to play on, thesound of it being, of all sounds in the world, most pleasing tome'. How skilled Pepys became on the instrument we have nomeans of telling from his diary. Perhaps, like many modernwould-be players, he found it much more difficult to learn thanhe had expected.

Early in the sixteenth century, a treatise on the playing ofmusical instruments was published, the recorder being one ofthose provided with a table of fingerings. In this and thefollowing century much music was written which was suitablefor playing on recorders as well as on other instruments*Though much of this music was not written specifically forthe recorder, it was assumed that it would be useful to recorderplayers. Composers then, as now, kept an eye on the musicalmarket and if the demand was there, they were prepared tomeet it.

In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, muchmusic was written expressly for recorders, particularly for thetreble which was then enjoying a great popularity. In 1679there

appeared the first instruction book dealing solely withrecorder playing and this was followed through the years byothers.

Early in the seventeenth century the recorder was used inoperas of the day. In England in the second half of the century


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The Recorder: some Historical Landmarksthe word recorder was gradually being superseded by the wordflute, whilst on the continent the word flute had always beenused, and this fact has led to much confusion amongst his-torians as to which instrument, the transverse flute or therecorder, was meant. If Purcell used the word flute whenscoring for his operas and masques, he meant that the recorderwas to be used. His opera Dioclesian contains a lovely chaconnefor two treble recorders in strict canon upon a ground bass. Itis reasonable to assume, therefore, that other composers duringthis part of the century meant the recorder when they used theword flute.From about the year 1700 the transverse flute, in addition to

the recorder, was becoming accepted as a member of theorchestra and, partly because of its greater range and carryingpower, it gradually took the pkce of the recorder in orchestralworks. But during this transition period, Handel and Bach, aswell as less famous composers, wrote for both instruments.Bach used the recorder in a large number of Church Cantatasas well as in two of his Brandenburg Concertos, whilst Handelwrote four Sonatas for treble recorder and harpsichord inaddition to those he wrote for the transverse flute.Gradually the instruments of the orchestra increased in tonepower and towards the end of the eighteenth century com-posers no longer wrote for the once popular gentle-voicedrecorder but concentrated instead on the more powerfultransverse flute.

By the end of the nineteenth century dictionaries had cometo refer to the recorder as an obsolete musical instrument, asindeed it was, apart from a few instruments which had foundtheir way into museums or into the hands of private collectors.Yet the astonishing thing today, half a century or so later, is


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The Recorder; some Historical Landmarksthat it is probably true to say that more recorders are made andsold than any other single musical instrument.What has brought about this great modern revival of the

recorder? In 1905 the late Arnold Dolmetsch began his re-searches into old music and musical instruments. After manyyears, he succeeded in making recorders, patterned on the oldmodels he had discovered, but tuned to the concert pitch in useat the beginning of the twentieth century. Modern Dolmetschrecorders are tuned to the modern concert pitch.A German instrument maker tried to copy a Dolmetschrecorder but succeeded only in mass-producing an instrumentwhich looked like a recorder but did not possess the authenticrecorder fingering. Realizing the value of a mass-producedinstrument for popular music making, Edgar Hunt persuadedthis German maker to produce cheap instruments with theauthentic recorder fingering and these were imported intoEngland in the nineteen-thitties. These cheap mass-producedinstruments had the advantage of making the recorder wellknown and helped to increase the sales of the hand-madeDolmetsch instruments.As more and more people began to play the recorder and to

regard it as a serious musical instrument, so research began tobe devoted to discovering period music, and because of thisrecorder players have now at their disposal a large and growingamount ofsixteenth-, seventeenth- and early eighteenth-centurymusic which was originally written for the recorder or issuitable for playing upon it. Further, a few modern composershave seen that great possibilities have presented themselves inthis modem revival of the recorder and so have turned theirattention to composing music which they regard as suitablefor the great and growing group of recorder players. Their

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The Recorder: some Historical Landmarksefforts have met with varying degrees of success: some of themodern compositions have proved to be very suitable for theinstrument; others show only too clearly that the composers donot fully understand the capabilities of the instrument.The purpose of this book is not to teach the elements of

music and some knowledge of music must be assumed. Ratheris it to help those who are interested in music and who havetoyed with the idea of playing the recorder to take the instru-ment more seriously than would otherwise be the case; topractise it more rigorously and to try to raise the general levelof playing which, with far too many players., is deplorably low.Some attention will be paid also to bringing before thewould-be player the large amount of music available, for untilthis music is known, the vast potentialities of the instrumentwill remain a closed book. It may also help some teachers tolook beyond the mere blowing of a folk tune with theirchildren to the greater delights of ensemble or consort playing,information about which will be found in chapter n.Another possibility is that some recorder players maybecome

so enamoured with wind instrument playing that they will feelthe urge to learn some modern orchestral wind instrument.They will find that the recorder has prepared them for parti-cipating in the more modern music in which the recorder is notrequired. But whether the recorder is regarded as an end initself, and many will find the instrument completely andabsorbingly satisfying, or whether it is regarded as a step tolearning a modern wind instrument, is for the individual todecide.One big advantage of learning the recorder rather than

another instrument is that the recorder player is much morelikely to find other players to join him for ensemble playing inB 17


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The Recorder: some Historical Landmarkssmall groups than is any other instrumentalist. There exists aSociety of Recorder Players with headquarters in London andbranches up and down the country. Membership of this societyand regular attendance at branch meetings will bring therecorder player into contact with other like-minded enthusiastsand help to raise the general standard of playing.

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TWOInstruments

JL here are five sizes of recorders used in England, the threemost popular being the descant, about a foot in length, thetreble, about a foot and a half in length and the tenor, abouttwo feet. There are two others which are not in such commonuse; a very small one, the sopranino, about nine inches longand the largest of all, the bass, which is about three feet long,The ranges of the various recorders are shown in example i,

though skilled players can obtain higher notes still. The rangeof the bass is slightly smaller than those of the other instra-1. Rattles of the fltSlTlimmte . Tfie Descant, Scpraninoami 6055 pity an octave above me written pitch.

ISopratuM DeseonJ: TrsMe Tmor Bassments, though attempts have been made by modern instrumentmakers, with some degree of success, to increase the range.Both the modem Dolmetsch and Schott bass recorders now goup to high G, the fingerings for these notes on the bass instru-ment being as for the treble with slight modifications.The sopranino recorder is usually made in one piece. The


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The Instrumentsbass instrument, being different in shape from the others, willbe described later.The descant, treble and tenor recorders are usually made in

three pieces, the head joint, the middle joint and the foot jointAll the instruments have eight holes, a thumb hole behind andseven holes in front. The small double holes at the lower endof most instruments are here regarded for descriptive purposesas one hole. The lowest hole is not in line with the others and,by turning the foot joint, its position can be adjusted to suitthe shorter length of the little finger.The tone is produced in the head joint, for a note can be

sounded with this part of the recorder only. A breath of air isblown through a narrow passage in the mouthpiece on to asharp edge known as the fipple and it is this which producesthe tone.

If all the holes, including the thumb hole, are covered on thedescant or tenor recorder, the note produced will be C, thelowest note of the instrument. The fingering on these two in-struments is exactly the same, the only difference being that thenotes on the tenor will sound an octave lower than those onthe descant. Anyone who has learned to play the descantshould therefore be able to pky the tenor, for the only addi-tional difficulty which will be encountered in playing the tenoris that the finger stretch will be greater than that on the descant.

If all the holes are covered on the sopranino, treble or bass,the note produced will be F, which again will be the lowestnote of these instruments. Anyone who has learned to fingerthe treble, therefore, should be able to pky the sopranino andbass. Here too difficulties due to differences in finger stretchwill have to be overcome and this will take a considerableamount of practice. A further difficulty in playing the bass

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The Instrumentsinstrument arises from the fact that the music is usually writtenin the bass clef.

The Head JolnkShowing ike Mouthpieceand the Windcw with the

The MiddleJointShowing the three holesjorthe left hand ofrlhetop& three holesjor the riMhand at the ktern . lieleft-kand mumb-hdie isat thekick.

The FootrJcMSh&yinq the (doutie) hdzfir the, lirimt hand.

2. THE RECORDER21


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The InstrumentsIt should be the aim of all recorder players to possess and to

play several instruments of different sizes, for by so doing thepleasure gained in ensemble playing is greatly increased.

Recorders are delicate instruments and should be treatedwith great care. When new, especially during the first fewweeks, they should be blown for only a few minutes at a time,otherwise the joints may crack. This, of course, applies only towooden ones.

After playing, and before the recorder is put away, the insideshould be dried with a piece of rag; an old linen handkerchiefwill be found suitable for this. A woollen mop should not beused as flufffrom it may find its way into the wind passage andspoil the tone of the recorder. The wind passage can be driedwith a small feather or a strip of not too fluffy blotting paper.In doing this, care should be taken not to damage the sharpedge of the fipple, or the instrument will be useless.New instruments, and even old ones in cold weather, maybecome blocked with moisture in the head joint. This can becured by removing the joint and blowing through it from thewide end. Alternatively, leaving the head joint in position, asharp breath blown into the instrument will clear the moisture,care being taken to cover the window of the instrument withthe hand to prevent it from sounding. Should the passage be-come choked whilst playing, making it impossible to performone of the operations just mentioned, the mouthpiece canbe cleared by sucking quickly through it. The habit of dryplaying, however, should be cultivated right from the begin-ning.The joints should be greased occasionally with boracic oint-

ment or vaseline as this makes it easier to assemble and takeapart the instrument. If a joint becomes loose, it has probably

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The Instrumentsbecome dry because the instrument is not being played oftenenough. The remedy for this is obvious.The recorder is an instrument which at first sight appears

simple to play. It is possible after a few weeks' diligent practicefor a beginner to play the easier folk tunes tolerably well. It isthis fact which has created the impression, quite a false one,that the instrument is easy to learn. This is one of the dangersof the mass introduction of the instrument into school music.The belief has unfortunately become widespread that therecorder is the simplest of all instruments, suitable even for theinfant school.

This is not to deny that the recorder is of inestimable valuein helping children with their music, but it would be a pity ifthe belief were to gain ground that the recorder is an instru-ment fit only for children.The simplicity of the instrument is more apparent than realand after the stage of being able to play simple tunes has beenpassed, further skill in playing the instrument becomes ex-asperatingly difficult to acquire. After this stage, as with anyother musical instrument, there is the need for regular, pro-longed and serious practice if there is to be any advance in skillin playing the instrument. The sooner this fact is understoodby everyone, the greater the progress that will be made in themodern revival of recorder playing.

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THREEThe ^Descant (i)

The instrument possessed by most recorder owners is thedescant, the one about a foot long. This is largely because thedescant is cheap to buy and so has become available to a greatnumber of school children. Its popularity with children andteachers lies in the fact that the pitch ofthe instrument enables itto be used for playing many folk tunes in the school music class.

It is, however, a pity that the descant has come to be themost popular of the instruments in this modern revival, for, asalready pointed out, the great composers ofthe seventeenth andeighteenth centuries wrote mainly for the treble recorder, thedescant being used mostly for an occasional part in ensembleworks. As long as a player is confined to the descant, and aslong as schools continue to concentrate on this instrument inthe music class, so long will the great recorder music writtenfor the treble remain unknown to most players.However, as so many people possess the descant recorder, it

may be better to give some instructions for playing this beforedealing with the treble. Let it be said at the outset that there arethose who can play the descant really well, but they are few innumber. There are many who succeed in blowing the instru-ment extraordinarily badly, giving listeners a poor impressionboth of the instrument and its music. Yet the sound of thedescant can be quite entrancing when well played.The descant recorder is not a toy but a serious musical in-

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The Descant (i)strament and today has a large repertoire of music at its dis-posal. Those beginners who are struggling to play folk songsshould keep this fact constantly in mind and, like the seriousstudent of any other instrument, submit to the discipline offrequent practice.

Probably the most important point for the beginner toremember is that the breath should be controlled when blow-ing; this should be done by the diaphragm muscles round thelower ribs. A steady stream of breath is what is needed, nothard blowing at one time and soft at another. If the instrumentis blown too hard, the note produced will be sharp, and if toosoftly it will be flat. Generally speaking, however, it will befound that the lower notes need softer blowing than the highones.When playing, breath should be taken in through the mouth,the sound ofthe breathing being inaudible to a listener, and not

through the nose or through the instrument. Breathing andphrasing go together, so obviously the best place to take abreath is at the end of a musical phrase. Care should be takennot to reduce the breath pressure on the last note of a phrase,otherwise this note will sound slightly off pitch.

Fingers should always be kept poised about half-an-inchover the unstopped holes, like padded hammers ready to fall.They should not be allowed to stray away, even though thelearner may find it difficult thus to discipline them. After someregular practice the tired feeling in the fingers, which mostrecorder players experience, will go. Holes must be completelycovered with the most suitable part of the finger, namely thepad, and not with the finger tip. Unless the holes are properlycovered the effect produced will be a painful squeaky soundand not a musical note. This means in practice that the fingers


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The Descant (i)will be approximately at right angles to the recorder, whilst theinstrument is held at an angle of about forty-five degrees to thevertical.The notes are not produced by puffing each one with a

separate breath. They should be blown as if the player weresaying *tu*, the breath being allowed to escape by moving thetongue. Hence, notes produced in this way are said to be*tongued*.

In playing rapid staccato passages, it is easier to use thesyllables *tu-ku*, known as 'double tonguing' or 'tu-ku-tu', tripletonguing. In these, it will not be found easy to move the fingersand tongue together. A softer articulation can be produced byusing the syllables cdu-gu', and a gentle flowing sound by thesyllables 'tu-ru'.Example 3 is a Tablature or Table of Notes, showing howsome of the notes are produced on the descant. In all the

tablatures, a black circle indicates that the finger is to close itshole, and an open circle that it is to be raised from it. A par-tially open thumb-hole is represented by a circle with a diagonalline through it. Particular attention should be paid to thefollowing fingerings as these will help the learner to see therelation between the fingerings in the two octaves.

1. Lower E and upperE are produced by the same fingeringsexcept that the upper note is 'pinched'; that is, for the uppernote, the thumb has partially to uncover its hole at the back.This is done by bending the thumb and drawing the tip slightlyaway from the top of the hole. Generally speaking, the higherthe note the smaller this opening should be.

2. Lower F and upper F are produced by fingerings whichare nearly the same. In playing the upper note, the little fingeris not used and the thumb-hole is pinched.

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The Descant (i)

a.ToMaturejtr Descant and


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The Descant (i)3. Lower G and upper G are produced in the same way ex-

cept that whenplaying the upper note thethumb-hole is pinched.4. This applies also to lower and upper A.Even the best recorder can be played out of tune by wrong

wind pressure whereas faulty notes on imperfect recorders canbe partially corrected by adjusting the wind pressure, thoughthere is no excuse these days for the production of faultyinstruments.

In the upper octave faulty intonation can be corrected byadjusting the size of the opening of the thumb-hole. Further,if a note is too sharp, this can sometimes be corrected by par-tially covering, or 'shading' as it is called, one of the otherholes. Shading is a point of technique for advanced players andis mentioned here only as something to be kept in mind forachieving good intonation later.The notes in the tablature in example 3 should be playedslowly at first but with a gradually increasing speed. The notesshould be played both up and down the scale. All the notes inthis tablature should be learned as quickly as possible; thisshould not be beyond the scope of anyone really interested inmusic.Examples 4 and 5 are tunes using some of the notes learned,

4. Go and Teii Aunt Nancu

(Collected and arranged by Cecil J. Sharp). By permission ofNovello & Co., Ltd.28


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The Descant (i)Breathing places are marked in these tunes, as elsewhere, withcommas. The first tune3 *Go and tell Aunt Nancy', an Americanfolk song from the Appalachian Mountains, requires only thefingers of the left hand. The player should look at the notes all5. Goddesses

5E iE rthe time a tune is being pkyed; good sight reading should bethe aim from the beginning and the pkyer should not developthe habit of playing by ear. Each tune should be played dozensof times just as a professional musician would do whenpractising, until both can be played well. If there is a goldenrule in learning to pky any instrument, it is: Tractise diligentlyevery day.'


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FOURThe ^Descant (2)

The recorder, unlike the trumpet or the saxophone, is a gentleinstrument and it must again be emphasized that it does notneed hard blowing. This is particularly true of the lower notesof the instrument. Failure to blow more softly on the lowernotes produces a harsh quality of tone, unfitting to be heardfrom the recorder.The exercise in example 6 will help to illustrate this point,

for if the notes are pkyed properly it will be observed that the6. Octave Exercise

KB:

low notes are best played softly whilst the higher notes willneed just a little harder wind pressure to produce them. Theexercise should be played slowly at first, and the speedgradually increased.In playing the exercise, the similarity already pointed out

between the fingerings ofupper and lower E, upper and lowerF, upper and lower G, and upper and lower A should benoted. The little finger of the right hand should be used whenplaying lower F, otherwise the note will not be in tune. In theearly stages of learning the notes, the fingerings should be

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The Descant (2)checked with the tabkture whenever there Is any doubt.Two other notes are lower and upper Ff; once again, thereis a similarity between the two fingerings. For the upper note,

F#

oo Oo

JIJ

JM r r nJ.7. Upper ami Lower F#, anJ Berdse

the thumb-hole is pinched but the third finger ofthe right handis not used. The exercise in example j should be played slowlyat first, with a gradually increasing speed as greater dexterity infingering the notes is achieved. It should now be possible toplay the melody in example 8 which introduces some of thenotes already learned.

In the sixteenth century, Thomas Tallis wrote a fine hymntune, usually sung

to'Glory

to Thee my God this night*, whichcan be played in the form of a canon. It is shown written assuch in example 9. The duet can be pkyed on two descantrecorders or one of the parts can be sung and the other pkyedon the recorder.


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The Descant (2)8. Diopkenia fronds Pilldaqton (1605)

J IJ

J J r J 1

I p. Tadts' Canon,m Thomas Tallls2 f/ &m &E Ff

^^ S


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The Descant (2)We come now to upper Cf. The fingering is shown in

example 10 and it should be observed that this is one of the fewnotes for which the thumb-hole is completely uncovered.

c#

ooooo

m ifir*

I ?1

t nfif'i J., , I,.Tffir

JrI10. Upper C# , atid Exercises

11. Exercise in Sturrwa- ^*-^fc^ **

tff 'i

i. JLJ'IJ/ * i f c* ^ f j Jij. ii1 ' ^^J33


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The Descant (2)12. Barbara Allen

Sometimes notes are joined by a 'slur' sign as in examples 7,10 and n.This means that the notes are not tongued separately, but only

the first note ofthe group is tongued. These exercises should beplayed carefully since practice is the only way to overcome thedifficulties of slurred notes. When the exercises are played pro-perly no extraneous sounds should be heard and this will bevery difficult to achieve. It should now be possible to play thetune in example 12 which includes both F# and C#.When difficult slurred notes are encountered it is alwaystempting to tongue each note separately. This should alwaysbe avoided, for it is only perseverance and practice over a longtime which makes it possible to slur difficult combinations ofnotes neatly. It is a good idea to practise the groups of slurrednotes before beginning to play a tune.

All great musicians practise their instruments for hoursevery day. Though the amateur musician may find this diffi-cult to do, nevertheless, anyone who wants to improve hisplaying so that it becomes pleasing to the ear will have to de-vote some part of every day to practice. Parents and teacherswould do well to remember that this also applies to children.

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The Descant (2)Tunes and exercises throughout this book should frequently berevised, for they have been specially chosen to help in over-coming difficulties.To avoid disturbing other people when practising, a recordercan easily be muted. Cut a piece of cardboard about one and ahalf inches long and slightly narrower than the width of thefipple; bend this at right angles about a quarter ofan inch fromone end and hook it over the fipple with the short end protrud-ing into the recorder and the long end lying along the fipple.In this way the recorder can be practised almost without mak-ing a sound. If the cardboard is cut a little narrower still, aquiet sound will be produced which should not be disturbingto anyone in an adjoining room. But too much of this mutedpractice should not be done as it is important that the player

ACH O7TT UND HER*

fill hi I I-j-13. Upper and. Lower 0># , and Exercises

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The Descant (2)should be familiar with the various gradations of sound whichit is possible to produce on his instrument.We next learn the fingerings for lower and upper G $. The

similarity between the two fingerings should again be observedas this is an aid to memory; these are shown in example 13.

After the recorder has been practised daily for some months,there comes the stage when it is no longer necessary to ponderover the fingerings of the various notes. As soon as a note isseen in print, the appropriate fingers seem to drop automati-cally into position. When this stage is reached, but not before,the player can begin to regard himself as acquiring skill.The tune in example 14, a Minuet by Henry Purcell,

. Mwuet Henry Purceii

pintroduces Gf. If a mistake has been made when practising atune, this should be corrected immediately, otherwise it willbe found that the mistake becomes part of the tune and verydifficult to eradicate.


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FIVE

The ^Descant (3)1 he charm of good recorder playing is partly responsible forthe great and growing popular interest in the instrument today.Unfortunately, not all who possess a recorder and blow it areable to play it well. Only by treating the instrument as onewhich won the admiration of great composers of the past andpractising

itintelligently

is it possible to become skilled on theinstrument.Recorders sound awful if they are badly played; but this isno peculiarity of recorders. It is true of violins, pianos,

trumpets and all other musical instruments. Everybody knowsthat the latter instruments can be made to produce lovelymusic, but many people base their judgement of the recorderon what children are able to do on the instrument, which isoften not very much when judged by high standards. This is toform an unfair opinion of the possibilities of the instrument.Just as modem orchestral instruments sound well if wellplayed, so does the recorder.A new note to learn is B [?. This is sometimes found difficultto finger, especially when slurred with other notes. In additionto the finger and thumb used for playing B fcj, two other fingers,have to be used, one on each hand. This, somehow or other,makes it rather difficult to play.In practising the exercise in example 15 therefore, do not

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The Descant (3)

Bfc

OOO

J' l I I'lll 'f Ih i

15. Bt , Exerciseforget to use the first finger of the right hand in addition to thetwo fingers and thumb of the left hand. Unless this is done thenote will be slightly out of tune.The importance of smooth playing cannot be too strongly

emphasi2ed. The recorder player should not think of a seriesof notes to be fingered correctly, but should aim at making amelody flow along. It is worth while listening to a good instru-mentalist on the radio just to take note of how smoothly themelody flows. This is setting a high standard but it must be arecorder player's ideal at which to aim.The player will be able to achieve this only when he is

absolutely certain of the fingerings of the various notes.Exercises and tunes

already learned, therefore,should be re-

vised frequently, so that the notes become melodies. Example1 6 is a tune which includes the note B(? as well as Btj and isone of the oldest English tunes in existence.As with other instruments, vibrato can be produced on the

38


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The Descant (3)Ttie Coventry Carol

recorder, though Its use should not be overdone. A slight,quick variation in wind pressure will produce the desired effect.The skill and musical understanding of the player should bethe controlling factor in its use.

Voices and recorders together enhance each other and withpractice it should be possible for the recorder player, whensufficient skill has been developed, to accompany the voice,even if it is only doubling the voice part. In doing this, itshould be remembered that some keys are easier than othersfor the beginner to pky on the descant recorder; for example,C, D, F and G major.There are still more notes to learn, the fingerings for vhich

are shown in example 17. The very high notes on the descantrecorder are not given here since they are not often used; theywill, however, have to be learned and can be found as they arerequired

in thecomplete tablature

inexample 43.Gf and A [7 are the same note and are therefore fingered in

the same way; this applies also toD [? and C#. These fingerings,already given in the previous chapter, will be needed occasion-ally, as well as lower and upper E|j.

39


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The Descant (3;17. Former Finqerinas

Eb

*ooo

Ab

o

Db

ooo

C#

00

Bt}

Oooooo

ooooUpper E[? is another of the few notes produced without

covering the thumb-hole. It is not an easy note for the beginnerto pky since so many fingers are involved.To play lower Ef? and lower C# the tiny holes at the lowerend of the recorder have to be used. These two notes are notoften needed in recorder music, though they should be known.

Sometimes the same note can be produced in two differentways. In example 17 two different ways of fingering Bfcj aregiven. The alternative fingering is very useful when slurringB and C together. To do this using the ordinary fingering forBti tends to produce a little unwanted note unless the fingermovement is done very neatly. The general rule in slurringnotes is to move as few fingers as possible and this often de-mands a knowledge of alternative fingerings. Some playershowever do not approve of this alternative fingering for Bfor slurs and like it used only in trills and mordents.

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The Descant (3)The alternative fingering for B t] is useful mainly when in-

troducing ornamentation involving the notes B and C Aswith many other groups of notes, using the ordinary fingeringsinvolves the movement of too many fingers for neatness ofexecution and therefore alternative fingerings become abso-t*. Gavotte G.F. Handd

ffbon Water

f | I If

-j . ^^ | -^j ^j ^-7


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The Descant (3)lutely necessary for ornamentation. A number of these will befound in the chapter on Ornamentation5 . In the tune given inexample 18 the alternative fingering for Bfcj may be used, ifdesired, when B and C are slurred together.The tune in example 19 introduces tipper E|? as well as some

difficult slurs involving Bj>. The tune is, indeed, full of difficultslurs which should be practised separately before the tune isattempted.To achieve real dexterity in fingering the descant recorder it

is a good plan to practise country dances at speed. The keys ofthese tunes are usually the simple ones to play, but the speed ofthe playing creates its own difficulties. Such tunes provideexcellent practice.The tunes in the chapter on the tenor recorder are also

suitable for the descant and provide additional material forpractice at this stage.

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SIX


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The Treble (i)sopranino and the treble instruments are written on the samelines and spaces, even though the notes on the sopranino sound20. Tablakure for IreMe and Sopramno

Tnumfr

Bfr

OOO

OOOOO

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The Treble (i)an octave higher than those on the treble. This avoids the useof ledger lines.The tablature in example 20 gives the first thirteen notes in

the scale of F which is a very common key for the treblerecorder. The similarity between the fingerings of lower andupper A, lower and upper Bj?, lower and upper C5 lower andupper D should be noted as this similarity is an aid to remem-bering the fingering.As with the descant, there are difficulties to be overcomewhen slurring notes together, for unless this is done neatly,

extra unwanted notes will be produced. When practising theexercise in example 21 care should be taken to see that only thenotes written in the music are actually sounded on the recorder,21. Exercise In Slurruw

22.Jamaica

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The Treble (i)A disciplined approach about small matters such as this at thebeginning will create greater sMU in the long run.23. Further Firuminas

4r *j^ ^-

F#

o ooooo

24. Major Scales

ooooo


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The Treble (i)If the notes on the tablature have been learned It should now

be possible to play the tune In example 22 which Is an oldcountry dance. There are a number of slurred notes whichmust be played neatly.The fingerings for upper and lower Bfc|, upper aad lower

Cf, Bb (Pf), Ff, Gf (Ab) are given In example 23. Thesimilarity In the fingerings of upper and lower B t) should beobserved as this is a further aid to remembering the fingerings.The major scales of F, G, B f? and C should now be practised,

as facility In playing scales Is a great help In developingdexterity In fingering; the scales are shown In example 24.Three fairly simple country dance tunes, given in examples

25, 26 and 27, will help to fix the various fingerings firmly In

25. Rufh/ it irz

m26. Once I Loved a Maiden, Faire

ii ir i f nirrrf ir r

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The Treble (i). Parson's

mind. In all these tunes there are a number of slurred groups ofnotes and again it will help the player to pky the tunes well ifthe slurred notes are practised separately beforehand.


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SEVEN

Tte Treble (2)Occasionally, It is necessary to play lower F| and lower G#on the treble; these are produced by using the small holes at thelower end of the recorder as shown in example 28. To pky

FtKC#

00

I

28. Lotver F#, Lower (3#,Ocfeiwe- Exercises

F|, for example, one only of the lower small holes Is covered,instead of both when Flj is pkyed. The octave exercise shownin example 28 should also be practised, for it will help con-siderably in creating greater facility in fingering the variousnotes.D 49


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The Treble (z)The very high notes on the treble, as on the other instru-

ments, are given in the complete tablature in example 43 andshould be learned as they are met. To produce the high notesthe thumb-opening should be kept small, but when once thenote is produced the opening should be slightly enlarged, orthe note may tend to go flat. The technique of doing this willhave to be acquired gradually.As has already been stated, the treble recorder was the most

popular and the most frequently used of the whole group ofrecorders in the sixteenth, seventeenth and early eighteenthcenturies, an enormous amount ofmusic being written for it inthe seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the form of solosonatas, duets, trio sonatas and even concertos.When Purcell, Bach and Handel wrote the word flute or one

of its variants they meant the recorder. If they meant thetransverse flute to be understood, they indicated this by somesuch word as 'traverse*. Bach scored for both the transverseflute and the recorder, and when he had access to players ofboth types of instrument, he used both.

Handel used the transverse flute in orchestral ensembles, buthe used the recorder in recorder and harpsichord sonatas, inquieter concerted pieces and in accompanying the voice.

Mattheson, a contemporary of Handel, and Telemann bothwrote extensively for the recorder, the ktter composer keepingin mind particularly the keen amateur who wanted good musicto play. Mattheson wrote a number of sonatas for two or threetreble recorders in various keys

all of which areinteresting

topky.The recorder, particularly the treble, was still widely used in

1723 and a recorder tutor was in print as kte as 1798. DuringHandel's kter years, both the transverse flute and the oboe,

5


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The Treble (2)Instruments of greater carrying power, became more and morepopular with composers and gradually the recorder was forcedout of the orchestra.Added to this there came the gradual decline in amateur

instrumental music making, for the new wind instruments, towhich were subsequently added more and more keys, becamemore expensive to buy and so beyond the means of manywould-be players.

This in part explains why the modern amateur music maker,having discovered the recorder and the vast amount of musicwhich is available, is now coming into his own again. There isa wide field here for modern composers if they will go to thetrouble of understanding the capabilities of the instrument.

It may be remarked for the benefit of composers that it isdoubtful whether compositions written with both the flute andrecorder in mind will ever be really satisfactory unless it isremembered that the recorder has a smaller range than theflute. Some of the modem sonatas for treble recorder and pianoor flute and piano are unsatisfactory in the higher ranges andare difficult and sometimes impossible for playing on the re-corder. Ifmodern composers will write suitable recorder music,not intended to be played on the recorder as an alternative tothe flute, they will find great interest being taken by keenamateurs in their works.The tune given in example 29, composed by Henry Purcell,

will provide interesting practice. There are some difficultgroups of slurred notes and these should be isolated at thebeginning and practised separately. Whenever Ej? appears asone of a gtoup of slurred notes, this group will be found diffi-cult to play neatly. The same applies to the group D, E, F whenslurred together. Only constant and intelligent practice will

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The Treble (2)

Son^ Tune 'Henry PuroeiligJEf

FT EUJr I

bf ft

enable the pkyer to perform such a piece as this with reasonablesmoothness.Example 30 is the subject ofa fugue composed by Mattheson.

It is taken from his Sonata in G minor (Op. i No. 9) for threetreble recorders. The whole sonata is fairly difficult to play butfascinating to practise. All Mattheson's sonatas for two trebles

50.

r^|ir


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The Treble (2)and three trebles, which are of varying degrees of difficulty,are interesting and worthy of study.

There is a vast repertoire of music available for the treblerecorder and the serious player will want to make himselffamiliar with this as soon as possible. A few suitable pieces arementioned in the chapter on 'Music Available*, and the soonerthese are studied, the better.

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EIGHT

The ^TenorThe fingering of the tenor recorder Is the same as that of thedescant, the only difference being that the tenor, twice as longas the descant, sounds an octave lower. There should be nogreat difficulty, therefore, in a competent descant player soonlearning to handle the tenor.The main difficulty to be overcome will be for the player to

accustom himself to handling an instrument twice as long asthe descant, much fatter and therefore heavier, and with holesfarther apart than those on the descant. Because of all thesepoints, the newcomer to the tenor instrument will find itrather cumbersome to handle and tiring to the fingers. Regularpractice will overcome difficulties of this nature. Notwith-standing its size, many older children who have learned to playthe descant will very quickly learn to handle the tenor.Some players find the lowest hole difficult if not impossibleto reach with the little finger of the right hand and prefer aninstrument with a key for this lowest hole. If it is found thatthe difficulty persists after the purchase of an expensive keylessinstrument, the makers will usually be prepared to fix a key.But an instrument without a key is better if the player canhandle it with comfort.The notes for both the descant and tenor instruments are

written in the same position on the stave. If this were not done,54


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The Tenora tone written for the descant recorder would need too manyledger lines above the stave. The tune played on the tenorsounds as written whilst the same tune played on the descantsounds an octave higher than written.

It follows, therefore, that all the statements made in thechapters on the descant instrument apply to the tenor also. Thefingerings, exercises and tunes in these earlier chapters shouldbe studied and pkyed on the tenor recorder for the same diffi-culties will have to be overcome on the tenor as on the descant.

In addition to the tunes in the chapters dealing with thedescant recorder, the tune by Henry Purcell in example 31

Scotch Tune Henry Purcefl

should be practised. The tune has a lot of work for the righthand to do and should help the player to overcome the diffi-culty of playing the lower notes on the tenor. The tune alsocontains a krge number of slurred notes, some of them verydifficult to play neatly. There will be the usual temptation totongue these notes separately but this should be avoided.

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The TenorUnlike the treble, very little music has been written for the

tenor as a solo instrument. A number of pieces are availablefor descant recorder with a keyboard instrument and these are,in some cases, suitable for playing on the tenor. Example 32 is32.

a lovely old tune which sounds delightful on the tenor recorderif played smoothly.The main use of the tenor will be in ensemble playing, for itwill be found that the instrument is used in most trios, quartets

and quintets. It is, in fact, the backbone of ensemble playingand when mastered will give endless pleasure.


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NINEThe 'Bass

The bass recorder Is three feet long, twice as long as thetreble, and because of its length it is not possible for the playerto put the end of the instrument to his lips.The player's breath has to be conducted through a curvedtube or 'crook' to the head of the instrument. Further, theholes of the instrument are rather far apart and the lowest holeis a considerable distance from the little finger. This hole,therefore, is always closed by means of a key.

It is tiring to hold the bass recorder unless some form ofsling, similar to that for a bassoon, is used. This can be fastenedto a ring attached to the back of the instrument. Anothermethod is to fasten the sling to the lowest and narrowest partof the instrument, out of the way of the key. The sling can bemade of cord, the length being adjusted to suit the individualplayer. It is then placed round the player's neck and the handsare left free for the fingering. The right hand thumb is used tosteady the instrument.The fingering on the bass is the same as that used for the

treble and sopranino instruments and occasionally the musicfor the bass instrument is written in the treble clef. Some of themusic written for the treble can be used for practising the bassinstrument to develop facility of fingering.

Usually, however, music written for the bass is in the bass57


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The Bass

In addition, to those

Jeatures , common to allthe Instruments t whichare shown. In the drawinaMI Chapter Two, ttitedrawing shows h*o /mizi/esJ *^^f tlie Boss , ncmelu rfiem0ukhpiei& ok the end ca tube and the b&j usedJDT closing the lowest*hole.

33. THE BASS RECORDER


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The Bassclef and the player who aspires to become competent on all theinstruments, and this is true of most recorder players, will haveto learn to read music in this clef. This need not prove difficult.Once again, it is all a matter of frequency of practice in playingeach instrument regularly.

Until fairly recently, the highest note obtainable on a bassrecorder was D, but the modern basses produced by Dol-inetsch and also those by Schott can be played to upper G. Thefingerings for some of these high notes are not quite the sameas those for the treble and are supplied by the makers when abass instrument is purchased. The bass recorder is obviouslymost useful in ensemble playing and the good bass player willnever lack friends amongst other recorder players.

Because of its size, more breath is needed to produce a noteon the bass than is the case with the other instruments and theplayer will constantly have to be on the alert to make hisinstrument sound in time with the others in the consort.The wide spaces between the holes will be an initial difficulty

to be overcome by the bass player and it will be observed that,in the early stages, considerable trouble wiH be experienced inusing the fingers of the right hand. It is a good plan for thepkyer of more than one instrument to accustom himself tochanging over from one instrument to another during thesame practice session. This prevents the fingers from gettingset to one size of instrument.The complete tablature in the bass clef, together with the

special fingeringson the Dolmetsch and Schott bases, is given

in example 54 and should be carefully learned and practised.Example 35, a German tune dating from the fifteenth centuryand written in the bass def, will provide good practice. Also,the bass parts in anyhymn book will help thepkyer to accustom

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The Bass

34. TaUatureJtr Bass

G#,AI>

oo

oo

6 C

oooo

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The Bass

61


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The Bass35. Es 1st em' Res'

nrrrrif r r

himself to reading music in the bass clef.Larger basses still, with English fingering, which are twiceas long as the tenor and therefore sound an octave lowerthan the tenor, are now being made in the Eastern zone ofGermany; they are obtainable through Schott's, whose addressis given in Chapter 12.

6z


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TENOrnamentation

It will not be possible in a book like this to deal at great lengthwith the subject ofornamentation in recorderplaying. However,a few guiding principles can be given to help in playing thecommonest forms of ornamentation to be found in printedrecorder music.Ornaments are not always shown in original old versions of

music since the pkyer was expected to supply Ms own. It wasnot intended that these should be so numerous as to spoil andobscure the melodic line of the music. In much modern editedmusic, suitable ornaments are indicated.

In old music up to the early nineteenth century trills beganon the note above that on which the trill was written; inmodemmusic the order is reversed. For most trills, normal fingering

BRITTEN, PLAYCD. tVRtTTEN. PLAYEDfcr

TREBLE DESCANT

3*. Simple Trillscan be used, as in example 36. A good general rule in workingout the fingerings of trills is to move as few fingers as possibleto produce the desired effect. The more fingers that have to beused, the untidier the effect.Hence it sometimes becomes necessary to use special finger-

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Ornamentationings to produce the desired result neatly without extraneousnotes making themselves heard. Two frequently used specialfingerings are shown in example 37. Other special fingerings37- TriOs Needing Special ^ given in the chartineXample

. J f 3 8, but it must be admitted thatijw By* j_ t_ some ofthese are only approxi-

mations to the true notes. It isbest to study the trills as theyare needed rather than to at-tempt to learn them all at once.It is also worth while experi-menting with special fingeringsof one's own*There are two common and

effective ways of ending a trill.These are shown in example 39and it will be seen that in thefirst method the trill ends witha turn by descending to the

note below the one on which the trill is executed. In the secondmethod, the trill ends with a rest followed by a short note. Ineach case, the first note only of the trill is tongued.A mordent consists of a quick shake between the main noteand the note above; an inverted mordent consists of a quickshake between the main note and the note below. Both typesof mordent are used in modern edited versions of old music.Different musicians have different names for mordents, but thenotation used here is generally followed.Both trills and mordents, when judiciously used, help tomake a melody more lovely. They will need very careful re-

hearsing, and in executing a trill in old music the tendency to


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Ornamentation

s.

TR0,T.

tr

Tlie finder to ie remo^ttl duritw me fcrlii t$ slicnvn kj a small dofr.^s, Trills Needing Special finaeruujs3^. Ending of Trills

tr tr

WRITTEN. PLAYJ>-

40. Mordmts

W 1 (tVRITTE'N/fl)OR^)

WRITTEN. VfTTN.

begin a trill on the note Itself lather than on the note aboveshould be overcome. The beginner will find that a knowledgeof trills and mordents and the fingerings required for each oneE 6$


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Ornamentationof these will help In his understanding of the possibilities of hisinstrument.When players meet together in groups for consort playing,

trills and mordents should be carefully practised, so that all theplayers are playing the same part of a given ornament at thesame time. Unless this is done, the ornamentation will be in-effective and scrappy and it would be much better omitted. Asmost players, quite rightly, have their own individual fancieswhen using ornamentation, considerable difficulty may beexperienced in consort playing in achieving a neat and effectiveresult.

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ELEVEN

Consort flayinguince a number ofpeople are now pkying the recorder reason-ably well, It Is fairly easy for recorder pkyers to get In touchwith other like-minded enthusiasts for ensemble pkying, or,as it Is often called, pkying In consort. Before ensemble pkyingbegins, the players should warm up their Instruments byblowing gently through them without sounding them; this canbe silently and effectively done while pkcing the hand over thewindow opening. Alternatively, the Instrument can be wannedby placing the head part of It under the armpit or In a pocketwell beforehand. This warming process Is necessary because arecorder is at its correct pitch only when warm.

If, after warming the instruments, It Is found that an instru-ment is sharp, this can be fkttened slightly by pulling out thehead joint. This lengthens the tube of the recorder and solowers the pitch. It is not possible to raise the pitch of arecorder very much, though increasing the breath pressure willdo it slightly. The best of wind instruments can have theirminor defects and the pkyer must gradually get to know hisown instruments. But If he learns to think in tune he will pkyIn tune.Even when all the members of a group of pkyers possess

recorders made by the same maker and perfectly in tune witheach other, it is still possible for the group to be out of tune ifE* 67


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Consort Playingthe pkyers blow with different wind pressures. These differ-ences in wind pressure may be only slight, but nevertheless,the intonation in that group may be spoiled. Correct intonationshould be aimed at by all groups, otherwise beauty of tone willnever be achieved. Individual pkyers may achieve a highstandard when playing solo, but one of the besetting sins ofrecorder pkyers is the failure to achieve good intonation duringensemble playing.Another common mistake is for a player to concentrate en-

tirely on Ms own part., so much so that he does not hear orattend to what is going on around him. This may be becausehe does not know Ms part well or it may be because he hasdeveloped the bad habit of doing this sort of thing. In eithercase, bad intonation and a tendency to race or drag is theresult, and awhole ensemble can be spoiled by one such pkyer.In ensemble pkying, great attention should be paid to neat-ness of attack and ending, and to breathing wMch affects thephrasing. When care is paid to all these details, a group wMchpractises together regularly can acWeve a high degree of skill.If the pkyers use their ears, they will develop the habit ofbeginning and ending perfectly together and adjusting theirbreath pressures to achieve good intonation.There is a vast repertoire of recorder duets of varying de-

grees of difficulty, mainly for two trebles. Not much seems tohave been written for treble and tenor together, though thereare several works for treble and bass. Example 41 is a slowair for two trebles by Godfrey Finger. It is not technicallydifficult so that it will be possible for the pkyers to concentrateon intonation. The groups of slurred notes should be practisedseparately in the first instance; after tMs, there should be notechnical difficulties in playing the duet.


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Consort Pitying41. Slow Air Godfrey Finger


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Consort Playing

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Consort Playingbinations of recorders. Moreover, Bach Chorales can be foundin any good modern hymnal; these provide excellent practice.It may be necessary to rewrite the alto and tenor parts forpkying on the treble and tenor instruments respectively, butit is also good practice for the treble player to play the alto partan octave higher at sight without rewriting it, and also for thetenor player to read music in the bass clef.Those players who have a keyboard instrument available will

find much music for recorders and piano or harpsichord, butany pianist who wishes to accompany the solo recorder willhave to learn to play sympathetically with the instrument,otherwise the two instruments will not blend. The generatendency is for a pianist to pky much too loudly when accom-panying the recorder.

If string players are available, the violin can pky the tenorrecorder's part and the 'cello the bass. Here again, the stringplayers will have to learn to play understandingly with therecorders or they will tend to drown these soft-voiced instru-ments.To spur on the intelligent pkyer, he should keep in mind

such facts as that Bach wrote the Fourth Brandenburg Con-certo for solo violin, two recorders and strings and also adaptedit as a Concerto in F for solo harpsichord, two recorders andstrings* The Second Brandenburg Concerto was scored forsolo trumpet, recorder, oboe, violin and strings. Here is a levelof music at which the recorder player should aim.The voice blends exceedingly well with the recorder andthere is a fair amount ofmusic avaikble for recorder and voice

with other combinations of instruments. A number of Bach'sChurch Cantatas, as well as pieces by Purcell and Handel, usethe recorder with the voice. But in addition to all this difficult


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Consort Playingmusic, there are modern arrangements of folk songs which arefairly simple to play and which introduce recorder and voice,yet which, notwithstanding their simplicity, should giveintense pleasure to the beginner.

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TWELVEc ^Available

-Much music lias been made available to recorder playersduring these last few years and up-to-date catalogues of re-corder music are obtainable free from the various firms. Allthat it is necessary to do here is to give the names and addressesof some of the publishing houses together with a short list ofselected music which should help the recorder player to buildup his own library of music. It should then be possible for theenthusiast to search out music which interests him personally.One or two firms have publications which are helpful inteaching children and their catalogues should be consulted, butit is important to go forward as soon as possible to the moreadvanced music published by other firms. Catalogues givingsuitable music for children may be obtained from:E. J. Arnold and Son, Ltd., Leeds.

J. Curwen and Sons, Ltd., 24 Berners Street, London W.i.W. Paxton and Co., Ltd., 36-38 Dean Street, London W.i.A great publishing house which justly describes itselfas TheCentre for Recorder Players' is Schott and Co. Ltd., 48 GreatMajibotough Street, London W.i., much of whose music isedited by Edgar Hunt and Walter Bergmann. This firm hasalso a large amount ofmusic suitable for children. In the list ofmusic which follows, their publications will be indicated bythe letter S.

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Music AvailableMore recent in the field in England is the Dolmetsch

Recorder Series, well printed and edited by Carl Dolmetsch andLayton Ring and published by Universal Edition (A. A.Kalmus), 24 Great Pulteney Street, London W.i. Thekpublications will be indicated by the letter U.The Oxford University Press (Music Department), 44 Con-duit Street, London W.i. also publish a few pieces. These willbe indicated by the letter O.

In addition to pieces suitable for children, Boosey andHawkes Ltd., 295 Regent Street, London W.i. also publishworks for more advanced players; their publications will bemarked B.

Novelio and Co., Ltd., 160 Wardour Street, London W.i.are the English agents for some German publishing houses,notably Barenreiter. Their publications will be indicated by theletter N.The following selected list is intended to be a short guide

only:

DESCANT (OR TENOR) SOLOFifty Old English Folk-Dance Airs. (S.) Vary in difficulty.25 Tunes from The Beggars Opera. (U.) Vary in difficulty.TREBLE (OR SOPRANINO) SOLOPreludes and Voltmtaries. (S.) Some of these are very difficult

but they provide excellent practice.

TWO DESCANTS (OR TENORS)Plaj and Sing with or.(S.) There are several books with this title;

they are easy and have a voice and piano part as well.Musite de Ttmrm* by Francois Coupesm (U.) This is not easy

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Music Availablebut some useful hints ate given on how certain ornamentsshould be played.

TWO TREBLESSonata in D, by W. Croft. (S.) Moderately difficult.Sonata in F9 by Daniel Purcell. (B.) Moderately difficult.Four Sonatas inD minor, F, Bflat andA minor, by J. Mattheson.

(S.) Many of the movements in this set of sonatas are nottoo difficult for the beginner.

Six Sonatas in Canon Form in F, Bflaf^ Cy G minor\ D minor andG, by Teiemann. (N.) All fakly difficult.

Sonata in F, by J. B. Loeillet. (U.) Difficult.Premier Suite, by Boismortier (O.) Not too difficult for be-

ginners; it is suitable also for Treble and Tenor.

TWO DESCANTS AND TREBLEOld English Pieces^ by Morley, Weelkes and others, (S.) Not

too difficult for the beginner.Alpine Smte^ by Benjamin Britten. (B.) Moderately difficult; amodem composition.Aria., by Thomas Morley. (S.) Not too difficultfor the beginner.Air and Menuety by Johann Mattheson. (B.) Fairly easy.Fantasias I and VIII, by John Jenkins. (U.) Rather more

difficult than those already mentioned.Canzonet, by Henry Youll. (B.) For other combinations also.DESCANT, TREBLE AND TENORAllegro, by G. F. Handel. (S.) Moderately difficultHandelAlbum. (S.) Some ofthese are fakly simple; there is also

a piano score.Two Fantasias, by Anthony Holborne. (S.) Moderately difficult.

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Music Availableite^ by R. MiUler-Hartmann. (S.) Fairly difficult; a modem

composition.Pnnett Album. (S.) Some of these are fakly simple; there Is also

a piano score.Consort, by Matthew Locke. (S.) The movements vary in

difficulty.

THREE TREBLESA set of Trio Sonatas, by J. Mattheson. (S.) They vary In diffi-

culty. A good one to begin with Is that In F.Sonata, by J. J. Quante. (S.) Difficult.TWO TREBLES AND TENORPeasant Songs and Dances, Volume 2, by Bela Bartok. (U.) Fakly

simple.Suite, by Peter Racine Fricker. (S.) A modem composition,

fairly difficult.

TWO TREBLES AND BASSTrio, by J. Pepusch. (S.) Not too difficultChac&nne, by Henry Purcell. (O.) Moderately difficult.

TREBLE, TENOR AND BASSParties sur ks Fkut Dom, by J. C Faber. (S.) This Is not

difficult One movement is given in example 42.DESCANT, TREBLE, TENOR AND BASSThere are many Interesting quartets available; three good

ones, which are not too difficult to begin with, are:TheJacobean Consort Book. (S.)Six Chorales, by J. S. Bach. (U.)

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Music AvailableConsortsfrom Four Nations. (U.)A more difficult one is:Fantasia, by William Byrd. (S.)SOPRANINO AND PIANOLe Rossignol en amour, by Fr. Couperin. (S. and U.) This Is

difficult.

DESCANT (OR TENOR) AND PIANOClassical Album; twenty transcriptions by Haydn, Beethovenand other sources. (S.) Fairly easy.

Le Landais, by Michel la Barre. (S.) Moderately difficult.Twelve Famous Classical Tunes. (U.) The tunes vary in difficulty.Elizabethan Dances and Ajres, from the Fit2rwilliam Virginal

Book and others. (S.) Not too difficult.Piecesfrom the Fit^illiam Virginal Book. (N.) Fairly easy.Salzburg Minuets, by Mozart. (N.) Fairly easy.From a Music Book of 1740, edited by Doflein. (N.) Fairly easy.Divisions on a Ground Bass., by Daniel Purcell. (U.) Fairly diffi-

cult if you put in all the suggested ornamentation.TREBLE AND PIANOFrom Old England., pieces by English Masters of seventeenth

and eighteenth centuries. (S.) They vary in difficultyand provide excellent practice for beginners on the treble.

Four Original Sonatas, by G. F. Handel. (S.) These are moderateto difficult.

Sonatina, by Walter Leigh. (S.) This is difficult but is one ofthebest pieces by a modern composer.

Sonata, by Daniel Purcell. (O.) Moderately difficult.Sonata in F, by Giovanni Bononcini. (U.) Fairly difficult.

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Music AvailableSelected Minuets, by Teiemann. (N.) Vary in difficulty.

TWO DESCANTS (OR TWO TENORS) ANDPIANONine Christmas Carols. (S.) Easy.Play and Sing with us. (S.) There are several books, all easy. Both

the above have voice parts.Linden Lea, by Vaughan Williams. (B.) Fairly easy.Sonata in G, by J. C. Bach. (S.) Moderately difficult.Merry Music, by Woehi (N.) Fairly easy.DESCANT, TREBLE AND PIANOHandel and Purcell Albumsy already mentioned. (S.)

TWO TREBLES AND PIANOCbaeanne, by Henry PurcelL (S.) Moderately difficult.Sonata in C, by R. Valentine. (S.) Moderately difficult.Twelve Trio Sonatas,, in three volumes, by G. Sammarttni (or San

Martini). (S.) The movements vary in difficulty. There isalso a 'cello part to all the Sonatas.

TREBLE, TENOR AND PIANOAndante from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, by J. S. Bach. (S.)

Fairly difficult.Trio in F, by J. B. Loeillet. (S.) Fairly difficult. The tenor part

can be pkyed on an oboe.RECORDERS AND STRINGSIn Bethlehem City. Seven Christmas Carols. (S.) Easy.Andante from Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, by J. S. Bach. (S.)

Difficult.79


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Music AvailableRECORDERS AND VOICECorydon, Cantatafor Soprano, Treble Recorder and Piano, by J. G

Pepusch. (tL) Fairly difficultUnder the Greenwood Tree, for Soprano, Treble Recorder or

Sopranino, with two Violins and Continue, by T, A. Arne.(S.) Fakly difficult.

Sheep may safely gra%e, for Soprano, two Treble Recorders andPiano, by J. S. Back (S.) Has a group of high notes whichare rather difficult for the first treble part.

Jesu, praise to Thee be given, for Mesgp Soprano, two TrebleRecorders and Piano, by J. S. Bach. (S.) Moderately difficult.

The Vespers of 1610, for Choir and Orchestra, by Monteverdi.(U.) The Recorder parts are not too difficult. The com-plete score is expensive, but it is worth studying to seehow Monteverdi used the recorders.

There is a large amount ofmusic published on the continent,and in addition to that available through Novelio's it may bementioned that Schotfs are also sole agents for some Germanpublishing houses. Catalogues printed in English of thevarious publications are available through Schott's. It shouldbe remembered that in most German printed music, theEnglish descant recorder is referred to as the Soprano and theEnglish treble as the Alto.

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THIRTEENInstruments ^Available

Undoubtedly the best recorders are the hand-made onesproduced by Arnold Dolmetsch, Ltd., of Beechside, Hasle-mere, Surrey. They are expensive but still cheap when com-pared with the prices of other wind instruments. Sooner orlater the keen recorder player decides he must possess one ormore of these instruments; generally, the decision is in favourof not just one but more.Apart from these there are several other makers who produce

worthwhile instruments. There is little point in giving theprices of any of them as they vary from year to year. Price listsof all the instruments are always available from good musicshops or direct from the makers. In addition to the cataloguewhich can be obtained from Arnold Dolmetsch, Ltd., cata-logues from the following firms should also be consulted.Both Schott and Co., Ltd., and Boosey and Hawkes, Ltd.

whose addresses have already been givenin the chapter on MusicAvailable, supply instruments as well as music.

Rose, Morris and Co., Ltd., of 79-85 Paul Street, LondonE.G. 2. make the Dulcet Recorders.The German firm of Johannes Adler, Marknenkkdaen,Germany, make both cheap and expensive recorders with Eng-lish fingering.More expensive instruments made in Germany by the firm

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Instruments Available43. Complete- ToMoiureSCPRAN1NO

0ESCANTTfNORBASS

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Instruments Availableof Blrentelter can be obtained -through their English agentsNoveilo and Co., Ltd.; these too have English fingering.Most makers supply a tablature with their instruments, and

the fingerings given should be followed, as there may beslight deviations from the authentic English fingerings whichaxe given in example 43 . But it is best to examine an instrumentand the tablature supplied and to purchase one which conformsto the standard English fingerings.Some German firms make instruments resembling recorderswhich do not possess the authentic English fingerings and are

in fact not recorders at all; it is not possible to play all themajor and minor scales on them as on English recorders unlesssome of the holes are half-covered. This makes them difficultto finger and limits their use to music written in certain keys.Unfortunately, these instruments occasionally find their wayinto the English market and they should be avoided. Whenpurchasing a recorder for the first time the advice of a com-petent pkyer should be sought.

In addition to the wooden instruments, cheaper plasticrecorders are also available, but many of these are most un-satisfactory. Some, however, such as those made by the Dol-metsch firm, are really good. But it is doubtful whether anyrecorder tone is quite so lovely as that which can be producedfrom a good wooden instrument.The Dolmetsch firm have recently produced and patentedwhat may be described as a Tone Projector which makes the

recorder sound louder; it will be found useful to advancedpkyers when giving recitals or when playing with an orchestra.The device is shaped like a tiny wheelbarrow top and is clippedover the window of the instrument; acting like a small mega-phone, it projects the sound forward away from the player.

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Playing the Record 002521 Mbp

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