THE AMERICAN RECORDER SOCIETY 114 East 85th Street, New York 28, N. Y. Founded in 1939 by Suzanne Bloch

OFFICERS

ERICH KATZ Musical Diredor / GERTRUD BAMBERGER~ MARTHA BIXLER~ LaNOUE DAVENPORT ~ALBERT HESS • HERBERT KELLMAN

BERNARD KRAINIS~ JOHANNA E. KULBACH- JOEL NEWMAN Asst. Musicai'Directors (CARL COWL Secretary/ WINIFRED JAEGER Treasurer

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS

The next General Meeting of the American Recorder Society will be held on Saturday, May 16, 7:30 p.m., at the New York College of Music, 114 East 85th St., New York City. This meeting is open to all members of the ARS in good standing. The general meeting will be part of a "recorder weekend" in New York sponsored by the American Recorder So­ciety, New York Chapter. Other events will be a lecture on Sunday, May 17, ll:OO a.m., by Mr. David Dushkin on historical and structural aspects of the recorder and a concert the same day at 8:30 p.m. presented by The Antiqua Players of Pittsburgh, Colin Sterne, director. On the agenda for the general meeting will be consideration of the new by-laws of the ARS and election of a board of directors for 1959-61. Copies of the by-laws and ballots have been sent to all members for voting either by mail or in person at the meeting. No duplicate bal­lots can be issued, so those members voting at the meeting must bring their ballots with them. WE UIDE ALL MEMBERS TO VOTE!

NEWSLETTER LaNOUE DAVENPORT, Editor R. F. D. Gate Hill Road Stony Point, N.Y.

MARTHA BIXLER, Associate Editor 359 East 68th Street New York 21, N.Y.

No. 36 April 1959

A CALL TO ALL MEl!lBERS

From Elna Sherman (Boston Chapter)

"Now is the time for all loyal Recorder devotees to rally to the support of the Cause!" -the expansion of the Recorder and its integration in the musical life of America:- this is a project better achiev~d through cooperation and unity than by mere­ly parochial methods which may duplicate and dissipate effort. Let us come together, as many c~ the chapter members and delegates as can, for the week-end of May 16th and 17th, when the annual meeting and the con­cert will take place. We shall have a chance to meet with one another, exchange ideas and vote on new officers.

What are some of the things we may discuss? It is up to each one of us to think, and be prepared to help evaluate the ideas of others which will be presented at the Saturday evening meeting. One of the most important ways in which individuals can help, while being helped themselves, is to

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become National members. This slightly larger membership fee will prove one of the ;st enduring investments you can make, for

ohereby the Newsletter can become truly representative and valuable to every mem­ber. Think hm1 our individual influence would be multiplied through a ]_arger and broader Nevsletter!

While "tootling" for one's own pleasure is an important aim, it is only the beginning: we soon •rant to improve our tone, phrasing, and ensemble; we reach out for sound mu­sical standards, and our increasing ac­complishment in realizing the beauty and the joy of creative playing so possesses us t· tat we want to share it with others. The "gospel" thus spreads. The Ne<lsletter provides the kind of articles for stimula­tion, factual and critical as "'ell as historical, to say nothing of keeping us in touch with the other chapters all over the country. Just think, what we can do to­gether! -·· See you at the meeting, May 16, and the concert the following night!

·;llowiJJ.G is the ninth j_n a series of -.rticles on Technique by A. Rowland Jones, reprinted from-'i~~e Record.=r Ne-ds of England.

TONE

It seems paradoxical to suggest that the simple recorder is a more contrived instru­ment than the modern flute with its accu­mulation of keys, but it is true as far as that most basic ~unction is concerned -­tone-production. The recorder player has sound automatically made out of his blo'il­ing, by the unalterable relationship be­tween the shape of the 'ilind1my 'ilhich moulds to its own cross-section the colunm of air thrust into :lt, and of the "edge" or "lip" of the instrument which divides the air­stream and forms regularly alternating eddies which produce the vibrations of sound. The flute-player, in common 'ilith players of most other orc'lestral instru­ments, is able, 'ilithin linits, to control tone quality, but he has first to learn difficult techniques: th2 recorder player -no, like the pianist, produces nois:o re-. .:>tely, has the initial advantage of having

no such techniques to maEter, but the ulti­mate disadvantage of not having much tonal variety at his disposal. He should, there-

fore, feel himself all the more obliged to study his instrwncnt in order to produce the best tone it is capable of.

The tone of a recorder is affected by three things, its voicing, its bore and the mate­rial it is made of. Of these the most im­portant is voicing, and it is in the skill and understanding with 'ilhich the craftsman matches the voicj_ng to the nature of the piece of wood he is shaping, and its future maturing as a musical instrument, that the hand-made wood recorder is so superior to a machine-made instrument, althougr. misjudg­ment or bad luck could result in a hand­made recorder being a very poor thing. 1'he most critical factor in voicing is in the way the edge divides the air into two parts, one vibrating in the bore, the other escap­ing along the top of the instrument. An un­even division of air flavours the tone of the lmter notes of the instrument, and mini­mizes differences in quality between the notes of this register (e.g. bet1-1een F, a weak note, and G, a robust note) : but tili s voicing makes it difficult to get good high notes, 'ilhich are better produced with an equal parting of the air-stream. The dis·­tance between the opening of the wind1-1ay and the edge is also a factor in tone pro­duction, the higher register being favoured by closeness, although too close a voicing stifles the tone: if this distance j_s made greater the lo'iler notes are favoured, al­though too great a distance means thbt less air is made to sound, so causing fluffiness. ~'he cross-sectional area of the wind1•ay af­fects tone because it determines the amount of breath taken to make a note. A greater distance bet1-1een the roof and floor of the windway favours the lo'i/er notes as more vibrating air can be expended on then, but it carries the disadvantage that too much air is used on the higher notes. There is, of course, an optimum relationship bet1;een the amount of air put into the instrument and the ,general Hidth of the bore, but in a fatter instrument (such as would app"ar the Elizabethans used) what is gained in loud­ness is lost in expense of breath anrl a re­sultant loss of control of phrasing, parti·· cularly in the higher register. Ideally the expenditure of breath in recorder-playing should approach as nearly as possibl" to that spent in talking or soft singin{;. The precise shape of the cross-sectional area of the <lindway 'ilhich is son:etimes st: ·aight

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across and sometimes an arc shape, has no effect on tone, but the s1ightest j.n:pedance ·-.o the progress of the breath tra.vel}j_ng JhrowdJ, the <rindwe.y causes fllLffiness and

makes it harder to obtain high notes. This is why it is essential that a good recorder should be serviced every f'ew years to smooth off hairs of wood, lifting of the gr_ain or swelling caused by moisture or the maturing of the wood that m:i.ght obtrude into the smooth passage of the wind, particularly at the opening of the wind channel and at and immediately behind the tone-forming edge. Longitudinal striations which do not hinder the air-flow do not affect tone, and Schott's in thei.r most recent bakelite re­corders take advantage of this by cutting grooves in the floor of the wind<ray to en­courage moisture to drain away, without forming globules on the wind-channel open­ing which, as many recorder players know to_ their cost, ruin tone.

Tl1e reedy guali ty of a DoJJnetsch recorder is due largely to its conj.cal bore: a cylindrical, or ncar-cylindrif!al bore pro­duces f.:l.n acoustj_cally purer but perhaps 1 ess Jntercstin.g note. Rcediness is also ~used by !''laking the tone-producing edge

deeper in relation to the overall surface of the recorder: on the sarl'.e principle, if the walls at the side of' the edge are ex-­tended uvwards in any vay the tone becomes reedier and "edgier", as well as the pitch flatter. Tl1is happens when plasticine 11Wings 11 are used to tune a recorder, usual­ly the one-piece sopranino, or when a 11Wheelbarrov,r" sound-projector, as mentioned in my last article, is fixed over the aper­ture of the recorder. (This gadget is not, strictly speak1.ng, an "amplifier".) Hidth of bore affects tone, the wider bore being poorer in overtones (ru1d therefore less reedy) and harder to overblov. The tabor­pipe is a good example of' a narrow bore fipple-flute, its fundamentals being weak if obtainable at all, and the actual notes used being in the high harnonic range. Roughness of any kind on tl:le inner surface of the bore, particularly in and near the holes, causes fluffiness of tone. To en­sure that the wood remains in good condi­tion it should be treated :J.Ua.rterly 'frith a

n .. softening oil such as baraw. oil or un­ooiled linseed oil. The oil should be lul:e­warm so that it penetrates the surface of' the 'frood before drying, ani the dose should

not be liberal or it dd.es sticky. The tone-producing areas should be treated very lightly or not at all as the oil makes the wood less pervious to moistm·e and there­fore encourages the fonnation of globules, those recorder-player's gremlins. It is wise, too, to keep oil away from the plug in the mouthpiece, which might be loosened with lubrication. Tne whole bore must be air-tight, so joints should be well-fit­ting. Cork joints should be treated with lanolin -- enough can be bought for a penny to last years. Some recorder-makers finish the bore surface lightly with var­nish; too heavy a coating <rould act as an un>ranted buffer between the vibrating column of' air and the living >rood l·rbich gives it its personality.

Wood is undoubtedly the best material for making recorders. Bacon-lf suggests that "it were good to try recorders ruld ~unters' horns of brass, what the sound would be". The effect would not be pleasa.nt as brass has a ringing tone of its owE which \fOuld renct favorably to some note.s and wtf'avor .. ably to others, resulting in inequaJity and hardness of tone. The sru!le is true, to a more limited extent, with the hardest of' living tissues -- ivory, ebony wood and lignum vitae. The best wood for recorders has no knots and a close and parallel grain that allows a surface to be made which stays smooth, even lmder conditions of frequent wetting and drying: it should not be so hard that it has a resonance of its mm, nor so soft that it absorbs or dampens sound. The >roods that most nearly meet t:1ese requirements are box (allwst un­obtaim.ble), rosewood, tulip->rood, satin­wood, ·tleefvood and various black and hard woods 3UCh as olive and African blackvood. Pearwood and sycamore are used in the bass as they are lighter and softer.

The ma·'oerial and finish of the recorder bore should be such that it encourages the gradua. fonnation of' a thin and even film of moi ;ture during play. If this foms too profus.,ly it makes droplets >Thich run down the th-mbhole into the thumbnail in a most uncomfortable way, or, even worse, block the wind1my. Tne recorder should therefor.e be >rarned by a dr;y heat, preferably in the hands or a pocket but a hot-1mter bottle

* Quot:ction from rrNatural History" cent•tries II & III

will do, up to body temperature -- more may damage the instrument (fires or radiators

o too vigorous for recorder cooking). w~owing into a cold instrument to »ann it up only encourages the thing that warming is intended to avoid, that is, condensation of the moist breath on the cold surfaces of the wind1my, the edge and the bore . And that extraordinary practice of "blo»ing out" a choked-up recorder with a juicy spit into the windway only aggravates the situati.on. Once the mistake has been made and a re­corder has been allowed to become wet, not just moist, the player must wipe it out, let it dry, and start again. A recorder gives of its best tone not when it is ab­solutely dry but when any unevenness or variations in resonance are smoothed over by a thin film of moisture. To refer to Bacon again, "a pipe a little moistened on the inside, but yet so as there be no drops left, maketh a more solemr. sound, than if the pipe were dry, but yet with a s1·1eet degree of sibilation or purling. 1he ·cause is for that all things porous being super­ficially »et, becone a little more even and smooth, and if the body that createth the

und be clean and smooth, it maketh it _ .-1eeter."

The best rr.acie and the best kept recorder, played by an expert in a d.ry ,.,am room, is still not capable of prodt,cing perfect tone throughout its ra.nge . The player must therefore become a»are which notes are weakest and by concentrate,d experimentation and listening, preferably in the corner of a room where sound will be· reflected back to him, should determine t.he exact breath-­pressure required for the best possible sound of each note. Then should follow slow scales and pieces to accu,tom him to these tiny fluctuations of breath-pressure until they become, as it were, r·eflexes condi­tioned by each particular instrument that is played upon. He will fin C. that some notes are capable of producing ''tronger tone than others (e.g. G, G' and F':, that certain notes are by nature coarse (e.g. A' flat without thumb, and B' flai.) and some sweet (e.g. E' flat), and that cross-fingered notes are poorer and fluffier proportiou-

".ely to the extent of the cross-fingering. • fact, before long the )•layer will find

that every note has its mn personal:lty. This is one of' the charms of the recorder a WaJiimrd ine<J.uality of tc•ne that it shares

with Mr. Deller's wonderful counter-tenor voice, and 11hich seems peculiarly sui ted. to old music. Nevertheless the recorder player must cultivate equality of tone as a prominent note in the wrong position could ruin a phrase. He must, therefore, be prepared to reduce breath-pressure on a strong-toned note so that it plays belc•w its best tone and gives its neighbors the chance to be as or more important.

This leads us on to the subject of tonal variety. Flexibility of tone is a vital adjunct to variation of volume in achieving phrasing (that thing which makes musical sound into music), and it is because so many players disregard both that the re­corder is so often accused of producing an expressionless, emotionless monotone. Tne fact that the recorder has the Slllallest tonal range of wood>rind instruments should be a challenge to its devotees to exi;ract every drop of tone-variety their instru­ments 11ill yield. The mBchanics of putting breath into the instrument cannot, desDite what has been said to the contrary, :ln-· fluence tone. Giesbert in his 1937 ·outor said that tone could be iclproved by r:on­stricting the throat slightly in the ,,my a singer does: if this is true i.t is eatirely psychological -- the attitude of singing produces a more "singing" tone. It has also been suggested that a thin stre~ of air projected >lith tightened throo.t or half­closed lips makes a different sound ·:ohan a fuller strerun, but experirr.ent will prove a constriction of the air stream at th•e mouth-piece end of the windway has n•) ef­fect on tone or even volume (provide•l the breath-pressure is constant); there .ls no analogy with the flute here (cf. A. 3aines "Woodwind Instruments and their Hist )ry", p. 70.), as the 1?indway is long enough and the general breath-pressure used in the re­corder low enough to allo1? the flow of wind to fill the ,;indway before it reache3 the tone-producing areas.

The only control breath has over tone is in breath-pressure. vlhile l.t is true th>t each note gives its best sound at a certain optimum breath-pressure, some variation above and belm-r that optimum 11ill still make e;ood sounds. The higher breath-pres­sures produce an impure, reedier and sli(Oht-. ly edgy sound which has the brillio.n"e to compet·~ >rith other instruments and i; there-

fore the volt®e-tone range to choose for sonata-playing, 1ihile the J.o\ier breath­

"!SSure give a purer, duller ancl rounder ce of a more ethereal guali ty ideal for

recorder consort music. Of course over-

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blo1iing, a common fault particularly ·;dth descant players, and underblm1ing must both be recognized and avoic~ed, as the one causes coarseness of tone and the other a reticent. brea.thiness. An overblmm note is not the loudest note because it is not all pure sound, and an· underblo>m note, though un­deniably the softest, threatens net to be a musical note at all.

Rapid alternation of breath-pressures, that is vibrato, is the recorder player's chief means of obtaining tonal variety. But once mastered vibrato has the unhappy po1ier of becoming a bad habit, and a continual un­varied vibrato is as bau as none at all. A recorder player should be able to play 1iith­out vibrato, and 1iith fast, medium or slo\i vibratos of differing >~idths, and to move from one to the other at >~ill, ranging from the calmest note to the most passionate. A phrase can be shap:od by vibrato alone, the · ··tes which it is desi~ted to accentuate be-

b given vibrato, while those in the troug,_~ of the phrase e.re given little or none. ~Then volu.rne varis.tions ar2 combined 11i th tonal fluctuations, and the sha:ne of the phrase is assisted 'ditb the reedier and more prominent quality of the louder notes, the recorder becomes a truly expressive in­strument. As a general principle, vibrato is used on louder notes, >~hich are usually the summit of phrases, and if they are long, particularly in an introductory position, a slight s>~elling of vibrato (i.e. making the beats of the vibrato slo>~er and \Tider) makes them more decla~tory. Vibrato has the ad­ditional advantage of taking a>~ay some of the edginess of tone in a loud or high note. Slo\i music, >~hich is the hardest to play, needs plenty of tonal variety, and it can­not be fully expressive >~iehout carefully modulated vibrato to shape the phrasing. The detailed application of vibrato and of volume variations to phrasing cannot be taught in >~ords; j.t stems from musicianship, that quality pe.rtly inborn, partly bred of ~rtthusiasm, self-criticism, the study of

.sic and other musicians, and a sence of tradition.

Tonguine; has relatively li"';tle effect on tone

quality, as it only affects the begim1inc, of a note. A passage can be made to sound different by only varying the level of -c!J.e tonguing, but the dj.ff'erence in sound is one of attack rather than of quality. Doul,le-t.onguing of semi-quavers produces a slightly harder, more metallic effect than single tonguing, and strong tonguing at lo>~ breath-pressure on staccato notes a damped and spongy texture effective in certain contexts. Bad tonguing, of course, can. ruin tb.e tonal quality of a note: I have heard one established soloist play a series of notes >~ith a spit effect at the beginning of each due to too strong tongu­ing on the >~rang consonant.

Fingering plays a surprisingly important part in achieving good tone. Differences in tone--quality are caused by differences in the intensity of the various overtones and subsidiary notes that go into the mak­ing up of any note. The breathy note just audible bela>~ thumbed notes on the recorder can coarsen tone quality if the position of the thwab makes it discordant >~ith tb.e main note, a!ld \lith t>~o or more :Lnstrument.s playing discordant difference tones can produce a coarse and unpleasant sound. The cross-fingerings so often used as al·'~erna­tives have a different pattern of harmonics than plain-fingered notes, and produce a less dominating, more constricted quE-.lity of sound extremely useful in soft conteJ~­plative music \Then their comparative thin­ness of tone gives a pleasing effect of distance. In consort music these cross­fin_gerings are valuable in background parts >~hen another player has the lead, indeed they bec:ome essential if the notes in these parts are naturally rather prominent ones such as A on the descant, >~hich in these circumstances >~auld be fingered 0 1-J 45D-. Other alternatives have a stronger and -coarser tone than the normal fingering (e.g. treble alternative G' - 123 4567). ~CIJ:lese tonal variations of alternatives should be exploit 'd in giving expression to mu ;ic, as >~ell as in avoiding obstacles to goo•l ex­pressio:l sometimes inherent in the U<3e of ordinary fingerings, for example the un­>~anted prominence of an A' flat in a C minor s ~ale passage, or of an E shar~_) lead­ing to :in F 1 sharp (better fingcr:Lng:3 0 l23 45:§:- ani 0 123 ---- respectively).

Even adnitted defects of a recorder •!an be

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pressed into service when the context justi­""-'es it. The clicks a reco1·der makes in

mgine; registers sound very effective in a piece of' sopranino bird-:nusic or f'or that rusty old clock in Brit ten's "Alpine Suite". The sharp trills a recorder sometJ.me s tends to perpetrate (e.g. B f'lat to E) have an arresting tone-quality most suitable in a virtuoso solo piece.

As recorders are not (at least in their smallest sizes), particularly expensive, players can widen the tone colors at their disposal by the simple expedient of' possess­ing two or more descant and tre-ble instru­ments. The clarinet player, after all, possesses a B flat and an A instrument for ease in managing various keys; 1-1hy should the recorder player not take advantage of the great differences in the tone-qualities of instruments built on different principles, and.posscss a solo and a consort instru­ment? The former 1-10uld be of' conical bore and voiced to a hi€:11 breath-pressure, so having c. penetrating reedy sound cs.pable of joining forces vith keyboard and strings} •··'·ile the; latter "ould be a more cylindrical

:e i.nstrurneLt which with a lover breath­pressure, produc,"d a round ancl ethereal tone suited to the subjective caJrn of consort music, thc:t lFllre som1d that so c;:q1tivatcd Pepys when he heard a consort of' recorders play in a production of Mar;singer's "The Virgin M<trtyr" (Diary, February 27, 1667-8).

Given an instrument able to create beautiful sound, and a player with the technical knowl­edge to get it, there is only one more con­dition necessary for its pToduction. An_d that is the rj_g,ht attitude of mind. No player will produce good tone unless he knows what he wants and believes in the goodness of his instrument and the worth­whileness of the music he :ls playing. Con­viction will carry a recorder player far. lf he truly believes that the instrument he plays is 'une flute douce' the chances are that it will be so.

THE RECORDER ON RECORI'G

Last December ARS members .received a "Guide to currently available rec)rdings featuring the recorder." Th:is liste l a sizeable

number of ll'' s, but was not complete e.nd (lj_d

not include any recorder disl:s that had been withdrmrn by their manufacturers. Its pur­pose was largely as a C'nrj_stmas "shopping list", and it is hoped that it rnay have been of some value in that regard.

The "Guide" was the first evidence of a coruprehensi ve survey and rev:le" of record­ings featuring or including the recorder. The writer had originally hoped to be able to present a complete discography in one long article, but this has proven to be im­practical. The original title was to be "The Recorder on LP- a Discography," but it seems more wise to include all record­ings, especially since some foreign labels still include 78 rpm disks, and in our com­prehensive revie1-1 we propose to evaluate or (in a few cases where it is Bnpossible to locate copies) list all recordings 1-1hich include the recorder.

The present column, then, is the first in a series, which in future issues of the News­letter will discuss and evaluate recordings, in some cases with attention focused on the works of' a single composer, SJ.ch as Bach, Handel, or Teleruann; in other instances featuring a particular ensemble or soloist. As ne1-1 recordings are issued, they 1-1ill be revie1-1ec. promptly and an attempt will be made to evaluate them in relation to other perf'ortllE.nces on disks. In some cases this may involve duplication, but it is felt that in this way the reader may gain perspective. Of specj_al value are the instances where several versions exist of the same work, giving t.he listener the opportunity to com­pare ini.erpretations and thereby gain sollle insig,ht into the nature of the interpretive process itself.

Insofar as is possible, information not in­cluded c•n the record jacket will be listed with the review. This will include the name of make:· and material of the instrume"lts used, aJtd the editions of the music per­formed. In those instances where the names of the "'ecorder players are not given on the record :•acket, they 1-1ill be listed with the revie1-1 except in instances where the reviewer has been unable to track them do1"n.

* ?:· ·X- -;t -;;-

It is P"rhaps apprupriate that 1-1e start 1-1ith three r"cent records by the !1'1nhattan Hecerder

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Conso1~, the members of which are very active in the ARS and include the edi.tor ~,.,d assistant editor of this Ne~Isletter.

The l!,anl1attan Recorder Consort, IaNoue fuvenport, Direcfor.-

Martha Bixler - Soprano recorder, Dolmetsch, Rosewood.

- Alto Recorder, Doln•etsch, Satinwood.

- Harpsichord, Dolmetsch, triangular.

Shelley Gruskin, Soprano recorder, Dolmetsch, Rosewood. Alto recorder, Dolmetsch, Jacaranda. Tenor recorder, Moeck, Maple. Boehm flute, Haynes, silver.

Bernard Arnold, Alto recorder, Dolmetsch, Satinwood. Tenor recorder, Moeck, Maple.

IaNoue fuvenport, Soprano recorde1·, Dolmetch, Rosmmocl. Alto recorder, Dolmetsch, Rosewood. Tenor recorder, Moeck, BoXI-IOOd. Bass recorder, Dolmetsch, Sycamore. Contra-bass recorder, Adler, Pear.

~•entieth Century Recorder }fusic, The Man­hattan Recorder Consort, with Herbert Kell­man, percussion. Classic Editions 1055.

Barab, Seymour - Trio for recorders (Divi­sions for Soprano; Pavan; Divisions for Alto; Fuscue; Divisions for Tenor) (Boosey and Hawkes).

Britten, Benjami.n - Scherzo (Boosey and Hawkes).

Davenport, IaNoue - Three Duets for 2 Equal Instruments (11arch; Thirds and Seconds; Scherzo) (Omega).

ieraith, Paul - Trio for Recorders, from the "PliJner Musiktag" (Schott).

Katz, Erich - Suite for Fomc Recorders and Percunsion ~Carl Van Roy Music Pul,li.3hing Co.)

Raksin, fuvid - Serenade fro1o "The Unl.corn in the Garden" (Schott).

Staeps, Hans Ulrich - Four Dmces (Czalcan; Syrinx; Schalnw; Sambuca) (Haslinger)

By 1958 ~rhen this disk was released, many recorder records had been made, but this was the first to feature music of our mm time. It <ras listed on paper for a nwnber of months before it <ms actually taped and finally made public, and this reviewer looked fcrward to it with eager anticipa­tion. It was well worth the long ;rait. This is a. record that every serious student of the recorder will want to own, and in ad­dition it is highly recommended to anyone looking for novel fare. Classic Editions deserves our gratitude for having the fore­sight and courage to release it.

After having listened to this disk several times, this .reviewer is impressed by tile durability of much of thts music, and this is a good sign for the future of the re­corder. Unlike some would-be composer.3 for the instrument, these arc players all (>~ith the exception of Barab), and they reveal a sound knowledge of its character and p,Jten­tiali ties. The works are also 1rell chosen and programmed for good effect. And hardly to be overlooked is the fact that the per­formances are excellent and well-recorcled. In addition, fuvenport 1 s brief notes o•1 the record jacket are informative and well written.

As is readily apparent from the listing of works played in this concert of "~ent:Leth Century R2corder Music", this is all m, wic for recorder consort. The many fine modern solo sonatas remain unrecorded, but pe:·haps if enough readers let Classic Editions and other recording companies knm; of theiJ· interest, this situation might improve somewhat.

Meaieval, Renaissance and Barog_ue Reco: ·der Music. 'I'he l!Janhattan Recorder Consort. as­sisted by Martha Blackman, Viola da Ga.11ba. Classic Editions 1056.

Anon. (J.Jch c. French) - funse (Ex. of Mu.3ic before llfOO, Eastman)

" (l4ch c. English) -Trotto (Ditto) Thi baut d•e Champagne, Roi de Navarre (: 208-

53) - "J'aloie ]'autre jor er1·ani" (Me.lieval Songs e.nd funccs, UE 1~ 566)

Anon. (13th c French) - Motet : Alle, psallite cum luya - Alleluya (Ex. of Music before 1400)

;mon. (c. 1250, French) - Motet: Pucelete - Je Languis - Domino (Ditto)

Anon. - Two Basses Dances from the "Livre de Basses D_qnses de Harie de Bourgogne," c. 1450: Bea{;J.te; La Franchoi.se Nouvelle. (Medieval Songs and Dances UE 12566)

Anon. (16th c. Dances) - Bransle Gai; Bransle Charlotte (Hedieval Songs and Dances)

Isaac, Heinrich (c. 1450-1517) - Tnree instrurr.ental settings: Helogierons nous; ~1audi t Soyt; Instrumentalsatz ohne Titel. (Hortus Hc1sicus 29)

Gibbons, Orlando (1583-1625) -Fantasia (Schott, RMS 596)

Gervaise, Claude (16th c.) - Branle Gay; Branle Double; Gaillarde, (Editions Maurice Senart)

Loeillet, Jean-Baptiste (1680-1730) -Sonata in G major, Opus 1, No. 3· (Hortus Nusicus 43)

Fasch, Johann F:ricclrich (1688-1758) -Sonata in G major for fT~te, t'ro alto recorc~ers} and contj_n.uo (harpsicho:.r.:d and v:i.ola da grunba). (M::>eck 1040)

DJ.pl:icatj.ons on other recordings: 1) Isaac, Heinrich - Instrumental­satz ohne Titel. ~his is listed as "Chanson" in the Ha.ndbook (p. 75) accompanying 'l'ne Hi story of Music in s:mnd, Vol. III, "Ars Nova and the Renaissance", RCA VICTQR IM 6016. This recorded version is played by the Viols of the Schola Cantorum BasiHensis.

2) LoeHlet, Jean-·Baptiste - Sonata in G major. 'l'he fi.rst two movements only of this sonatE. are played by members of the Tral'P Family on DECCA DL 9838, using alto recorder and spinet.

The works on the two sid,,s of this record are very striking in the:.r contrast -- on the one hand, Medieval d:.nces and Renais­sance polyphonic works; on the other, the '8th century world of tlw instrumental solo ~onata wiU1 basso continno. Of special beauty are the three pie<:es by Isaac, and it is interesting to not" the existence of a recording of the last <>f these by a con­sort of viols. The two :Jerformances of

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this work are extremely different, not only in tone color but in tempo and genera]_ character. Both are played with authority and feeling, but afford different perspec­tive. The present recorder version seems more tightly defined, ><ith the lines of the individual voices more distinct, but at the same time it feels slightly rushed, whereas the viol version is too dragged out. An­other outstanding piece is the Gibbons Fantasia, with its imitative passages, which is played quite brilliantly. The shorter dances, many of them very attractive, are also well played.

The second duplication is the Loeil)_et sonata, or more precisely, the first two movements. Here Davenport has the edge, playing with more style and feeling. Of some interest is his use of notes inegales and ornamented lines, especially in the slmr movements, i.n contrast to the more literal reading of the notation by the Trapp Family soloist. In addition, the present recording has the advantage of an expert viola da gaml)a, setting off the im­portant bass line with grceater" clar:L ty.

Tne performance of the F'asch sonata employs a modern Boehm flute, with two alto re­corde;·s in a supporting role, and harpsi­chord and viola da ga.mba on the con-;~inuo

part. Purists might insist on the use of the Baroque one-key traverse here, and it is true that the timbre of the inst:cument differs from the Boeh'll model; but intona .. t ion problems are considerable, as "ill be evident to readers who are familiar with recordings by contemporary Baroque traverso players. The present solution may ':le as good as any for our ears. The work is surely a grateful example of music for the two kinds of flutes playing togethe~, and points up well their differences of charac­ter. In this recording individual players are excellent, ensemble is good, ana again the quality of the recording is quite satisfactory.

A Day in the Park: Music for a Child's World. Tne Manhattan Recorder ConsJrt, assiited by Sam Ulano, percussionist, and featuring Jean Ri tchio, folk singer, Classic Editions lOilj.

Anon. - American Folk Songs (Centaur Re­~order Library, Carl Van Hoy CJ.)

Davenport, IaNoue - A Day in the Park

(Associated, ARS cd. No. 17) F~anck, H2lch:i or (15'73-1639) - Tnree

German P3.nccs (Associated) ARS eel. No. 2)

Katz, Erich - Toy Concerto ( Omeg".) Four English Pieces:

Anon. (16th c.) .. Spat;noletta (bass recorder solo, with rec. ace.) · Byrd, William (1542-1623) - A Jigg (alto so1o) Farnaby, Giles (c. 1580) - Woodd;;• Cock (tenor solo); Tower Hill (sopranino solo) (Arr. for recorder quartet from Schott RMS 568, No. 3, and RVS 570, Nos. 2, 3, & 7)

J<.'nglish & Irish Folk Songs, sUDg by Jean Ritchie and accompanied by the M-::m­hattan Recorder Consort : IX:>Wn the Green Fields; It's with Kitty I'll Go; I Have a Bonnet Triwmed in Blue; The Sheep Shearing; As I Roved Out; Come All You Jolly Huntsmen.

Duplications on other recordings:

l) Anon. - Spa8J'oJ.etta. Played by Carl · Dolmetsch and Joseph SaxbJ~ (Cass r<2-

corL1er & r.arpsie:ho:rd) on LGNIXJN LPS 2/8.

2) Farnaby, GiJes - 'tlooddy Cock (tenor re­corder); T(Mer lUll (alto recorder). Played by Carl Dolmetsch and Joseph Saxby en IDNT.XJN LPS 24.

3) Anon. - American Folk Scnc;s. These are available in a MJSIC ~liNUS Oi'TE vGr­sion a_lc;c, !t,l>iO 2001, on which the whole bock of 14 songs are played. The present disk includes '7 of them.

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For those wHh primary interest in folk songs, this record will have much appeal, for Jean Ritchie is undoubtedly one of the leading exponents of her art. Her simple unaffected singing is pleasant and seems most appropriate in the works she has re­corded here. Especially enjoyable to this listener 'I>TaS "Come all you jolly huntsmen," with Hs delightful tune, infectious rhythm, and fine recorder accompanbnent, scored by LaNoue Davenpo~t, as were all the other accompaniments for Miss Ritchie.

''le main attre.ct.ion of' thee record for this j_·Gvie>..rer, hm·rever, lies in the purely in­strumental works, ef.-;pc-:ciElly those by DavenpoTt and Katz. Tne Manb.attan Recorder Consort puts in a fine perfor~once, which can undoubtedly be called "definitive" - if

such a ten: is pemi ttecl. Recorders poor­ly played sometimes sound lil'e a calliope; here they are well played and most ef­fectively transmit the atmosphere of the carousel. This record has to be heard be­fore ARS Ed. No. l '7 can truly be appx·eci­ated!

The Toy Concerto by Erich Katz is also given an outstanding performance, with the part originally scored for toy piano played in this instance on the celesta, a most suitable substitute. This is a work of great cham.

Three of the English pieces have been re­corded by Carl Dolmetsch with harpsichord accompaniment, the present version d:Lffer­ing in that they are arranged for recorder consort. In this case the reviewer prefers Mr. Dolmctsch's some>rhat more relaxed play­ing, but the individual soloists on this disk do very well indeed.

Of considerable interest to this listener was the use of t>w sets of recorC.ers in the Franc!' dances, t'~>m sopranos-alto-tenor be­ing contrasted "ith t .. w tenors-bass-contra­bass. The 'luick changes would be impossible in a live perfonnance vrjthout t'I>.'O sets of players, but recordings permit stunts like this and it is extremely effr=ctive.

This rt;vie'der is not an enthusiast for folk songs played on recordr=rs, but therE may be an audience for this sort of thing. At any rate, the pieces by L'clvenport and KE .. tz alone are well worth the price of the disk, and the Franck is a revelation >rith its wonder­ful color contrasts. It only remai"s to be said t'J.at the recordir:cg is Classic J;d;.tions' usual good 'luality.

ARS No. 34 THREE 16th-CENTURY CHAN~lONS FRAN~AISES from the LUTE BOOKS OF FRANCESCO DA MilANO . Adapted for Recorder Quartet by Joel Newman

The French chanson seems to have caJtured the iLterest of 16th-century musici~ns in all of Europe, but especially in It1ly. The vEry-first music publication printed from noval)JC type, the Odhecaton, printed by Petrucci in Venice, contained 10) chan­sons 1ather than native Italjan music-.-­After that, volume after volume con taini.nr; what :.talians called canzoni franccse testi-

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fied to the popularity of the fol~l, parti­cularly i-Ii th instrumentalists. Lute, viol and keyboard players loved to perf'onn these

: eces, arro.nging them to sv.i t their fingers and adding elements idiomatic to their in­struments.

These three compositj.ons corre from the lute tablatures of' }'rancesco da Milano (1497-154 3), a famous North Italian virtuoso player and composer for the lute. I have transcribed them from the reduced version in numerical tablature in which the lutenist had arranged them, and have reconstructed the part-'lriting so that they can be per­fanned by an instrumental ensemble, as <rere the original chansons before Da Milano "intabulated" them. Their light, dancelike spirit and their neatly sectional often repetitive construction, <rhich the renais­sance found so attractive, retains its charm for us today.

J .N.

Note: The first l2 ARS editions, formerly published by Clarke and Way, are no>T pub­lished by Carl Van Roy, Inc., of Brooldyn, N.Y. A new series has also been initiated

this firm called the Va::t Roy Recorder .. .~ibrary. Its first three issues include Harvest Su:I.te by Nancy WebstE:r, Suite No. 10 by J~Schein, arranged for 5 re­corders by \{inifred Jaeger, and Erich Katz's Suite for Recorder Consort and Percussion.

.ANNOUNCEt~l\"rS

Since urgent personal commitments have made it impossible for Mr. Carl Cm-rl to carry on his duties as Secretary at the present time, Miss Donna Hill has been ap­pointed as Acting Secretary of the ARS. Please direct all general correspondence and inquiries to: The Secretary, American Recorder Society, 114 East 85th Street, Nev York 28, N.Y.

A nev ARS membership list, and a nev list of ARS members vho teach the recorder, is now available and. <rill be sent to members upon request.

INSTRUNE:HT HAIUPB

Readers •rho are interested in learning more about recorder ruakers, pas·'.:. and present, will be glad to learn of Lrndcsay G.

Lanorill' s An Index of Musical Hind-Instru-· ment ~!al;ers, vhich is scheduled for publica­tion th,;:s-summer. This index is a labor of love on the part of the compiler, who is an authority on the history of the bassoon and Treasurer of the Galpin Society, and is the result of nearly h1enty years of patient research. It <rill include information about all knmm recorder makers, as well as makers of other <rind instruments. Interest­ed persons may vrite to Mr. Lang;rill ( 19 Melville Street, Edinburgh, 3, Scotland) and order the Index at the pre-publication price of $3.50, vhich may be sent upon re­ceipt of the book when it is published.

D.S.H.

CHAPTER NEHS

A communication from Arthur L. Loeb, musi.c director of the Boston Chapter of the ARS relates in some detail the activities of the Boston Chapter, and <re herewith print this communique vith our heartiest endorsement, since it is just the thing we appreciate having from chapters. Ed.

Boston Chapter

VIe have had a very active season this year, vith one meeting per month, and two pro­jects to prepare for. 'rhe first of these vas our annual 1\relfth Night Heeting, the one meeting of th!= year vhere the entire membership plays together. Tnis time ve vere asgisted by strings, singers, percus­sion and piano, in performing carol settings by VIal ter Bergmalli'l and Freda Dinn. The re­mainder of the evening vas devoted to per­formances by some of the advanced consorts, of Chrintmas music ranging from Agricola and du Caur:·?oy to settings by Gerrish and Van Huene.

On Decer1ber 7th the chapter sponsored a re­cital b;r the Nornegian organist Karen Johnsta<l, ass~sted by our members Mrs. Leland )'ollock, Fred Van Huene and Arthur Loeb as well as by the singer Karl-Dan S~rensen and a string quartet, in Boston 1 s histori<! and beautiful Old North Church.

Various members appeared on Til and 'IV sta­tions lvc>Bl·l and vTBUR, directed by Elna Shemo.n and Arthur Loeb.

After ~·elfth Night we concentrated O'l our Second Horkshop i·rhich was directed by David

and Dorothy D-1shkin, of Kinhaven, Vermont. Since l-lr. Dushkin was anxious to pre sent

he recorder in chnmber O:'::'chestraJ seven­teen oi' our members <lere selected to parti­cipate in the concludinG event of the week­end, a concert in MIT's Little 1'heatre. The Longy School of Music, which has been our host for our meetings, as <rell a:s our co-sponsor of the workshop, cooperated in assembling the strings and harpsichord. The thirty-one piece orchestra rehearsed under the direction of Ka1man Novak, asso­ciate director of the Longy School and member of' the Chapter's cxecuti ve commit­tee, during February and early March.

The workshop started on Friday evening, March 13th <lith an address by David Dushkin to the seventy-odd participants; immediately the group <ms put to <rork on music by the enthusiastic Dushkin. On Saturday morning Mr. Dushl,in presented a beautifully documented leGture on the re­corder, at MIT. Tnis lecture, together with the fine slides assenbled for the oc­casion) should be of great interest to other chaptel's a.nd. groups. He Bostonians

re proud of' having stimulated l·lr. Dushkin -cmmrd the f'ul.fillnent of a pro,iect that hacl long be~n. one of his P.mbi tions. Tne historic approach was welJ_ blended with hc1man interest, and the audience was very apprecio_tive.

Saturday afternoon was de"oted to sessions in separate.groups, with our own Mrs. Montague Ford assisting the Dus!Jkins.

Other items included a round-table question period, and rehearsals fo:c· the final con­cert. Tnis co~cert, which was also our an­nual concert includeci a choir of recorders in the Telemann B-f'lat Concerto, alternat­ing in Concerto Grosso st:rle with t•"o altos and a bass. Tne concluding Notturno by Haydn, though not specifi,;ally intended for recorders proved idiomati'c and effective in this scoring. Tile entire orchestra also participated in Dorothy D,lshkin' s Morris Dance Fantasy, <rell-known as post-prandial fare to the many Kinhaven a1umi.

'1e Baroque ensemble lite:·ature 1-ras further ~llustrated by the Sonata for four record­ers and bass by James Pai ;ible. This anti­phonal composition \?as pe::formed with the Fords from Newton on the .mdience 's ex-

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treme right, Hrs. Pollack and Mrs. Po'<!ers from Belmont on the left, and Arthur Loeb, being from Cambridge, officiating at the harpsichord somewhere in the middle.

The remainder of the program was devoted to contemporary works, with the first local performance of Erich Katz' very fine Suite for Recorders and Percussion. This piece was very well performed and received; it is a very strong contribution to contemporary recorder literature.

After our first recorder workshop, last year, we had decided to use the small profit for a colli1llission, to be dedicated to its directors, Carl Dolmetsch and Joseph Saxby. We were very fortunate in finding Al&n Hovhanes willing to accept the conmission, and he re<rarded us most generously with his sextet for recorders, harpsichord, and strings. In this sextet the recorders and harpsichord are integrated into the ensem­ble rather t!Jan ta:king a prominent role; the overall sound is quite lovely. It seemed. appropriate to give the sextet its premiere at the second workshop, and the t<ro >mrk­shop organizers, Melville .Smith, director of' the Longy School, and myself', performed it togE·ther >·lith string quartet.

Dorothy Dushl:in contributed, in addition to the Morris Dance Fantasy, a Set for he­corder£: and Strillgs 1 a more serious Vlork 1

which >.as performed by seven recordm·s (1222) and string quartet. vie enjoyed re­hearsir•.g this rather tricky composit:i.on, and once pulled together, it surprised several skeptics with the agreeable results.

The ca]Jacity audience (>rell over 200) was invite( to meet t!Je Dushkins in one of the pleasar.t rehearsal rooms that MIT had put at our disposal; the cooperation bet<reen the Longy School, MIT, Kinhaven and the ARS scc•red very favorably for amateur music making in the very best sense of the word, with pJ·ofessional composers and performers workine. side by side with those for •,r!Jom music j s an avocation in after-vrork hours.

Buf'falc• Chapter

The members of the Buffalo Recorder Consort wish tc• announce that they have receatly organi' ed to form the Buffalo Chapte··: of the AR~_.. Musical director and arrav ... ger is

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Ra;~onond F. Glover; the secretary i.s Alice Sprague, 497 W. Ferry Street, Buffalo 13, .. T""w York.

While oi'f'ili.ation 1·lith the ARS is a ned development, the Buffalo Recorder Consort has been in existence for almost four years. Meetings are generally held once a week.

On January 28th the members presented a concert at the Jewish Center in Buffalo. The program included selections by Gibbons, Rachlin, Palestrina, de Valderravano, Despres 1 BassanoJ and several songs and madrigals. The music vas interspersed by readings from Shakespeare and Rostand by members of' the Jewish Center Players.

On February 23rd the members visited the Buffalo Classical Guitar Society and pre­sented a short inf'onnal program.

Some of the members will provide between­scenes and intermission music for a dra.ma­tic proe;ram to be perf'ormE,d by students of Erie Con':lty '.i'echnical Institute on April 1+.

_ans are unde~:-- "day for a p:rogr2m vrhich vill be presented to the Buffalo Chr.pter of the hlerican GuiJ_d of C:rg2..nists in May. Final progra.tllil!ing has not yet been decided.

The Chapter is currently L.al:ing plans for a spring meeting to which all recorder play­ers in the area will be invited. We hope that this wiJ.l perrni t enl2.rgement of the Chapter and provide a basjs for regular meetings in future.

Austin Chapter

Officers of the newly or6Enized Austin chapter of the American REcorder Society are Robert Hobson, presidEnt; Mrs. Don H. Morgan, secretary; and Je1vis Undervood, musical director.

The first meeting of the Justin chapter was held in the home of Ml . a.nd Mrs. Don W. Morgan, 6107 Cary D.ri vE , Friday, JVJG.rch 20th at 8 o' clocl<.

e prograrn. fo:.'.:' th~ evenirg ·Has a Sonata 1or tr;ro nlto.s, tenor Rnd lass by SrunmarLini played by Miss Jo Alys D:J1.ns, Miss Dorcas Morgan, Neil HendrickB, ard. Robc:rt Ho"bso11; two moven~.cnts of a ~eclem:::-Lrn SonB.ta for solo

alto recorder, played by Mrs. Don W. Morgan, accompanied by Mrs. P.H. BarnhilJ on the virgj_nals j and a ~lerr:ann So.D3.ta for two altos and continuo played by Jervis Undenwod and Mrs. D::>ris Ferrar with John S;mnay on bass recorder, Lloyd Ferrar, viol de gamba, and Proctor Crow, virginals.

Tentative plans for the Austin group in­clude quarterly meetings with short pro­gra~s presented by different recorder groups, and group playing under the direc­tion of Mr. Undenrood, 1cho is flute pro­fessor at the University of Texas and who has performed on the recordel' at sev2ral UniversHy functions.

Dur-ing the social hour there was quite a bit of spontaneous playing on the virginals, clavichord, and lutes OW11ed by the h::>st, as vell as recorders.

Twenty recorder players strong, the nev Austin chapter has had an excellent be­ginning and ;re are looking forvard to many ;ronderful meetings in the futur~.

Chicago Chapter

Mrs. Don Jo/. !>!organ Secretary, Austin Ch~pter

The February meeting of the. Chicago ~bapter of the American Recorder Society 1-ms held at the Central YMCA. Over 75 record,or­players (and listeners) crowded into our meeting room. ML1ch of this turnout must be attributed to the personality of Mr. Sam Lesner, vho led the meeting, ar1d who has been playing and teaching the re~order for some 25 years. Highli~bt of the even­ing was the performance of a "Little Suite for Recorders" especially composed by Robe'rt Gordon of our chapter.

On February 11th Gretel Dunsing talked on recorders for the "Senior Citizen Group" of the Hyde Park Baptist Church. FoLlo;r­ing the talk she vas joined by Jacqu•eHne FaJ.k and Evelyn Gaston in a performa:1ce of music by Telemann, Mattheson and Hoo~c.

The JV,arch mectine; took place at Gcor,;c Willia_ms College. lJ.hc meet:Lng hall ·Has pnJV:Lded throug,'1 the courtesy of Grec;el Dunsing7 one of our musical director:3 v,rho, bec;id.er·, conctucting, J.ecl a group of h 'r ad­vanced recorder students in music by B?~ch)

Isaak and Hassler. J"ames Hack, another m.usical. director, conducted the group play­

g of an eight part motet by Palestrin2 .. Edward J. Kahn President, Chicago Chapter

Washington C:I'.":PteE_

The monthly meeting of the Washi.nston Re­corder Society was held on tlarch 7th at the home of Dr. Todos Odarenko, the rmsical director. Tne foll.m·ling progra'll was pre­sented:

Sonata in C by 1'elemann lfll'. and Mrs. 1'homas Schwab

Suite by· J.C. Schultze To do s Odareu.lw, D:Jnald McD:Jnald, Glenn bliddleton, Hrs. Barbara Klein

Variations on Simple Simon by Jacob Van Eyck Thomas Schwab

The whole group played the IIJ.ssa Brevis by Buxtehude, with ex<eellent result,s.

r rr~cmbership is building up and interest ~s cons~cantly grmring.

Australi.a

Albert Strakna Washington Chapter

Anice Duncan, 8 Tne Barbette, Castlecrag, Sydney, New .south Wales, has written to ARS member Nanc,y Kelly as follows concerning recorder activities in Australia: "We have formed a Recorder Society and have a music :'ibrary of over 400 pieces and occasionally get people to "Tite stuSf for us. The Society meets once a month and 're have lectures on various aspects of music.

"This year the recorder is allowed as an instrument for those takir;g music for the Leaving Certificate (or Matric). Recorders and voices are also used at the school con­certs.

"Our next three social. affairs are, a con­cert in which 're are mixed up with flautists ~d clarinettists and a few strings; a weck­

.~.ld music can.p; and our C:h.ristn1as paTty where anything may happen."

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SUMMER AC1'IVI'.riES

The 35th Haslemere Festival, u.nCJ.er the direction of Carl D:Jlmetsch, ><ill be held in Haslemere, Surrey, England, July 18th-25th, 1959. This year the Festival pro­gra.tas will give prominence to the music of' Handel and Purcell; other composers of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries will be well represented. For further information write to the Haslemere Hall Box Office, Haslemerc, Surrey, England.

Kinhaven Music Camp, Davi.d and D:Jrothy Dushkin, directors, <~ill hold its adult session from August 15th to 29th in \</eston, Vermont. The pursuit of chamber music in all its forms is the Kinhaven objective. Ensemble groups vary from duets to chamber orchestra and include choral singing and combinations of voices and instrumer,ts. For further information 'rrite to Kivhaven Music Camp, Weston, Vermont.

1'he Cocmtry Dance Society of America <~ill hold its 31st annual su.rMner dance aLd music camp at Pinewoods Camp, Long Pond, Iuzzards Bay, MEcSS. from August 9th to 30th, !.959. Of special interest to recorder players is the FoJ.k Music and Recorda~ Hc2k, from August 23rd to 30th, which will be directed by Martha Bixler and Eric Leber. Fclk Music and Recorder Week is preceded by twc Dance Weeks, during which period English and American dances are the major interest, al­though the program <rill also include folk singing, orchestra, and recorder playing. For further informa.tion write to May Gadd, National Director of the Country Dar.ce Society of America, 55 Chri.stopher Etreet, Ne;, York 14, N.Y.

FOR SALE

Dolmetsch soprano standard model, ljke new, $15.00

Adler tenor double holes, one key, ~5 year 1aaple, like ne<~, $15.00

Contacj;: A.P. S.'llith, 113 E. Central, Lombard, Ill.

Tenor :cecorder, KHng, boxwood vi th jvory, J.i' and Ff/ keys J unused, $60.00

Alto recorder, Koch, cocobolo, used 6 months, $15.00

~ontact: L. S. Brmm, 414 Madj_son Ave. New York, N.Y. PLaza 8-2516 days

Dolmetsch alto, ivory mouthpiece, little used, $Lf5. 00

Dolmetsch plastic alto, unused, $8.00

Contact: Mrs. Julia P. Meardon, 530 E. Garcia, Apt. 3 Santa Fe, New Mexico

Koch bass, cocobolo, double holes, $110.00

Contact: Charles P. Rogers 652 Cor<U!, Road, Huntington Valley, Pa.

MUSIC REVIEHS

Bach Album, for soprano and alto recorder \d th piano arranged by Dom Gregory Murray and Halter Berg­maml I I Schott & Co., Ltd. (Associc:.ted Music Publisl.lers, RMS 572)

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Francesco Barsanti, Sonata No. 1, in D minor, for alto recorder and piano, or harpsichord, violoncello ad lib., edited with realization of' the figured bass by Halter Bergmann II Schott & Co., Ltd. {As.sociated Music Publishers, RMS 810)

Rudolf Lerich, Suite in F, for 3 Block­flBten (recorders in c,c,F) II No. 6 of the series "Zusa.mnespiel flir Blockflllten", ed. by Ferdinand Enke (Robert Lienau, publ., Berlin, Germany)

Rudolf Lerich, Serenade in F, flir Block­floteng_uartett (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) II l\o. 7 of the same series.

There is always more room for Ba~h editions. The Bach Album by Murray and. :'},,rgrnan in-

•des selections from keytoard music as . ~l as orchestral pieces and cantatas, among others the falllous aria "Sheep may safely. " The woll-lllr:J.de arr3.ngements are

not for beginners but players of medium or better capacity.

Barsanti, a contemporary of Handel in England, deserves to be better lmmm and appreciated among discrL~inating recorder players. In addi tj_on to the previously published sonatas in F-major and G-minor, Halter Bergmann has now edited another worl< by this composer <rhose expressive music is often marked by bold chronBticisms and dissonances. Technically, it does not present any special problems and will, therefore, be all the more welcome in this field.

The Suite and Divertimento by Rudolf Lerich belong to a category of contemporary works using a pseudo "ancient" idiom -- a vague mj_xture of characteristics from the Hiddle Ages to the Barog_ue period with just a sprinkling of modernisms. His music, though displaying nice ideas and genuine feel:lng, tends to become dull after a short while for lack of contrast and development. His con­ventional endings en:phasizc this WP.akness. HovTever, Lerich (Vlho is a very proUfic composer of recorder music) knows very vrell . how to write for the instrurlient and this is certainly an asset. Both works a.re g_uite easy, pleasant sounding and inoffensive enough to make friends even among the most ardent foes of "modern" Jl!Usic.

Erich Katz

Quantz, Johann Joachim (d. 1773) Trio Sonata in C Alto recorder, violin (oboe) anil

continuo Editors and continuo realization, Walter Bergmann and Leonard Lefkovitch Sc::tott, London. Rl~S 912

Scheibe, Johann Adolf (1708-1776) Co:~certo a 4 Alto recorder, 2 violins and conti1 :w Co 1tinuo realization, Eitel-Friedrich Ca. Llenberg Moock lo4l

Telemam, Georg Philipp (1681-1767) Qu.J.dro in G Minor Alto recorcDer~--violin, viola (violin)

and continuo Co:1tinuo realization, Eitel-Friedrich Callenberg Mo,,ck 1042

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Boismortier, Joseph Bod.in de (1691·-1755) Concerto in E rrinor Afto recorder, oboe, violin,

bassoon obliga·i:.o and continno EdHor, Hugo Ruf. Urtext Deutscher Ricordi sy 586

Biber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz (1644-1704) Sonata pro Tabula a 10 5recorders (SSATB), 2 violins,

2 violas, cello and keyboard ad. lib.

Editor, c, R, F. ¥~under Schott, London. R.V£ 920

The record.er player >Tho would properly ac­quaint himseli' with the Baroque literature for his instrurrent must do two things: one, he must provide himseli' with a good tech­nique, and tvo, he must locate string players, wood1•ind players and a keyboard player, ideally one "llho mms a harpsichord. This done, he needs only an unlimited sup­ply o:f money with "llhich to ·buy music. Once he gets this far, he is on his way to dis­covering a kinG. o:f music dralillitically di:f­:ferent fro;n that o:f the recorder ensemble. ··-,t that this music is ge;oerical.ly better

. 1an the RenaL:;sance repe:ctoire Hi th which the recorder enscemblc sho:<ld be familiar; rather, the excitement o:f Baroque lliusic stems from its brilliant virtuoso character, its sharply contrasting instrumental colors, and most importantly, it 3tems :from the :fact that Baroque instrumental music has its o>m :force and style which are not bo~~d, as in the Renarssance, to vocal models.

Five recent publications <lisplay the re­corder each in a di:f:feren•; instrumental setting. The Quantz Trio Sonata is scored for the most fa;niliar com~ilnation, that o:f recorder, violin Bnd continuo. The present work, unlike his celebrat"d trio sonata :for recorder and flute, is inconsequential. There are pretty moments, but the workman­ship is marred by long sequences where the melody l.nstruments procee' _ monotonously l.n thirds • It is imnncua te 1;' edited with sparse editor:lal suggesti<•ns clearly in­dicated by brackets.

_T,-,hrulU Adoli' Sheibe is renembercd ll:'ostly as pupil o:f J .S. Bach, who~;e public criticism

o:f his :former teacher tou< hed o:f:f a lively 18th century controversy. Very few of his numerous colllpositions havE survived, which, if the present work is a J'air sample, is a

great pity. The :forill depends largely on dialogue bet1>een the recorder and strj_ngs (vhich ma.y, according to Scheibe, be played one or more to a part). Since the strings always play as a unit, and since the com­poser speaks of solo and accompanyine, in­strumer.ts, perhaps a better title :for this work would be Concerto Grosso :for Recorder and Strings. Concerto a ~- implies four equal parts. The writing :for the recorder is idiomatic, and the teA~ure, which is light and clear, skillfully solves the balance problems created whenever the recorder is used with other instruments. The realiza­tion is musical and appropriately slli.ple, and the urtext editing is excellent.

There is a strong :family resemblance bet>lcen the Telemann Quadro and Scheibe's Concerto a 4. Telema.nn is more vigorous, imagiiiat:Cve­and assured, but the :forms are identical. Possibly Scheibe is using Tclemann '_s style as a model, because in Cri tische l-!usikus (!I8Jll.burg 1740) Scheibe writes:

"Altogether these pieces (Quadros) re(_[uire a great deal of thorough prepara':.ion, great experience and care. Only a :fe1·1 composers have achieved perfection in such works • The celebrated Telemann has in :fact SQr­passed aln1ost all other composers >lith his excellent Quadros."

The engraving, printing, layout and paper o:f both the Telemann and Scheibe are so :far above the level of the usual run of recorder music as to be noteworthy.

Boismortier's most agreeable Concerto in E minor is really a concerto a 5-.--Each~ St:ruiilent has both a solo and a tutti role and indeed the composer misses few oppor­tunities :for extracting all the color possibilities from this instruments.l group-· ing. Tne :fascinating combination of re­corder, oboe, violin, and bassoon, along with the ever-present harpsichord and cell:>, has appealeJ to other Baroque composers, among them Vivaldi and Telemann. However, in al­most two centuries the oboe, violin and bassoon have changed greatly in the direc­tion of greater brilliance and volume. Tney arc now too loud :for the recorder unless they are played very softly. Bot.h the urtext editing ancl the realization are superior. Printing, engraving, layout and paper a.ce excellent.

- 16 -

Heinrich IQ:laz Franz :Si ber <laS a f'a.mous violinist and comc>oser, and although JLB.ily

' his 1wrks for solo violin are published _J modern editions, he is 9.. composer whobe

music is more spoken of than played, The interesting Sonata pro Tabula a 10 is erninently playable andwc-11 >rorth playing provided one can conjur up the unig_ue cornbination of 5 recorders, 5 strings and keyboard. Since the writing for neither strings nor recorders is difficult, a school would seem a logical place for per­forming this piece. The Sonata consists of seven short, contrasting movements. The continuo is tastefully realized, and the editing is flawless.

FRANCIS H, GALPIN - RECORDER PLAYER: A POSTSCRIPT

Since writing the article on Canon Galpin which appeared in the JanuR.ry 1959 News­letter, au error has comce to my attention, along with some additional information that may possibly be of interest to readers. The Stanesby bass recorder once i.n Galpin's collection i:> not, and. never has been, in · ··e Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, as I re­. .rtecl., but is the property of Eric HaJS­penny, who also j s the fortmw;te possessor of two Stanesby alto (treble) recorders formerly j_n Galpin's collection. A recent note from Mr. Halfpenny goes on to say: "These are regularly played together and also with the Galpin oboe (the oldest in the British Isles), flute and bassoon, all at the proper low pitch, by my group, the Kamrnerton Group. He play furoC]_ue wind trio sonatas, at B.'troque pitch on &roque instruments. Nobody else can say as much!"

Also since wrHing the Galpin article, I have acquired a copy of Bessaraboff's mag­nificent book, Ancient European Musical Instruments (Published for the MuseulJI of Fine J\.rts, Boston, by the Harvard University Press, 1941), which describes in detail all the instruments in the Leslie Lindsey Mason Collection of Musical Instruments, which vras formerly a part of Canon Galpin's col­lection. This book includes photographs and detailed descriptions and measurements ~., all the instruments. The collection

.1elf is on cJ.j_splay at the Muscmn of Fj.ne Arts in Boston, and includes the follmd~ recorders:

l. Treble (alto) recorder in G, a pearwood reproduction of a Renaissance-type in~ strument, made Jn Iondou and fi.nishcd by Galpin.

2. Tenor~alto recorder in D, also a pear­wood reproduction made in IDndou and finished by Galpin, the tem "tenor­alto" being derived from Praetorius.

3. Basset (bass) recorder in G, a wal~ut reproduction of an original 16th century instrument in Galpin's second collection.

4. Bass (quintbass, contrabass, or what­have-you) in C, again a 1mluut repro­duction of a Renaissance instrument.

5. Treble recorder in A, England, late 18th ceut·J.ry, made in three pieces of vraluut.

6. Treble recorder in G, Gemauy (?), 18th century, of beautifully turneo. and carved ivory, the mouthpiece beinG in the form of a fish's head.

7. Tenor recorder in D, England, ca. 1800, made of pearwood, and marked "Neave, Ma.Jcer. 11

In view of the fact that the alto (treble) in F was by far the most popular sizco re­corder in the 18th century, it semns almost astonj_shiug to the writer that no spc,cimeus of this instrur,ent is included in th" Boston collection. The collection ar; a whole is quite amazing in its comprehensive­ness, however, and this is surely a ninor flaw from an over-all viewpoint.

A letter from Narcissa Hilliamson, Sllper­visor of Early Music at the Boston MHseum of Fine Arts, informs me that the ivory re­corder has been restored to use, along with several other instruments in the coL_ectiou, in concerts by the CPJrrerata of the !1llseum of Fine Arts, a group organizeo. in l'J51+. This is certainly an encouraging dev<,lop­rneut, and it is to be hoped that oth<:r museums and libraries with instrument col­lections will sit up and take notice Many musical instruments are pleasi~; to look at, but they realize their main pur­pose for existing only vrheu played o>t.

Dl.le S. Higbee