Baroque & Folk Tunes for Recorder cover image

Baroque & Folk Tunes for Recorder

Leo Alfassy
$10.00
$10.00
Out of Stock

Shipping calculated at checkout.
At first glance, some might find the intro to this recorder collection rather offputting, The author (of the introduction) describes most of the recorder players he knows as defeatist, lacking in motivation, and the real reason why the recorder is often seen as the "Rodney Dangerfield" of instruments. But read more closely it is clear he is trying to defend the recorder and encourage players to stick to their guns, or at least their fipples. This 64-page collection contains 57 solo pieces and an illustration of a bird. All seem arranged for the soprano (or tenor) and also include chords for guitar. Some could be played on the alto and one or two (such as the Corrente) might even sound better that way, given what it would take to hit its high notes on a soprano. Most of the pieces are classical. There is also some folk or traditional and even some ragtime. Most of the pieces are full-page songs, well within the range of a diligent, advanced beginner who's mastered most notes. The collection bills itself as "unusual", and that's fair insofar as most of its pieces do not seem to appear in other recorder collections, and because it is such an eclectic mix. There's lots of good stuff here. Several pieces bring out the recorder at its most soulful (or most melancholy). I have found the arrangements of Muffat's Siciliana, Pergolesi's Siciliana, and Mozart's Andante Graziosa particularly beautiful, and there are also enjoyable arrangements of Borodin's Polovtsian Dance, "Those were the Days" and Joplin's "The Entertainer", although my music teacher performed a fair amount of surgery on that last piece. Overall, the author seems to have broad musical tastes, a very good ear for music that sounds well on the recorder, and a knack for making it beginner-friendly.