Recorder Music List - Help Notes

I used to stock music for all sizes of recorder (garklein, sopranino, descant/soprano, treble/alto, tenor and bass) both solo and in combination with other musical instruments. The titles met the needs of all players from the absolute beginner to the advanced, post graduate player. One cannot go on for ever and my music stock has now gone to another specialist recorder music dealer.
 
I do still have some beginners methods and duet books etc. They are available on a two for the price of one basis and are listed here...

Beginners Methods

I am often asked to select music for clients (and their pupils!) myself. Its a near impossible task. However, I can offer some general pointers that may guide you, in addition to those below. If you are not an advanced player but you are looking for recreational music to play with a friend you will be far more likely to find suitable pieces in volumes containing works from many sources. I list these together on the appropriate pages for music of different period and instrumentation, under the headings of 'Collections' or 'Albums'. (An 'album' has a much wider range of period than a 'collection'.) 'Sonatas' tend to be more demanding than 'Tunes', 'Pieces' or 'Melodies'. 'Concertos' even more so. The more difficult baroque works are those by Handel, Corelli, Telemann, Bach and Vivaldi (in ascending order of difficulty). It is more difficult with modern music, but 'jazzy' indicates that a fair degree of rhythmic competence is required for a successful performance.

Orders should quote the full details of the composer, title, instrument, arranger, publisher, and, where ever possible, the publisher's number.

The above details are most important with works by prolific C18 composers. The first two are virtually essential. I have enough experience to be able to fill in many blanks but not all. The publisher's number is unique and completely defines the edition. In my lists, letters at the start of a reference are separated from the following numbers (and any other letters) by a space. When it comes to searching, less can be better than more. The publisher's numbers that I quote come from the printed edition. I do not use leading zeros.

See lower down this page for tables of the abbreviations used.

C18 and earlier compositions are listed under Recorder & Continuo if there is only one recorder. (ABRSM 'List A') Works from this period with two (or more) solo instruments are listed under Trio Sonatas.

More modern compositions are listed under Recorder & Piano. (ABRSM 'List B') This page includes a few works for more than one recorder, with piano and Albums of mixed period pieces.

'Solo' means 'unaccompanied'. Works without keyboard from all periods are listed together. This includes pieces classed as Studies by examination boards. (ABRSM 'List C') Duets and works for several recorders of the same size are also included on this page.

There are separate lists for Easy Ensemble and more difficult Ensemble. This page also includes Christmas Music.

'Score' is the word used in the UK for the music book used by the conductor, or for study. It shows every instrument on each page. The equivalent German word, which may be more familiar to many of you, is 'Partitur'. I have found that internationally the word 'score' tends to be used for any form of written music. Individual sheets of music for each instrument are 'parts' in the UK and 'Stimmen' in German. 'Noten' (German) generally means 'sheet music' (ie. pages of music). The English word 'notes' in never used to mean this. I can usually work out what is wanted from the context. In the UK musicians usually refer to 'sheet music' simply as 'music', or very informally as 'the dots'.

If music is required for an exam, it does help to provide the full details, which should be in the syllabus. In the absence of edition information be guided by the description in these lists

The title page description is what I list first. There is often additional information so that individual works may be correlated with collected editions. Sometimes times alternative editions are available (or, indeed, preferable).

There is never any requirement to use the suggested edition, any edition of the work will do provided that the key is unchanged. A collected edition is usually an economic option. There is much to be gained by exploring the repertoire beyond syllabus lists. However, if the work is an arrangement you should exercise extreme caution before using a different edition. There can be significant differences. Corelli sonatas are a particular case.

There are other pages too, Methods, Exam etc. I still stock books on recorder related subjects. Scroll down the left hand menu until you find the page you need.

These lists are based on the needs of recorder players. Editions that have 'Flute' or 'Piccolo' on the cover and title page should not be regarded as problematic. In some cases they are the only edition available and are often an economic choice.

There is a note at the end of this page regarding multiple editions.

I have not graded the music, except for ensembles. Remember that for auditions etc. it is the performance which is judged, not the composition. Be guided by exam syllabuses, experience and title.

'Out of Print' titles are... out of print! These means that the publisher does not have new stock. You may be able to locate one by doing a web search. Some publishers will produce special order prints from their archive. Where was a regular demand for a title I used have it in stock. They tend to be expensive and sometimes the price varies according to factors beyond my control.

At all times an answering machine is on the line. It will attend to you when I am not available. I may ring you back even if you do not leave a message.

I have found that each time a new edition appears a demand is created and the market for a previous edition is reduced. I do not understand why there are many versions of Handel, Telemann and van Eyck, but it is the way things seem to have to be. It can make maintaining stock very difficult.

I do not want to get drawn into a discussion of the relative merits of different editions. Where there are significant differences that I know about I usually draw attention to them in the listing. Otherwise, please make your own choice, or be guided by your tutor.

My own preferences are for uncluttered editions without impossible page turns. I do not care for excessive amounts of ink on the page (typically a Peters characteristic). I am not too bothered about the way musica ficta problems are solved. If I do not like the sound of what is printed I will change things to suit my taste. There is no reason why you should not do the same. At advanced level examinations it might well be expected of you. Very few editions are perfectly accurate and you, or your tutor, should be able to resolve typos without much trouble. It can be interesting to play from facsimile editions. The Schott edition of Handel sonatas includes a reprint of the Walsh edition, nice, but the modern recorder part is terribly squashed.

Where contents are listed, the order is the same as the order in the book. You may safely assume that the third item is 'Sonata No.3' if the book is a collection of sonatas. Please be aware though that the numbers are not guaranteed to reflect numbers within an opus. So, 'Sonata No.3' might well be 'Op.4 No.6' and I will, in order to save space, list it as Op.4/6'.

I have added links to a page of detailed comments on editions to the listings. To go straight to this page click here.