Orchestra 9-13

SoSAATTBBGbCb

1 So 8xS 10xA 10xT 6xB 3xGb 2xCb. Written for the 40th anniversary concert of the Stockport Recorder College, at the request of Janice Ormerod. The Roaring Forties are the prevailing winds which whip around the southern hemisphere at 40 degrees latitude; their danger, however, is not just that the winds are strong, but that the weather is so unpredictable. So the 5-minute span is boisterous in many places, but in other places you may be able to picture the swelling ocean and even - here and there - a patch of decent weather! Four descants, four trebles and four trebles have easy parts, while the other parts are no harder than moderate.

Orch: S, SoSSAATTBBGbCb. A set of variations for recorder orchestra on the traditional Irish folk song She Moved Through The Fair. Some variations are as one might expect (such as 'waltz' and 'canon'), but many are rather surprising (such as 'reggae' and 'jazz-rock'). All parts are guaranteed a very 'different' recorder experience in this substantial (15 minute) piece. Moderately difficult in places, and needs a very good descant soloist.

Bassoon & SoSSAATTBBGbCb. Steve wrote this 6 minute rhapsody for the bassoonist Harriet Oliver and the Thames Valley Recorder Orchestra. It is scored such that the bassoon is still prominent against a regular recorder orchestra, but the piece also works well using a one-to-a-part chamber recorder orchestra. The orchestral parts are reasonably straightforward, but the bassoonist needs to be pretty good.

11 SoSSAATTBBGbCb. Eileen Silcocks asked Steve to write something minimalist for a recorder orchestra, and he took his cue from the poem 'Treading The Cotswold Way' by Judy Kendall, about having walked too far, and now facing 'the long path home'. That trudging idea suggested the minimalist pulsing feel which permeates the piece. The notes or (for once) the rhythms are not at all difficult, but getting the right feel may be.

Orch: 41 GSno(2)D(8)Tr(8)T(8)B(8)Gtb(4)CtB(2) - 4x SSAATTBB, Garklein and SoSo, GbGbGbGbCbCb. Steve says: 'Written for the 2007 Northern Recorder Course, to use in a session involving all course participants. A big event seemed to call for a big piece, and this one is in 41 independent parts: four choirs of DDTrTrTTBB, the 'Tinnitus Consort' (garklein and two sopraninos), and 'Ensemble Rumblissimo' (four great basses and two contras). The piece is dedicated to Justine Spence, who encouraged me to write something "Honey Nut Loopy" - I hope I managed it! Spam In Atrium is very loosely based both on Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, and also Tallis' 40-part motet Spem In Alium, but my 'pictures' are in a variety of approachable modern styles, including rock, jazz and minimalism. The high instruments (even the garklein!) must play nicely in tune. The notes in this 22 minute piece are not difficult, but everyone needs to count very carefully.'

Orch - 1 So/A & SAATTB(GbCb). This piece was written to provide a concerto for groups limited by their size and/or technical ability. It is particularly suited to branch meetings of the Society of Recorder Players. The solo part is a bit tricky in places (but is not in virtuoso territory), while the orchestral parts are moderate only. The solo part could be played on treble if the 'orchestra' is small.

Orch: 1 S + SoSSAATTBBGbCb. Composed for Helen Hooker, who gave it its first performance at the Cheltenham Recorder Festival in July 2005. There are passages where the recorder orchestra creates exciting, driving rhythms, spurring on the soloist to ever-more virtuosic display, but then other passages of reflective, beautiful music. Although the solo part is very difficult in places, the orchestral parts should cause little difficulty for most orchestras.

11 SoSSAATTBBGbCb. This piece was written for the chamber recorder orchestra on the 2008 Northern Recorder Course. It is tricky in places and calls for precise rhythmic playing. In principle it will also work well with a normal recorder orchestra, but much rehearsal may be needed! Total playing time is about 6 minutes.

Solo Chinese flute + SoSSAATTBBGbCb. Steve says: 'Written for Liu Yung-tai, who not only plays a prominent part in the busy recorder scene in Taiwan but is also a superb Chinese flute player. As far as both of us know, this is the first piece with such a combination of instruments. Each movement of what is effectively a concerto could be the soundtrack to a poem about elements of the natural world. Total playing time is about 11 minutes. The piece is written for a Chinese flute in C, but in the (likely) event of a suitable instrument and soloist being unavailable, the part fits on a treble recorder and the music works pretty well on that instrument.'

Orch SoSSAATTBBGbCb. Written for the 2006 Northern Recorder Course, I hope that this short (4 minute) piece is an appropriate memorial to Dennis Bamforth, without whom we would not have the recorder orchestras that we have today. In a very formal way it reflects the range of a standard orchestra, as a slow moving chromatic scale underpins the whole piece, starting on the lowest contrabass note, and finishing on the highest note of the sopranino. Along the way there are several changes of texture, typical of recorder orchestras. The music is poignant, slow moving and very chromatic - accurate tuning is difficult, but essential
.

Orch SoSSAATTBBGbCb. Steve has been involved for some time with a project to bring the pleasures of the recorder orchestra to players who are technically not very strong. There is little music suitable for such groups, and this easy arrangement of the very well-known tune Scarborough Fair is one attempt at starting to fill that gap. It's only because jis arrangement is aimed at a completely different set of players that he would dare to work on the same tune as used by Paul Clark in his famous set of variations!