University Musical Society - Ann Arbor District Library

The Recorder: Birth and Renaissance
of an Instrument
The recorder, which first appeared in 13th-
century Europe in the days of troubadours
and minstrels, entered its golden age in the
Renaissance. It was not only a mainstay of court
musicians in the 15th and 16th centuries, but popular
among aristocratic amateurs as well, including
Henry VIII of England. Joining together in consorts,
recorder players would perform dance music and
works borrowed from the choral repertoire, such
as polyphonic songs. The instrument also came
into its own as a solo instrument, as evidenced by
the growing repertoire of virtuosic "diminutions"
(variations) on popular songs.
But the recorder's round, extremely soft timbre
was ill-suited to the new Baroque concertante
style that emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries.
To adapt the instrument to changing tastes, it
underwent a makeover of sorts in Italy, as well as
in the Parisian workshops of the famed Hotteterre
family. The recorder, which had been crafted in one
piece since the Middle Ages, would henceforth be
built in three sections, with tenon joints to facilitate
tuning. The bore was also reconfigured to produce
a clearer, somewhat louder sound, allowing it to
serve as a solo instrument in an ensemble setting.
Attesting to the success of these adaptations,
Monteverdi, Lully, Purcell, Bach, and Handel
incorporated twin recorders alongside other
woodwinds in a wide range of orchestral works
for the theater and church. Bach, for example,
wrote recorder parts for 19 of his cantatas, as well
as his St. Matthew Passion, while Handel wrote
twin recorders into no less than 90 of his arias.
Orchestras of the day often featured both recorders
and their future rival, the flute. They were used
to evoke shepherds, supernatural scenes, sleep,
death, birds—even bubbling brooks.
The period of 1690 to 1750 was the recorder's
undisputed heyday, both as a solo and orchestral
instrument. The late Baroque era gave birth
not only to chamber works—sonatas and trio
sonatas—but to recorder concertos and concert!
gross! that showcased the instrument. Composers
who wrote prominently for the recorder include
Bach, Handel, Sammartini, Alessandro Scarlatti,
Telemann, Veracini, and Vivaldi. Bach, who left
no known solo pieces for recorder, nonetheless
gave us a number of truly memorable passages for
the instrument in two of his concert! grossi, the
Brandenberg Concertos, Nos. 2 and 4.
UMS Les Violons du Roy
Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major,
("Hornpipe"), Op. 6, No. 7, HWV 325
(1739)
George Frideric Handel
Born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany
Died April 14, 1759 in London
In England, Italian instrumental music enjoyed con­
siderable popularity beginning around 1710, both
in concert performance and among amateur musi­
cians. The eclectic and rather conservative English
preferred the concert! grossi of Arcangelo Corelli
(1653-1713) to the more modern concertos of the
Venetian Vivaldi (1678-1741). Indeed, Francesco
Geminiani (1687-1762), a composer and Corelli
disciple, led a brilliant career in London, faithfully
perpetuating the style made famous by his Roman
inspiration. London publisher John Walsh, who
released two collections of Geminiani's concert!
grossi in 1732, is said to have pressed Handel to
capitalize Corelli's accomplishments. Handel, who
had met Corelli during a stay in Rome, published
an initial set of six concert! grossi. Op. 3, with
Walsh in 1734. In 1740, his 12 Op. 6 concertos
were released. Today, this second set is considered
one of the finest examples of the concerto grosso
form, alongside the works of Corelli and Bach's cel­
ebrated Brandenberg Concertos. Op. 6 is charac­
terized by a remarkable synergy between Handel's
intensely personal style and the spirit of Corelli.
Suite in a minor for Treble Recorder,
Strings, and Basso Continue, TWV 55: a2
Georg Philipp Telemann
Born March 14, 1681 in Magdeburg, Germany
Died June 25, 1767 in Hamburg
After falling into relative obscurity for a century-
and-a-half, Telemann's music enjoyed a major
resurgence in Germany in the 1930s. One of the
first works to resurface during this period was his
Suite in a minor for Recorder and Strings, which
gained immense popularity in the 1960s. Half of
the movements in the suite have parts written for
two recorders. In this work, courtly French dance
stylings combine with Italian-inspired melodies and,
as is often the case with Telemann, a smattering of
Polish folk touches.