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Recorder music


Australian music for recorder

Australia has a long history of both amateur and professional recorder playing. Recorder guilds and societies are still active in most states and have been responsible for many new compositions and arrangements. There are also strong links to early music, with pioneers such as Ruth Wilkinson, Ros Bandt, Howard Oberg, Hans Dieter Michatz and Greg Dikmans creating a culture that has allowed younger players to flourish.

The revival of interest in the instrument was helped by the work of some significant instrument makers (Fred Morgan, Jo Saunders, Michael Grinter) as well as player-composers: Ros Bandt, Zana Clarke, Benjamin Thorn and Ian Shanahan have all contributed to the repertory.

Some instrumentalists have added to the richness of the activity through their specific interests: Rachel Cogan (Middle Eastern music), Natasha Anderson (improvisation on contrabass and garklein, and more recently sound design), Zana Clarke (duo with multi-instrumentalist Peter Biffin), Rodney Waterman (with guitarist/composer Doug de Vries) and performance artist Jo Dudley. Recorder player Genevieve Lacey's activities as a performer have also resulted in numerous new works for the instrument.

 

The list of works on the right includes some of the more recent Australian works for recorder.

Representative works

  Work Notes
Line drawing (2005) by James Ledgera significant contemporary concerto, with imaginative use of extended techniques. This expressive, single-movement work uses multiple instruments.
Digital sheet music sample Confession 2 (2006) by Damian Barbelerone of a series of recorder pieces by Barbeler, some with electronics. There is also a duo version for recorder and violin.
Weaver-of-fictions (2007) by Liza Lima solo piece for the Ganassi recorder, with extended techniques. The piece also opens Lim's opera The Navigator.
Digital sheet music sample Bagpipe music (2007) by Andrew Forda delightful duo for recorders and harp featuring rhythms and drones reminiscent of traditional Scottish backpipe music.
Ulpirra (1993) by Ross EdwardsA brief, virtuosic solo, particularly useful as an encore piece for recitals. The work has been performed and recorded on many different treble instruments apart from the recorder.
Digital sheet music sample Re-inventions (2004) by Elena Kats-Chernina substantial and melodic 6-movement concerto that draws on the early music associations of the instrument by re-writing Bach inventions. There are version for both recorder and string quartet, and recorder and string orchestra.

More specific categories of Recorder music

Broader categories of Recorder music