THE AMERICAN RECORDER SOCIETY 114 East 85th Street, New York 28, N. Y. Founded in 1939 by Suzanne Bloch

OFFICERS

LaNOUE DAVENPORT, President I A.C. GLASSGOLO, Vice President I DONNA HILL, Secretary! YRSA DAMMANN GEIST, Asst. Secretary I MARVIN ROSENBERG, Treasurer I RALPH TAYLOR, Asst. Treasurer

MARTHA BIXLER, Editor 359 East 68th Street New York 21, N.Y.

No. 38 October 1959

Continuing the articles on Technique by A. Rowland Jones, the following is the tenth in +he series, reprinted with permission from The Recorder News of England.

ORNAMENTATION

It is not infrequent for the question ''how?" to beg the question "why?". Ornamentation is a case. This series of articles on re-corder technique must therefore digress into the more complex and fundamental subject of musical interpretation. Much of the best music written specifically for the recorder belongs to an age which orna-mentation was an integral and essential part of music and it was an accepted con-vention that certain patterns of short notes should be written as one note, with or without an ornament sign above it, for decoration was so stereotyped that the con-text of a note was sufficient to instruct the player to execute a trill, shake, mor-dent, etc., or an extended improvisation in the Carelli manner, as the occasion might demand. A recorder player who wants to do justice to the music he plays must

'.eep himself in the tradition belonging J its period, its style and its country

of origin.

The complexity of the subject should not, however, terrify the player into disregard-ing it. There is a way to begin learning

both the why and how of ornamentation, and it is the purpose of this article to in-dicate those beginnings so that a player knows and can execute confidently a small and basically correct group of ornaments which he can (and should) modify as he gains experience. The first essential in learning to ornament is to listen to as much sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century music as time and opportunity al-lows--not just recorder music, but music for all instruments and voices. Even if it is impossible to undergo full-scale orientation by attending the Haslemere Festival or other live concerts of old music wireless programmes can always be listened to: performances by the London Harpsichord Ensemble, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Deller Consort, the Schola Polyphonica Basiliensis or the Italian players I Musici are object-lessons in the style of old music. Knowledge of the social conditions of different periods and their attitudes to the arts generally leads to a yet greater understanding of music. You will play a Handel sonata better if you come to it after browsing in the "Spectator".

If you know what an ornament should sound like you will be in a better position to accept the guidance provided by editors of music. Some editions (notably American ones) follow the admirable practice of writing out in ful.l on a small stave over an ornamented note the actual notes of the ornamentation (e.g. Peter's edition of Tele-mann solo and trio sonatas), while others (e.g. Universal, and Boosey and Hawkes' recent Couperin arrangements by Stanley Taylor) put written-out ornamentations as footnotes. One American edition (Music Press) prints a Couperin suite with written-out ornaments in the text but the result is rather black, and both obscures the melodic line of the music and makes it hard for the player to adopt his own in-dividual interpretation (within the rules). The same is true of the "grace-note" type of ornamentation guide used in many of Mr. Dolmetsch's editions. The most scholarly approach is to quote when possible from the composer's own writings on ornamenta-tions, as Mr. Lefkovitch does in Schott's publication of Hotteterre's "llio and Rondeau". In the early stages of learning follow the editor's guidance: later on, when you have more experience let your own good taste be your guide.

It is not easy to lay down general rul.es as to when and when not to ornament, as so much depends on the style of the piece. Eighteenth-century French music, which is often not particularly melodious, depends for its effect on its being performed with "taste and propriety", in other words, with appropriate ornamentation, and there-fore demands more frequent and prominent ornamenting than a piece in the Italian style in which ornaments are less frequent and more subservient to melody. The effect of ornamenting a note is to draw attention to it: it has the same result as a dynamic accent or as vibrato (which is a sort of ornament). It should therefore be related to phrasing, decoration being accorded only to those notes in a phrase which need stres-sing. A secondary effect of an ornament, particularly one ending with a turn, is to give music a forward impetus; this is partly because part of every ornament is a discord and the ear anticipates its resolu-tion. The leading note of a cadence is generally improved by decoration, and ex-cept in fast pieces its decoration at the final cadence of a whole section of music is obligatory. Embellishments, to quote C.P.E. Bach, make music pleasing and awaken

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close attention; the variety they lend to a repeated section of music, played first only with cadential trills and such shakes and mordents as are essential to the phras-ing, is particularly delightful. Rapid trills and flourishes have the effect of making music more exciting. This quality is both an advantage and a danger. It is good to be able to compel the attention of one's audience, but sheer pyrotechnics, which often sound much harder to execute tnan they are, can make nonsense of music. The criterion to adopt is, "can each orna-ment be justified musically?" If there is no good reason to ornament, don't. Another general rule is "never let ornamentation obscure the melodic line"; if the tune is not hum-able immediately after it has been played, it has been over-ornamented. Un-less the style demands it, which is not often, ornaments should be played without accent, for they are accents in themselves. It is painful to hear ornaments thrust at one in the manner of Jack Horner's plum, or to have trills forced out up to the recorder's breaking point. In consort music in particular ornamentation should be, above all things, discreet.

To turn to the ornaments themselves, the most common ones are the shake, the mor-dent, the appoggiatura, the trill, the turn, the slide, the flourish and the acciaccatura.

The shake is a rapid movement from the note above the one that is written down to the written note, up again and then down again for the remainder of the length of the note. In words it goes "D=e-er-ee-er. . . . " : the ''dee" comes on the beat, never before it. There should be a slight ac-cent on the "dee" (a discord) but normal breath-pressure should be resumed immed-iately afterwards otherwise the shake will sound forced. The sign for a shake is a short squiggly horizontal line over the note. The sign for a mordent is the same with a vertical line drawn through it, and the ornament simply consists of a rapid drop to the note below and back again to the written note. It is a more arresting ornament than the shake and should not be "pushed" in any way, although the effect of bite can be emphasized by making a tiny pause before playing the ornament. The "note above" and the "note below" refer to those in the diatonic scale of the piece, unless the composer has indicated other-wise by writing a small accidental above

the decoration sign, or unless the note is governed by an accidental elsewhere in the bar.

The appoggiatura is a device :for writing a discord in that musical shorthand known as :figured bass . The accompanist in a solo sonata is given only the treble note and the bass note with a :figure below in-dicating the chord: to write the notes B, C over a C minor chord, the bass :funda-mental C and the treble melody note C would have to appear to indicate the main chord, and the discordant B has therefore to be shown in small print in :front o:f the C. Whatever note is used in the small print notation, an appoggiatura is gener-ally equivalent in value to half the note that :follows in common or duple time, and two-thirds in triple or dotted measures. As it is a discord it should always be slightly accented, and then slurred on co the :following note.

The appoggiatura is not to modern ears an ornament at all, and it would not have been mentioned here were it not :for its close association with the trill. A trill 1ign ( tr. ) often indicates that an appog-giatura must also be played, even i:f it is not written, except o:f course i:f the pre-ceding note is the same as the appoggia-tura would have been. In :faster music, however, the appoggiatura is shortened, and in very :fast music there is time only :for the trill itself, although even in :fast music some hint o:f an appoggiatura should be given at :final cadences.

The trill itself should always be :fast but neat, and the speed o:f all trills in one piece (or movement) should be the same. Although there is no such thing as a slow trill, trills in slower movements should

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be more leisurely and contemplative than the extrovert trills o:f :fast movements. Long trills become very slightly :faster as they proceed (even though an editorial writing-out may show equal demisemiquavers), but the trilling :finger must never get out o:f control and run away with itself--in-deed the speed o:f trills in a piece is to some extent conditioned by the speed at which the player can manage the most di:f-_icult trill in it.

Trills nearly always begin on the upper accessory, i.e., the note above the one that is written, and should always begin on, and never before, the beat. If' you

:feel yourself beginning trills early, cure it by deliberately starting the trill after the beat. The trill should be thought o:f as an extended shake (Dee-er-ee-er-Ee-er ••• ),with a slight stress on the :first note, a slighter on the :fifth, even less on the ninth, and none thereafter, as the pattern is lost sight o:f in the gradual acceleration o:f a long trill. In normal short trills the player should be aware o:f the number o:f notes he is playing, e.g., 6, .8 or 10, and the trill should remain even. It is important that the predomin-ance o:f the upper auxiliary in the early part o:f a trill should not be lost by be-ginning the trill a demisemiquaver too soon after its appoggiatura -- in other words when the appoggiatura is present (as it is generally) the trill itself begins just after the second beat, not on it. In an upward succession o:f trills the lower note is sounded :first (as a semi-quaver) and each trill is turned. This gives the ef-fect o:f beginning the trill on the lower note (Der-ee-er-ee-er-or-er); this pattern may also be used :for a trill on a note :following a wide or otherwise dramatic in-terval, when to play the upper auxiliary :first would damage the effect. Long trills or trills on the opening note o:f a phrase may be begun on the note below the note written (Or-er-ee-er-ee-er .•• er). J.S. Bach liked this decoration: he had a special sign :for it and occasionally wrote it out in :full.

Trills are o:f two kinds -- those that end with a turn (example l below) and those that come to rest on the main note, then pause :for a :fraction o:f a second an :finally give out one last short note that ushers in the next beat, as in example 2 below.

Example 2 shows a trill at a :final cadence: passing trills are without appoggiaturas, and are usually turned as in example l, a short passing trill. It is quite impossible

-4-to legislate for turns at the end of trills, but the following statements are more true than untrue: (1) Passing trills (i.e., trills not at cadences) are turned when there is time; (2) Trills on off-beats (i.e., the 2nd or 4th beat of a four-four bar) are turned; (3) Trills resolving up-wards are turned: those resolving down-wards are not (see examples); (4) Long trills are turned; (5) Most trills are turned. The turn should be taken at the speed of the trill, except in passages of recitative or at the end of a cadenza where it may be part of a rallentando. A trill on the final note of a phrase has no ap-poggiatura and no turn: it should be short. In modern music trills begin on the lower note except in pieces written in the style or form of old music, e.g., Herbert Murrill's sonata (OUP).

The turn itself in isolation consists of four equal notes beginning on the one dia-tonically above that written. The slide begins on the beat and usually consists of two or more semiquavers (written small) played rapidly to bridge an interval, often a sixth.

The flourish is an extended slide moving up and down (above and below the note being decorated) within the diatonic notes of its chord; the turning points should be on notes belonging to that chord. It often takes the place of an appoggiatura in the final cadence of a piece and leads on to the cadential trill. Slides and flourishes are particularly effective in Sicilianas and other movements in triple or dotted time.

The acciaccatura is the modern grace note and should be shown as a small note with a diagonal line through it. It is played as quickly as possible and slurred on to its principal. It must not be confused with the appoggiatura especially in the context of a quaver followed by two semi-quavers. It is virtually unknown in old recorder music but players may meet it in arrange-ments of later eighteenth-century pieces.

Let us now consider how to execute these ornaments. The best way to begin is with the turned trill. Practise slowly example 1, first on the note D (i.e., E-D-E-D-E-D-C-D E), then on F' with the alternative E turn. Next try it on C, and top B'. Now trill on E with the normal alternative for

E and two fingers below that (and a slight drop in breath-pressure) for an alternative D turn. The A' trill needs an alternative G' turn and the thumbed one-and-a-half-below G' should be suitable. The other main G' alternative (all on except thumb) is used for the G' trill with A', its upper auxiliary, also being an alternative - (-123 4-67, thumbed to start the trill) but for the note preceding the turn, the sixth in.the sequence, an ordinary G' must be used. This needs careful practising, but is something that must be mastered as the G' trill is both frequent and hard to con-trol, firstly because of the waywardness of the third finger, and secondly because the tonal strength of the alternative G' tends to upset the pattern of the trill. A whole C major scale of trills has now been worked out, and it should be practised at ever-increasing speeds, though always kept neat and even and strictly a tempo (a metronome is a good master for this). The same exercise should now be carried out witn fast six-note turned trills, and with longer trills of up to 16 notes. Speed is essential.

When the C major trill scale is mastered, start at the beginning again with the A flat major scale. Certain trills in this scale cause new difficulties. The B flat to A flat trill itself needs an alternative B flat (0 123 4-b7) to start it but as the trill with 5 and7 is awkward, 7 may be abandoned, causing the trill to be slightly sharp. This may be effective as the sharp trill has an acidity of tone that helps it to stand out, for like most low notes of the recorder it lacks brightness of tone, and the possibility of increasing volume is limited because of the low breaking-point of the forked fingering. If the context demands the trill to be accurate in intona-tion the 5th finger can still produce the trill alone by staying low over its hole while it trills, i.e., shading the B flat of the trill. Similar conditions affect the difficult B flat to A trill. Fingering problems arise literally at every turn, but experiment and reference to the articles on alternative fingerings should solve them. The general principles are: (1) Whenever possible, find a way of trilling with one finger; it is better to trill slightly out of tune with one finger than to fluff a trill with two; (2) If this is not possible keep the trill to the fingers of one hand; (3) Use an alternative for a turn even if

it is a poor quality note and requires a drop in breath-pressure. Trills should

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executed with a hammering action and, there is need to shade the trilling

hole, the trilling finger(s) should be lifted high between each blow: with light fingering, trills tend to speed up and run out of control. Although the trilling finger is somewhat tensed in its hammering movements, the other fingers should remain as relaxed as possible, all energy being concentrated, as it were, into the trilling finger. If difficulty is found in moving the thumb quickly enough to trill, hold the thumb stiff and shake the up and down on to it with the right hand. For trills on half-holes (e.g. A toG sharp) swing the whole hand around so that the trilling finger remains in a comfort-able position rather than bent up.

Once the turned trill is thoroughly mas-tered, other ornamentation is simple if it is regarded as a part or as an extension of the turned trill. The cadential trill (example 2) requires closest concentration: the appoggiatura should only be on an al-

fingering if the tone quality of ;e alternative is good, so a rapid change in fingering is often needed for the trill itself. Similarly, the end note of the trill (i.e., the written note) should be good and not a weak alternative, for it is stressed and dwelt upon long enough for tone to be apparent. The final short note should always be very short and should be played with the ''kh" of double-tonguing: the pause for articulation before it should be longer or shorter according to the jerkiness or smoothness of the music. The mordent needs, perhaps, an even more vig-orous hammer-blow of the fingers than trills. Slides and flourishes are, in ef-fect, slurred scale passages and their practice will be discussed in my next article.

Looking through this article, I feel ap-palled by its inadequacy. The Editor sug-gested originally that it might be called "Utility Decoration" and that phrase is a reminder that what is written here is but the barest furnishing of a player's tech-

lUe. Once having mastered it he must -JVe on towards a closer understanding of music by studying well-edited publications, particularly of French music, and by read-ing. Every recorder player should be familiar with Mr. Thurston Dart's book on

The Interpretation of Music (Hutchinson), and refer frequently to the two standard works on Arnold Dolmetsch's The Interpretation of the Music of the 17th and 18th Centuries (Novello), which is ar-ranged under ornaments, and Dannreuther's Musical Ornamentation (Novello), arranged in chronological order of CQIIIpcsers. These books may be supplemented by reference to reprints of the writings of musical theorists, especially Quantz's flute tutor, Couperin's Method, and the "Embellishments" section of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments, well translated recently by w. J. Mitchell (Cassell). There is a useful book on Bach's ornaments by W. Emery (Novello), and the sections on "Ornamentation" and "Ornaments" in Grove's Dictionary are ex-cellent. The study of ornamentation is so vast and fascinating that one can be be-guiled into finding ornaments more interest-ing than the music they grace, but to fall into that trap is to commit a sin almost as great as the gross negligence of omitting ornaments altogether.

BOOK REVIEWS

F. F. Rigby -Playing the Recorders. London: Faber & Faber, 1958. 84 pp. $2.75.

Books on the recorder are rare. In fa'Ct, prior to the publication of the present volume, the only book available to English-language readers was Stanley Godman's translation of Hildemarie Peter's The Recorder (Berlin: Robert Lienau, 1953, 1958). In German there is Dietz Degen's fine Zur Geschichte der Blockfl5te in den germaniscnen :ol:ndern (Kassel: Barenreiter, 1939), but it is out-of-print and an English version seems unlikely at this time. Christopher Welch's scholarly Six Lectures on the Recorder and other Flutes in Relation to Literature (London: Oxford, 19ll) is also long out-of-print and copies are extremely hard to find. Hence, it was with real pleasure that the reviewer first learned of Rigby's book. This eager antic-ipation was increased by the knowledge that Anthony Baines, one of the world's outstanding authorities on woodwinds, had written a foreword. It is sad to have to state that this book does not begin to live up to the publisher's blurb inside

the jacket. In fact, this reviewer wonders why it was published at all.

The title of the book suggests that it offers instruction in practical matters, rather than being an historical study. This could be of real value if it attempted to discuss points of advanced technique. There are many instruction books avail-able which cover elementary and inter-mediate levels, but none in English that goes beyond these stages. But this ob-viously was not the author's intent. This is simply one more tutor for the beginner -no better than most and worse than many. Moreover, it is over-priced - 12/6 in England and $2.75 in the USA - and it won't lie flat on a music rack since it is cloth-bound in book form.

Playing the Recorders is supposedly for the "unattended beginner". Yet we find passing mention of double and triple tonguing (p.26) only two sentences after the reader is informed: "lhe notes are not produced by puffing each one with a separate breath" l A few lines lower thumb "pinching" is discussed, and on the following page of text there is mention of "shading" - all this before our by now confused "unattended beginner" has even learned to hold the instrument • A few pages later the reader is given this ac-count of vibrato in recorder playing: "As with other instruments, vibrato can be produced on the recorder, though its use should not be overdone. A slight, quick variation in wind pressure will produce the desired effect • " One can approve of Mr. Rigby's enthusiasm, but his teaching is unsystematic in the extreme and super-ficial as well.

The opening chapter of the book attempts to cover "The Recorder: some Historical Landmarks", but is very sketchy. It might be mentioned that Arnold Iblmetsch began his researches into old music and musical instruments" in the l8&l•s, and not in 1905, as stated by the author. The few "guiding principles" on ornamentation also call for some cormnent. Mr. Rigby writes: "A mordent consists of a quick shake be-tween the main note and the. note above; an inverted mordent consists of a quick shake between the main note and the note below" (p. 64). This is contrary to most author-ities. "What the author refers to as an

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"inverted mordent" was called a mordent in the 17th and 18th century, and what he de-scribes as a mordent is a modern usage not to be confused with baroque practice; in fact, it didn't exist then.

The careful reader will note that the normal fingering for D#/G# in the several charts throughout the book is incorrectly given as:

0 ... eeeo, instead of 0 o•• ... o. In ad-dition, the fingering for high D# on the Iblmetsch bass is given as ¢ ••• oeo•, in-stead of ¢ eeo ooo•. There are also a few minor misprints in the otherwise well-printed examples: a "natural" sign for the second note in bar 19 of Ex. 29 (p.52), and two dots and a 16th note tail in "Greensleeves" (p. 56).

Possibly the most disappointing feature of this book is the brief chapter on "Music Available" • We are told by the publisher on the dust jacket that the author "be-lieves that the modern revival will not succeed unless the wealth of music that has been written for the recorder and the capabilities of the instrument are redis-covered. He therefore draws attention to the music written for the recorder by the great composers of the sixteenth, seven-teenth and early eighteenth centuries, as well as mentioning music for the instru-ment written by modern composers." Unfortu-nately, the listing simply includes some of the more familiar items from dealers' catalogues, and it is very sketchy and haphazard at that. A listing of recorder literature, such as Girard has done for the flute in his Histoire et Richesses de la Flute (Paris, Librairie GrUnd, l953), re-mains a real need.

For the beginner on the recorder, no lesson book can take the place of a good teacher. In addition, an instruction book that is written clearly and arranged in a progres-sive, systematic fashion is essential. This book does not begin to meet these re-quirements, and it cannot hope to compete with methods already on the market • Further, it offers nothing to the intermediate or advanced player. Why was it published?

IB.le S • Higbee

HENRY PURCELL: Essays on His Music

Edited by Imogene Holst (Oxford 18s)

With the strong revival of pre-18th century music and the 30oth anniversary of Purcell's birth, this group of essays is interesting and useful. The essays are by Imogene Holst, Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett, Robert Donington and others.

Mr. Donington's essay, "Perfonning Purcell's Music Today" (with a section on the dances of that time by Miss Holst) is helpful to the recorder player as well as to the harpsichordist and singer. It em-phasizes that the romantic character of Purcell's music and his style is mostly a matter of getting the details reasonably authentic.

Because nowadays we are accustomed to hav-ing the notes all settled for us by the composer, we find it hard to realize the extent to which early performers were ex-'ected to add to them impromptu as they

along, out of sheer spontaneity. Modern musicians are not trained to "im-prove" and complete the composition in this impromptu fashion as they go along, and so the editor has to do it for them by writing it out. If the editorial work is well done, and if the performer can keep the necessary freshness of feeling, the result can sound spontaneous without act-ually being improvised. "It is the spirit rather than the fact of improvisation which is important".

However, no editor or performer has the final solution in working out a version, nor was there expected to be a final one, only a GOOD solution. Purcell wrote at a time when the performer was expected to regulate his own accidentals where neces-sary or desirable. The embellishments were left to the performer. In the 17th and 18th centuries the ornaments could take any appropriate form if they did not change the substance of the music.

< late as 1805 Dr. Burney wrote: "An 'rldagio in a song or solo is generally little more than an outline left to the performer 1 s abilities to colour-- if it is not highly embellished the slow notes soon excite langour and disgust in the hearers".

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Donington points out that there are in-strumental movements by Purcell which for their full effect require a continuous light ripple of added ornaments. Anything heavy in the way of added notes or in manner of performance defeats its purpose. "Whether written out by the composer or left to the performer the figuration should sound as if it had just been thought of, not thought out beforehand".

Melodic figuration is one kind of embel-lishment described by the old English word "graces". There are also many spec-ific ornaments such as the appoggiatura and trill, which are sometimes optional, but at other times obligatory. Where the text implies an ornament, the gap in the melody and harmony resulting fran the omission of the ornament is a real mistake, like playing the wrong note. This is es-pecially true of trills in most baroque cadences. In Purcell's time, any performer who left out cadential trills would not have been considered a musician.

Mr. Donington then takes up the matter of tempi and rhythm in Purcell's music and discusses "dots and inequality, phrasing and articulation". With respect to phrase endings, he says that though they may be recognized by the performer, they are seldom made audible to the listener; for that reason there should be a "short silence of phrasing".

While many of us are aware of this kind of thing, it is good to be reminded again of how much study is involved in the per-formance of early music.

Reba Paeff Mirsky

MUSIC REVIEWS

From Carl Van Roy Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. :

Melodies for Alto Recorder by Gertrud Bamberger; Chorales for Christmas har. by Bach, arr. for 4 recorders by Jonathan Grove.

We who are recorder teachers have waited a long time for the Bamberger book; now at last we have a teaching book for alto comparable to Johanna Kulbach 1 s IDNES FOR CHILDREN. MELODIES FOR ALTO is not a method; like Mrs. Kulbach 1 s ruNES it can

be used only by teachers who know the re-corder and how to teach it. The book is simply a collection of graded folk songs and rounds arranged for alto recorders, starting with the first five tones and progressing a little more quickly than the TUNES FOR CHILDREN. The melodies them-selves are familiar ones; some nice in-clusions are Dona Nobis Pacem and The Coventry Carol. The book may be used for adult beginners as well as children.

No one can quarrel with J, s. Bach, and Jonathan Grove has selected some beautiful chorale harmonizations for this Christmas volume. The bass player must be a good one, particularly for the settings of Vom Himmel hoch and In Dulci Jubilo.

From Schott:

Godfrey Finger Tempo di Menuetto, divis-ions for treble and keyboard, arr. Dinn, RMS 860; Nicholas Chedeville Suite "La ' .. Presidente for descant and piano, arr. Dolmetsch, RMS 820; Mozart Trio for de-scant, treble and tenor, arr:-Arthur Hart, RMS 868, 870, 872; Beethoven Trio Opus 87 (originally for two oboes and'"Eiiglish horn) for d, tr, te, arr. Hunt, RMS 88o, 882, 884; Timothy Moore Suite in G for 3 re-corders, d, tr, te, RMS 824; Francis Baines Fantasia for 6 recorders, 3 d, 3 tr, RMS 822.

The Finger and Chedeville are both dis-appointing, in that neither one is very interesting musically; the Finger is per-haps more valuable as it is an addition to the literature for soprano and keyboard, which is still very small. The Mozart and Beethoven arrangements come in separate "volumes" for each movement--thus the succession of RMS numbers. Of the two ar-rangements, the Beethoven is more reward-ing musically, I think, and also more dif-ficult to play. But somehow Beethoven on the recorder still sounds ludicrous to me, even though this trio was originally for wind instruments. I just cannot picture the master being pleased to hear his music performed on our unassuming instruments. It is impossible to attain the dynamic range Beethoven requires and any kind of crashing climax is completely out of the question.

By far the most interesting pieces in this

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batch are the modern ones, the trio by Moore and the sextet by Baines. The Baines has a striking beginning with "block har-mony" in triads; then the texture thins in-to contrapuntal writing with the triads re-appearing antiphonally. It is rhythmically complex and pretty difficult in spots, but worth working out, and the instrumental combination of three descants and three trebles is an interesting one. The Moore Suite --Prelude, Courante, Sarabande, Rondino and Fugue--has some lovely sections, particularly in the Sarabande. It is not so difficult technically as the Baines, but like all contemporary pieces for re-corder it. is full of unusual accidentals like G-flat, B-sharp, A-sharp et al. The only solution seems to be to go ahead and learn them! Both the Baines and the Moore are provided with scores, which are a great help in studying them.

From Carl Has linger (U. S. agent, New . England Music Center, Boston) Flotenuhrstucke by Joseph Haydn for 3 melody instruments, arranged by Erwin Schaller. March, Minuet, Andante and Fugue •

Here is another arrangement of the Haydn pieces for musical clockwork similar to the Robert Mottingdorfer arrangement for ARS edition No. 7. Two of the four pieces--the March and the Fugue are very much the same as the corresponding items in the Mottingdorfer edition, but to my mind the Schaller arrangements are worth the price of purchase for the Andante alone, which is very beautiful. The soprano recorder has all the fun--the others are just ac-companiment. This melody seems just right for recorder; it is a very large exception to the general rule that music from the classic period usually just doesn't "go." The only drawback to this edition is that there is no score provided, only parts, so that the would-be conductor of a class playing this music must look at three parts at once--quite a trick. Otherwise I recom-mend it wholeheartedly for class work as a change from the usual Renaissance and early Baroque styles.

Martha Bixler

J .S. Bach, 22 Chorale Preludes from The Little Organ llook. Schott's Recorder

r\Bibliothek, RMS 942 (Trio), Bot$ 944, 946, 948, 950, 952 (Quartets), RMS 954 (Quintet) • Arranged for recorders by John Beckett.

Recorder players rejoice! Here is, to coin a phrase, a veritable treasure trove, brought your way by the indefatigable house of Schott. These seven volumes con-tain enough music, and what music, to keep the most fanatical addict happy for ses-sion after session.

The Protestant chorale prelude is a com-position based upon a chorale melody. It was the practise of the organists of the time to play this chorale prelude during the service, immediately preceding the singing of the chorale by the entire con-gregation.

The Harvard Dictionary of Music distin-guishes between the following types: Cantus firmus chorale: the chorale melody in long notes, usually in the bass;

motet: each line of the chorale 'is treated in imitation thus resulting in a succession of "fugues"; Chorale fugue; the first line or initial phrase of the chorale is treated as a fugue; Melody chorale or Figured chorale : the chorale appears as a continuous melody in the soprano, accompanied by contrapuntal parts which usually proceed in definite figures; Ornamented chorale: the chorale is used in the soprano with elaborate and expres-sive ornamentations; Chorale fantasia: a number of variations of the chorale melody.

Most of the chorale preludes in the Orgel-buchlein (Little Organ Book), and in these volumes, fit into the category of the Melody or Figured Chorale. However, for the benefit of the soprano players there are three examples of the Ornamented Chorale, which should keep their fingers and ears well occupied.

Volume I (RMS 942) is arranged for soprano, alto and bass; Volume II (RMS 944) for 2

'jopranos, alto and tenor, or sopranino, '. oprano, alto and tenor; Volumes III, IV

and V (RMS 946, 948, 950) for soprano, alto, tenor and bass; Volume VI (RMS 952) for 2 altos, tenor and bass; Volume VII

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(RMS 954) :f'or soprano, 2 altos, tenor and bass, and 2 sopranos, alto, tenor and bass.

The arranging and publication of these magnificent pieces of music is a brilliant idea, brilliantly carried out. In the Schott format there are only two page turns, and these are at natural pauses in the music, and are arranged so that certain players have free hands. The typography is spacious and legible, only getting a little crowded in one or two of the heavily ornamented pieces, but on the whole up to a very high standard.

Schott's and Mr. John Beckett deserve our heartiest thanks for bringing out this edition which should bring so much pleas-ure to so many people •

LaNoue Davenport

THE RECORDER ON RECO.Rll3

By Dale S. Higbee

Some months ago I recall reading an ar-ticle on Benny Goodman (in The New Yorker?), in which it .mentioned his going out to Long Island to visit his old friend, the late Gustave Lange nus. Langenus, one of the clarinet greats, had made a tape re-cording of himself playing one part of the Bach inventions, and enjoyed playing duets with himself in this way. Recorder-players owning tape recorders can do the same stunt; with the right equipment it would be possible even to play quartets with yourself • One commercial recording of considerable interest includes a Concerto for five flutes by Boismortier, with all five parts played by the same flutist!

For most of us, however, this is impract-ical - and fortunately unnecessary, since Classic Editions has anticipated our need. At the outside, though, a caveat is in order. Only a slight change in the speed of a turntable will cause a discernible difference in pitch. For this reason it is absolutely essential that the speed of the turntable in one's record player be properly adjusted. This reviewer was startled to learn a few years ago that many commercial LP's are above standard

pitch; there have even been LP's released on which the pitch at the end of the record was a half -tone higher than at the beginning! In short, a symphony in C major might end up in C# major. There is, of course, no excuse for this sort of in-competence, and fortunately the MUSIC MINUS ONE recorder disks are almost en-tirely free of it.

The problem remains regarding turntable speed. The writer has played flute for about 20 years prior to learning the re-corder, and same time back acquired a variable-speed turntable in order to be able to play along occasionally with re-cordings of flute concertos. This permits making adjustments so that the turntable will rotate more or less rapidly than the customary 33 l/3 rpm (or 45 or 78 rpm), and thus allow exact tuning. Readers with variable-speed turntables can play MUSIC MINUS ONE disks, and can also play along with other recorder LP's. Those with a fixed-speed turntable will have to experiment with pitches of LP's other than the MMO 1 s.

Another point worth mentioning is the necessity of warming up the recorder prior to starting the record, in order to facilitate pitch constancy. The re-corder will tend to get sharper as it warms up; the LP record doesn't! Also most readers will probably find it neces-sary to turn up the volume somewhat louder for playing with the record than in usual listening. With the more difficult music especially, one may find it essential to listen more carefully to the other parts than in ordinary playing because one has no visual cues to help out. In addition, of course, there is no mutual give-and-take, as in chamber music playing, be-cause the parts on the record are always rigidly the same.

It will be noted that some of the MUSIC MINUS ONE (MMJ) LP' s have more than one version, i.e., some have soprano, alto, or tenor recorder missing, and consequent-ly there are three different LP's of the same music. This reviewer has not had an opportunity to hear all of the versions, but in each case the number of the re-corder reviewed will be underlined. For example: "MMO 201 - minus alto recorder; MMJ 202 - minus soprano recorder. " Here

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the reviewer has heard only MMO 201, but it seems highly likely that the comments hold also for MMD 202.

MMD 201 -minus alto recorder; MMD 202 -minus-Boprano recorder

Music: Erich Katz -Recorder Playing: A New and Comprehensive Method.

New York: Clarke & Way, Inc. 1951. (Now published by Carl Van Roy Co.)

Performers: Erich Katz, soprano recorder, Dolmetsch, ebony with ivory mouthpiece and rings; LaNoue Davenport, alto recorder, Dolmetsch, Rosewood; tenor re-corder, Moeck, boxwood (on two Bach trios at end)

This record is of outstanding pedagogic value and it is a pleasure to recommend it. This statement is somewhat in the nature of a testimonial, since the writer him-self worked his way through it after taking up the recorder something over three years ago. The method by Erich Katz is probably the best introduction to the recorder yet published, and this LP follows it step by step, omitting only a few of the selections because of lack of space on the record. In using it, the writer starred the pieces in the book omitted on the record, in order to know which ones to skip. As with all MMD disks, tempos are indicated by a metronome beat before the start of each piece.

In re-listening to this LP, I am impressed with its value played by itself. Before one can produce fine tone, it is essential to "hear" it in your head and thus know what to aim for. Some readers may find this disk helpful in developing a better concept of recorder tone quality.

It goes without saying that no printed method can substitute for lessons with a good teacher. For persons unable to obtain personal instruction, however, Katz's book in conjunction with this record is probably the next best thing.

MMJ 2001 - minus soprano recorder; MMD 2002-:-minus alto or tenor recorder.

)

Music: AMERICAN FOIK SONJS, arr. for three recorders (voice & guitar ad lib.) by IB.Noue Davenport. New York: Clarke & Way, Inc. (Now published by Carl Van Roy Co.) Includes:

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Buttemilk Hill, Po' Boy, Red River Valley, The Riddle Song, Careless Love, Over Yandro, Old aztokey, The Colorado Trail, Casey Jones, The Foggy Foggy Dew, Old Tare River, Down in the Valley, Wayfaring Stranger, Barb' ry Allen.

Perf'onners: Robert Dorough, Dolmetsch Alto, rosewood: IB.Noue Davenport, tenor recorder, Moeck, boxwood; Max Shames, guitar.

fuplications on other recordings: Seven of' these folks songs are played by the Manhattan Re-corder Consort on CLASSIC EDITIONS lo43, reviewed in the April, l959 issue of' the NEWSLETI'ER.

review copy of' this disk is with 'soprano recorder missing, and this is probably the best one to get, since it carries the melody in ll of' the l4 selec-tions. The second part has the melody in only one piece, while the third part (MMJ 2002) has it in two; in general, these two lower voices are assigned ac-companiment to the solo. A guitar is in-cluded on this record, and it lends a richness to the sound that is very pleas-ant. The arrangements of' the music are effective and the playing is relaxed. This disk is fun to play with, and one might recommend it

(200l) to friends who enjoy singing folk songs, since the words are included in the music. There is no tuning note at the beginning of' the disk.

MMO 2003 - minus soprano recorder; MMO 20o4-:-minus alto recorder.

Music: FIRST RECORDER llJET BOOK : FIFTEEN PIECES FROM THE l6th TO THE l8th CENI'URY, arr. for C and F recorders by Erich Katz. New York: Omega Music Edition, l953· Includes:

Des Pres - Resurrexit; van Kerle -Pleni sunt coeli; Senf'l - Motet; Stahl - Master Hildebrant; Othmayer - Psalm; lasso - MJtet; Anon. - Old Easter H;ymn; Sweelinck -Chanson; Rossi - Duet; Praetorius -Courante, Bourree, Bransle; Schultze - Scherzo; Scheidt -Courante; Mat the son - Menuet •

MMO 2005 - minus soprano recorder; MMJ 2006-=:-minus alto recorder

Music: SECOND RECORDER llJET BOOK: DANCES FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE CLASSICS, arr. for C and F recorders by Erich Katz, New York: Omega Music Edition, l955. In-cludes: de Medicis - Saltarello; Schein - Allemande; Praetorius -Bransle Double, L'Espagnolette; Albert - Dance Song; H. Purcell -Jig; Lully - Hornpipe; Bach -Polonaise; Handel - Passepied; Pergolesi - Menuet; L. Mozart -Polonaise, Bouree; Haydn - Menuet.

Performer: Erich Katz, alto recorder, Herwiga Rex, rosewood, German fingering; soprano recorder (on 20o4, and 2006), Dolmetsch, ebony

These two records may be reviewed together, since they are much alike. The recording itself' is below par, and the playing sounds rather breathy and uneven. Of' some interest is the tone quality of' the Herwiga Rex instrument, which is quite mellow, al-though wavery at times. One might hazard a guess that these records were not made under the most ideal recording conditions. In addition, on 2005 the listener is in for a mild shock: on the final two selec-tions the pitch is higher and the sound is that of' a Dolmetsch alto, apparently played by IB.venport! My guess is that these pieces were spliced onto the original tape and the speeds of the tape recorders were slightly different. Again, there is no separate band with a tuning note at the beginning.

MMO 2007 - minus soprano; MMO 2008 -minus alto recorder (or soprano-rn-Rossi); MMD 2009 - minus tenor recorder (or alto in Rossi).

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Music: Salomone Rossi - Five "Sinf'onie a Tre Voci ", arr. for three re-corders by Erich Katz, ARS ed. l. FANTASIAS & RICERCARES OF THE l6TH AND l7TH CEN'IURIES, arr. for three recorders by Erich Katz, New York: Clarke & Way, Inc. Includes : Des Pres -Fantasia; Anon. Flemish -Fantasia; Willaert - Ricercare; Valderravano - Fantasia; Lupo -Fantasia; Bassano - Fantasia.

Performers: (2007) LaNoue Ie.venport, Alto recorder, Dolmetsch, rosewood; Robert Dorouoh tenor recorder, Moeck,maple; (2008) Davenport, soprano, Dolmetsch, rosewood; (2009) Davenport, soprano, Dolmetsch, rosewood; Dorough1 alto recorder, rosewood.

Duplications on other LP's: The Fantasias by Willaert and Bassano may also be heard on Classic Editions lOl8, Recorder Music of Six Centuries, as played by The Recorder Consort of the Musicians' Workshop. On that LP the Willaert piece is played by alto, tenor and bass recorders.

Performances here are very good and the music first-rate. One may complain, how-ever, about the edition of the Fantasias and Ricercares. Why do publishers persist in printing music with impossible turns for performers?! In playing with others, in three of these six pieces one has to pause briefly for the page turns, and this is annoying enough since the musical line is broken up. In tootling along with this record, one is left behind as Messrs. Davenport and Katz go merrily on their way. Presumbaly they are using two copies of the score to accomplish this feat, but the purchaser of each disk is provided with only one copy of the music. Print-ing the music on a larger format would have avoided this inconvenience. Again, no tuning note at the beginning.

MMD 20l0 - minus soprano recorder; MMD 20ll - minus alto (or soprano) recorder; MMD 2012 - minus tenor (or alto) recorder

Music: MOTETS AND ll.YMNS OF THE l6TH CENTURY, arr. for three recorders by Erich Katz. New York: Clarke & Way, Inc., l956. (Now published by Carl Van Roy Co.) Includes: Des Pres - Ave Verum; Isaak -Suesser Vater, Herre Gott; A. Gabrieli - Crucifixus; Palestrina -Benedictus; Lasso - Christmas Motet; Vento - Pater Noster; Victoria -Veni Creator Spiritus; Gumpelzhaimer - 0 Jesu Christ.

Performers: Davenport, soprano re-corder, Dolmetsch, rosewood; Robert Dorough, Dolmetsch Alto, Rosewood.

These disks are listed in catalogs as for soprano, alto and tenor, but in fact they are equally and perhaps more suit-able for two sopranos and alto. As listed above, the lower part is played here on an alto. Performances and re-corded sound are quite satisfactory, and we have only one page turn to struggle with!

CONCERT CAI..END\R

New York Pro Musica (Bernard Krainis, recorder soloist)

October l8 " 25 " 27 " 29 " 30

November l " 2 " 4 " 6 " 7 " ll " l3 " l5 " l6 " 20 " 2l " 29

Jan.6,7, 8 " 9 " lO II 12 " l4

92nd St. "Y" Cambridge, Mass. Ithaca, N. Y. Mt. Vernon, Iowa Shorewood, Wise. Madison, Wise. Minneapolis, Minn. Morehead, Minn. Peoria, Ill. Wheaton, Ill. Ann Arbor, Mich. Carlisle, Pa. Endicott, N. Y. Buffalo, N. Y. Washington, D. C. Washington Irving High School 92nd St • "Y"

Berkeley, Calif. Angwin, Calif. Stanford, Calif. Eureka' Calif. Maryville' Calif.

January 17 Beverley Hills, Calif. " 18 Ventura, Calif.

' " 19 San Luis Obispo, Calif. " 21 Van Nuys, Calif. " 22 San Fernando, Calif'. " 23 Monrovia, Calif. " 24 Whittier, Calif . " 27,28,29 Tucson, Ariz.

February l Los Alamos, New Mexico " 4 Waco, Texas

March 13 92nd St. "Y" " 19 Washington Irving High School

April 20 Newark, Del. " 22 Huntington, W. va. " 24 Chicago, Ill. " 26 Cleveland, Ohio " 27 St. Mary, Ind. " 28 South Bend, Ind.

May l Canton, N. Y. " 3 Burlington, Vt.

The Manhattan Consort (LaNoue Dwenport, n1.rector) A series of 4 concerts at

Living Theatre, 530 Sixth Avenue.

October 26, Renaissance music for voices, viols, recorders, harpsichord

December 21, medieval carols, baroque Christmas music, Josquin Christmas motet

February l),music of Handel, Telemann, Loeillet

April 25, Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 and 4;Telemann,Suite, for recorder and strings

Antient Concerts (Homer Wickline, Director: Patty Grossman, recorder soloist) 202 Emerson Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. A series of 6 concerts at Carnegie Lecture Hall, Oakland.

Oct. 24 Nov. 16 Jan. 25 ·o;o?,j>. 29 *'T. 4 May 2

Carl Dolmetsch and Joseph Saxby Early music of Spain Music by Telemann Suzanne Bloch Music of Graupner and J. F. Fasch Medieval, Gothic, and early

Renaissance

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Antient Concerts will also present programs on the last Friday of each month on WQED -TV, and a series of 3 children 1 s concerts at the YM & WHA, Pittsburgh, on November 2, December 14 and March 7.

CHAPTER NEWS

Austin

The May meeting of the Austin chapter of the ARS was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Don W. Morgan. 18 players and 4 guests were present. A directory of charter members was handed out . 7 new members were present. Program for the evening began with pieces by fufay, played by Neil Hendricks, Jo Alys Downs and Ibrcas Morgan. 3 Elizabethan songs followed, played by Robert Hobson, Miss Downs, and Miss Morgan. Wilson 1 s Wilde was then presented, played on the lute by Don W. Morgan and 3 recorders, Mrs. Morgan, Dorcas Morgan, and Robert Hobson. Jervis Under-wood, chapter director, then performed a sonata by Daniel Purcell, accompanied by Mrs • Lloyd Farrar on the virginals. Mr. Underwood gave very interesting background notes on the piece and by request repeated a movement on a sopranino. Group playing followed under the direction of Mr. Underwood and a special explanation of proper breathing was made.

The July meeting of the Austin chapter was held in the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Chapel. 15 players, including 3 new members, and 7 guests attended. Pro-gram for the evening began with an aria by Erlebach, sung by Mrs. Joe Gates, contralto, with recorder obligati played by Mrs. Morgan and Dick Underwood, viola da gamba by Lloyd Farrar, accompanied by Willis Bodine on the organ. 3 pieces by Corelli and Handel followed, played by the "Wednesday Group." Players were Dorcas Morgan, Jo Alys Downs, Robert Hobson and accompanist George Bozeman. After hearing the organ, the group enjoyed an explanatory talk by its builder, Otto Hofmann, who demonstrated its different stops, and ex-plained what he had tried to accomplish in building it. Third performance for the evening was a Bach aria sung by Mrs. John Swaney, accompanied by Willis Bodine on

the organ, with Lloyd Farrar on gamba and recorder obligato by Jervis Underwood. Group playing of Bach chorales followed under the direction of Jervis Underwood, chapter director.

The Austin chapter representative to the Executive Board Advisory Committee will be Jervis Underwood.

Mrs. fun W. Morgan, Secretary

Philadelphia

Members from many parts of this city and its suburbs met at Allen's Lane Art Center for the June 12, 1959 social meeting of the Philadelphia chapter of A.R.S.

The first part of the evening was devoted to a widely varied program of performances prepared by members. Libby Levenson, Deborah Levenson and Ethel Koslow opened the program with three selections from the collection of Elizabethan and Shakes-pearean Music for the Recorder: "I Loathe That I Did Love", "Dulcina", and "All in a Garden Green". They were followed by Ben Allison and Ed Abramson, whose appar-ently effortless performance of the lengthy and difficult Van Brughe "Alto and Tenor" met with considerable applause.

Next on the program was the Levittown Re-corder Consort, a group of young people who have brought an active interest in old instruments and old music to their large community of new homes in Northeast Philadelphia. David and Paulina Wilker, Joan and D:>nald Thompson, Bud and Lucy Grossman and Ed Gessell played several Italian Villanellas.

The audience of about fifty members next heard three Sixteenth Century Dances per-formed by recordists Marion Cohen, Abraham Cohen, Ethel Koslow and Libby Levenson, with twentieth century percus-sion an triangle, bells and tambourine by Herbert Koslow and Debby Levenson. Debby's competence on the recorder, her musical versatility and her stage "presence" made her the star of the evening, and set an

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example for everyone else present, since she is only seven years old.

Dowland's "Lachrimae Antiquae" was next sung by Elise Frieman, mezzo-soprano, with a recorder consort composed of Marion Cohen, soprano; Dr. Walter Frieman, alto; Alma Stevens, tenor; Kristin Hunter, tenor; and Abraham Cohen, bass. The concert con-cluded with two original compositions for recorder by Marion Cohen, performed by Abraham Cohen and Dr. Samuel Eisenberg. The first was an air for two bass re-corders; the second paired the two ex-tremes of the recorder family, sopranino and bass, with delightful effect and was dubbed "The Sparrow and the Elephant" by one member of the audience.

Following an intermission at which re-freshments were served, Bluma Goldberg conducted the group playing of a Gavotte, a Sarabande and several other Handel com-positions from Kleine Musiken fur Block-floten. Miss Goldberg was unanimously elected honorary representative of the Philadelphia chapter to report to the parent organization in New York.

A recording recently aired on Philadelphia's jazz radio station, WHAT-FM, may mark a new trend to the use of recorders in modern jazz, which has already incorporated the C flute and many other classical in-struments. Alto and tenor recorder are included in the Jack Marshall Sextette, which plays "Eighteenth Century Jazz" on Capitol Records.

Kristin Hunter, Correspondent

NEW YORK

The first meeting of the season, conducted by LaNoue Davenport, was held at the New York College of Music on September 25th. An important change in the format of the New York chapter meetings was the division of the playing groups into two sections, advanced and intermediate, meeting at dif-ferent hours. Some played in both sec-tions and there were many listeners to both. It was generally agreed that much

more playiDg fun was had by all by re-serving the most difficult music (Bach Chorale Preludes, arr. Beckett, reviewed in this issue) for more advanced players • "Intermediates" played ARS Nos. 6 and

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24, Italian Villanell.as and Carnival Songs. Intermission performers were members of' the Manhattan Consort LaNoue Davenport, Martha Bixler and Shelley Gruskin.

LE!I.'TERS ID THE EDIIDR

An "Index of' Present -day Makers of' Historical Musical Instruments" is being compiled for publication in the next issue of' the Galpin Society Journal (with supplements to follow in later issues) by Anthony Baines and Bruce Braswell with the assistance of' other members of' the Galpin Society. The Index will list the name and full address of' makers of' his-torical instruments along with brief' de-scriptions of' the instruments produced by them. All historical instruments except large organs will be included: "Renais-sance" wide-bore recorders, "Baroque"

·1 recorders, crumhorns, shawms, curtals, Baroque oboes and bassoons, cornetts, narrow-bore trombones, viols, rebecs, Medieval fiddles, Baroque violins, psalt-eries, harps, lutes, harpsichords, port-ative and positive organs, regals, etc.

The compilers of' the Index would be pleased to receive lists of' makers of' these instruments (with complete ad-dresses) from persons interested in the project. Especially welcome would be the names of' makers in the United States, France, Italy, Holland, and Scandinavia. Names of' smaller makers in any country would also be welcomed. Lists may be sent either to:

Anthony Baines Hon. Editor, The Galpin Society Journal 36 Redclif'f'e Close Old Brompton Road London, S. w. 5, England.

or to -

Bruce Braswell Apartment 710 206 St. George Street Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada.

It would be greatly appreciated if' lists could be sent before November 1st.

From J. R. Miller, San Antonio, Texas:

"I have two which you might wish to bring to the attention of' in-terested parties, as follows:

1) I wish music publishers, advertisers and reviewers would be more specific about individual selections of' music. That is, where an opus number or source reference as to collection, etc., is available, this information should form part of' the title of' the piece. If' it is a transpo-sition or arrangement of' a work for another instrument, I should like to know the original key or instrument. I know that same of' this information is usually incorporated into the printed score, but to those of' us away from large cities where the selection of' music from a large stock is possible, such information is essential for intelligent ordering by mail. I know that I for one cannot af-ford duplications in my music library, and it seems that every publisher has brought out one or more Telemann sonatas for alto and keyboard, identified simply as being in the keys of' C or F, and several publishers have editions of' Bach two- and three-part Inventions for re-corders and I should like to know which ones are included -- #1 in C, #15 in B minor, etc • Reviewers could be very helpful in this matter.

2) I have tried both here and abroad to obtain copies of' two LP recordings made by Mr. Carl Dolmetsch. They were orig-inally issued by English Decca, but brought out in this country by London Records as LS-24 and LS-278, both 10" re-cords. I wondered if' there were many other members of' the ARS who would be in-terested in having these records and would be willing to write individually to London Records, who might be persuaded to put these items back in circulation if' they thought there was even a mild de-mand for them."

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From Elna Sherman, Boston:

"Does anyone know of a good recorder .player who can continue the instruction of a 9-year-old boy in Norfolk, Va. who has just gone to live there from Brookline? He has studied 2 years with me, has done exceptionally well, and wants to continue . ........ "

Write:

Elna Sherman 96 St. Paul Street Brookline 46, Massachusetts.

NOTICE:

Membership dues are now payable for the year 1959-60. Dues for members of the New York Chapter are now $5.00 (an in-crease we regret, but nonetheless nec-essary, of $1.00 from previous years). Couple membership for the New York Chapter remains at $6.00 and out of town membership $2.50. Please make check or money order payable to The American Recorder Society, Inc., and send to the Treasurer,

Marvin Rosenberg 960 Ralph Avenue Brooklyn 36, New York

Please indicate whether you are an old or a new member of the Society.

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FOR SALE NOTICES

Fehr Palisander Alto, better than average, not greatly used. $40.

Everett D. Glover, 3107 Milton Avenue, J)l.llas 5, Texas •

•

Bound copy of Xerox prints of Alfred Mann's Columbia University M.A. Thesis, 1950: "il:le Use of the Recorder in the Works of Bach and his Contemporaries".

62 pages, 6" x 8 l/4". $8.00 post-paid.

Write to:

Dale S. Higbee 412 South Ellis Street Salisbury, North Carolina

To Add to For Sale Notices:

Dolmetsch soprano recorder, massara, $15

Dolmetsch tenor recorder, rosewood, $25

Kung sopranino recorder, $4. Miss Grace Field 140 West 58th Street, New York 19, N. Y.

Dolmetsch alto recorder, satinwood, 1957, very reasonable.

Joel Newman, 840 West End Avenue, New York 25, New York.