Today we are continuing with our series on music for C recorders with some suggestions of music from the late 17th through early 18th centuries.
Introduction to solo music for C Recorder…
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the C recorders had a harder time going from the “consort-life” to “solo-life” thanks to stiff competition from the transverse flute. Despite the competition, there are some wonderful pieces specifically written for the C recorder. We need not resign ourselves to cheesy transcriptions! The list presented here is by no mean exhaustive and does not include modern works for the instrument.
Late 17th to early 18th century...
Caldera, Antoni, Sonata da chiesa in A minor. Published: Otto Heinrich Noetzel.
This sonata is again in the tradition of flexible instrumentation but works beautifully on C recorder. Performing it on a tenor recorder would produce a lovely, melow sound worthy of a “church” sonata. Available here. Listen here.
Finger, Gottfried. Sonata in G.
Originally published in 1690, Finger wrote 6 sonatas. Three were intended for the violin and three were intended for the recorder. Two of the sonatas, while not impossible on C recorder, have ranges that look better suited to the Alto recorder. This sonata, however, sits perfectly on the C recorder. These sonatas are available on IMSLP. Available here.
Instrument(s) used in this portion of the presentation...
Soprano: Von Huene "Terton" soprano in boxwood at A415.
