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Post by Zi on Jan 15, 2023 18:07:43 GMT
The Recorder by David Lasocki and Robert Ehrlich et al
The sections are as follows:
The Era of Medieval Recorders – Lasocki
The Era of Renaissance Recorders – Ehrlich
The Era of the Baroque Recorder – Lasocki
Duct Flutes in the 19th C – Tarasov
The Recorder in the 20th C – Ehrlich
Epilogue – Michala Petri
It is a very interesting read about the history of the recorder. It is extremely well researched and referenced. Tarasov's section is particularly readable and although again very well researched, contains some fun anecdotes along the way. I really recommend it.
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Post by pavane on Jan 17, 2023 13:38:52 GMT
I haven't read the Lasocki, though it looks interesting so I will add it to my list of things to do.
I like the Hunt book, "The Recorder and its Music". It's quite old now (1962) but a lot of interesting stuff about the recorder revival of the twentieth century. I think it's still in print despite its age, but there are lots of 2nd hand copies around.
I have also found Kenneth Wollitz's "The Recorder Book" a useful reference.
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Post by Zi on Jan 19, 2023 8:07:31 GMT
I have both those too. I'm currently reading Hunt which I think is extremely well written and interesting. I'm a few chapters in. I've already learned a great deal. I love the historic snippets especially the ones about people I already know about in a different context. For example, I didn't know before now that Pepys was so enamoured with the recorder and bought one and learned to play it.
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Post by Zi on Mar 21, 2023 9:57:03 GMT
The Cambridge Companion to the Recorder.
I think if you want to start out finding a bit about many aspects of the recorder then it's a fine place to start but if you want a coherent 'story' written from the same standpoint then it most certainly isn't that. It shares the problem that all this type of books shares and that's how well the editor has commissioned chapters or found potential articles/chapters that will fit the bill. Each chapter is stand alone though some are written by the same person so the author can ensure some continuity but it is the lack of continuity that is the problem with aspects of the early chapters passing uncommented on by later chapters. I'm glad that I've read it and it has given me some interesting ideas to pursue and there is indeed a chapter that suggests further reading but I don't think it is an easy read and some chapters do seem to end before a satisfactory conclusion has been reached. I found myself wanting a bit more - maybe that's the sign of a good book. But even though some sections have joint authorship and some chapters are linked - it still felt slightly disjointed to me. Perhaps it is the differences in styles that creates the problem - it can swing from the very serious academic style to a lighter, sometimes humorous touch. For some writers, the inclusion of their chapters was less useful to me - for example it includes chapters by Lasocki and as I have a couple of his books, I think I'd rather read him in his books in the entirety. There are a few chapters by Eve O'Kelly and I'd definitely like to read some more by her though sometimes I did wonder why she made the points she made - it would have been nice to see sometimes more of an indication of why she was speculating and what she was speculating with.
It has a lot of illustrations and they're really well chosen and apt. But - and I know it would have sent the price rocketing - I'd rather it had some coloured pictures there - some of the black and white are a bit difficult to make out or would have been nicer to see in colour. Given its publication date of 1995 it would be really nice to have some updates in the light of new recorders having been developed this century. Eve O'Kelly does a really nice job of looking at the instruments as well as the people who play them but it might now be nice to run through some of the major specialist makers and discuss their contributions. This is a serious book and its referencing is exemplary though again, listing references at the end of a chapter drives me spare. I'd rather have the brief details as footnotes and them listed again in a block. I find it so irritating to have to keep checking which author and which book/article is being referred to. But I admit that's likely just me.
Bottom line - definitely worth having on your recorder book shelf even if you don't read it cover to cover - as I just have - it is the kind of book that you can just dip into because each chapter is so self-contained.
Anyway details are:
The Cambridge Companion to the Recorder
edited by John Mansfield Thomson
Cambridge University Press, 1995
pp238
1. The recorder in the Middle Ages and the renaissance - Howard Mayer Brown pp 1-25
2. The recorder's medieval and renaissance repertoire: a commentary - Anthony Rowland-Jones pp 26 -50
3. The baroque recorder sonata - Anthony Rowland-Jones pp 51-73
4. The baroque chamber-music repertoire - Anthony Rowland-Jones - pp 74-90
5. The orchestral recorder - Adrienne Simpson - pp 91-106
6. The eighteen-century recorder concerto - David Lasocki and Anthony Rowland-Jones pp 107 -118
7. Instruction books and methods for the recorder from around 1500 to the present day - David Lasocki pp 119 - 136
8. The recorder revival i: the friendship of berbard Shaw and Arnold Dolmetsch - John Mansfield Thomson pp 137-151
9. The recorder revival ii: the twentieth century and its repertoire - Eve O'Kelly - pp 152- 166
10. Professional recorder players i: pre-twentietch century - David Lasocki - pp 167 - 174
11. Professional recorder players (and their instruments) ii: the twentieth century Eve O'Kelly pp 175 - 183
12. The recorder in education - Eve O'Kelly pp 184 - 195
13. Facsimiles and editing - Clifford Bartlett pp 196- 209
14. Guide to further reading - Anthony Rowland-Jones pp 210 -226
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