August 20, 2003
Recorders play tunes together
Sylvan Winds presents concert at Unitarian Universalist Congregation
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Known in Italian as a flauto dolce - or sweet flute - the recorder is an easy instrument for novices to learn, yet it's complexity and versatility makes it satisfying for veteran musicians.
This flute-like instrument was highlighted last Thursday evening during a concert and play-along hosted by Sylvan Winds at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Sixteen recorder players attended the event, which also featured music by the recorder group of Sylvan Winds. After the concert, the group got down to business, passing out parts and playing tunes together. They worked through tune after tune, demonstrating the range of the instrument.
"The play-alongs get a fabulous energy, an absolutely fabulous energy," said Richard Curtis, a member of Sylvan Winds who organized the event. "It is very informal, just people sitting around playing music and having a wonderful time doing it."
"Playing in a choir has a really special feel to it, you really are harmonizing," he added.
Curtis has been playing the recorder for 30 years and is also a renown area flautist, an instrument he played for 45 years. He organized previous play-alongs about once a year and is considering doing them more often if there is enough demand.
"What's exciting about the recorder for me is that it is an odd instrument that's not really terribly difficult to play but you can get the ensembles going really quickly," noted Curtis, who also teaches recorder and flute. "You can spend a couple of years just to get a decent sound on a transverse flute but with the recorder you can pick it up and have a lovely sound almost right away."
The group dynamics of playing the recorder with other aficionados drew Merrily Orr of Frankfort to Sylvan Winds. Orr had previously played the instrument as a child and picked it up again as she neared retirement. Also a piano player, she did not want to pursue a solo instrument - she wanted something that worked well in a group.
"I love the sound of it, especially love it in a group," said Orr, who has been playing the recorder seriously for five years. "There's something very mellow about the tone and there is beautiful music written for it, too."
"It is an instrument that is coming back into its own," she noted.
The play-along featured recorders of all shapes and sizes, including soprano, alto, tenor and bass recorders. Some recorders are very large and sound like an organ pipe.
Dating back to the Baroque period, the recorder was invented at about the same time as the flute. Many classical composers of that era wrote pieces for the instrument.
"Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a lot of things specifically for the recorder," noted Curtis. "And the Brandenberg concerto number four is really a recorder piece."
Sylvan Winds player Marge Winter dubs the recorder the perfect portable instrument. Winter, a Muskegon resident, has been playing the recorder off and on for 40 years. She said the instrument's accessibility - both financially and in terms of size - is part of its charm.
"It's not an expensive instrument, relatively speaking, and there are really great plastic ones out there available really cheap," she noted. "It is something you can pack up real small and take it anywhere with you."