Concerto Grosso Op 84 for recorders

*Contemporary Piece.* Attractive piece with some nice rhythmic and harmonic elements that make it not quite what it seems. 

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The Recorder Magazine 

Sheet Music Reviews

Richard Peter Maddox - Orpheus Music - OMP132

This modern Concerto Grosso makes a delightful contrast to the more familiar works of the Baroque period. It is scored for two concertino trebles with a ripieno consisting of treble, two tenors, bass and great bass; and I would imagine that this would sound particularly effective in a group large enough to double the ripieno parts as a contrast to the solo concertino parts. 

The work is in three short movements. On the whole, this style of music is quite approachable with the melodic second and third movements having a distinctly romantic feel to them. The lively first movement however is perhaps a little 'grittier', with the emphasis being more of rhythmic figures - including a brief burst of rumba towards the end. 

Although not technically difficult (really!), this music is definitely not for the faint hearted. There are enough accidentals to keep anyone on their toes and some of the rhythms look harder than they really are...

At times the instrumental writing does suggest that the composer might not have much first hand experience of recorder playing. The trebles and tenors spend a lot of time at the bottom of the ranges, and at one point in the first movement the tenor players are faced with two bottom Bb's! Meanwhile the great bass players have to be ready for the top C's that leap out at them from time to time. The music is attractively presented, with very bold and clear printing in the recorder parts (useful fr sharing copies!)while the blank pages are adorned with illustrations. 

A good repertoire piece for a group with a reasonable level of sight-reading: the short movements - especially the second and third - should provide instant 'audience appeal' too. 

Review written by SR

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_Score 24 pp. Parts 7 pp._