Misery surrounds me

https://orpheusmusic.com.au/bass/2246-misery-surrounds-me.html?search_query=omp072&results=2OMP072 Benjamin Thorn Misery surrounds me

Benjamin Thorn gives here two versions of this song, the first notated in 6/8 time and marked "Gently", the second in 2/4, "Lively", with two flowing but not complex divisions followed by a repeat of the opening 14-bar song statement.

The range of the bass recorder, Thorn says, is suitable, as being similar to that of a female voice.  Be that as it may, the somewhat plaintive sound of the instrument characterises the melody attractively, and the range stags comfortably inside normal parameters, with no shocks or undue excitements.

Mary T Mitchell-Gogay, The Recorder Magazine, Spring 2002

OMP072 Benjamin Thorn Misery surrounds me

Benjamin Thorn gives here two versions of this song, the first notated in 6/8 time and marked "Gently", the second in 2/4, "Lively", with two flowing but not complex divisions followed by a repeat of the opening 14-bar song statement.

The range of the bass recorder, Thorn says, is suitable, as being similar to that of a female voice.  Be that as it may, the somewhat plaintive sound of the instrument characterises the melody attractively, and the range stags comfortably inside normal parameters, with no shocks or undue excitements.

Mary T Mitchell-Gogay, The Recorder Magazine, Spring 2002

OMP072 Benjamin Thorn Misery surrounds me -instrumental versions of a fifteenth century popular song

This work is technically around grade 4 AMEB

As recorder players we are encouraged to emulate the qualities of the human voice. What better way to put this into practice that with the two versions of this 15th Century song. They come complete with an intro. (as we say in the band world) and the second version has two excellent variations from Ben. I tried them as suggested on the tenor and they fit, but these pieces sound much better on the bass. They are a welcome addition to the bass recorder players solo repertoire.

Bernard Wells, Cinnamon Sticks Vol 4, No2.

OMP072 Benjamin Thorn, Misery surrounds me.

OMP055 Benjamin Thorn, Forestry in New England and The Waters of Babylon

Benjamin Thorn's early bass recorder works, The Voice of the Crocodile and Pipistrelli Gialli established him as an Australian enfant terrible and may even have secured his place in the modern history of the recorder. These recent bass recorder compositions by Thorn are of a much lighter character.

Misery surrounds me subtitled "instrumental versions of a 15th-century popular song arranged for bass recorder," is based on a song called "Elend, du hast umfangen mich".  It is essentially a division piece in which Thorn employs a simple tonal language with a modern tongue-in-cheek sensibility.  It is not easy to parody something that is formulaic and predictable but Thorn manages it well with great subtlety.

Forestry in New England is also a parody. This is at least evident in the free recitativo-like opening movement. The second movement, in a fast 7/8 meter has a dynamism reminiscent of Thorn's earlier work. It is most humorous in its raucous use of multi-phonics as a distorting device. In the third movement, Thorn employs silly, old-fashioned melodic clichés from the ragtime era which he makes even more comical by having the player sing them into the recorder whenever they appear.

The Waters of Babylon, included in the edition with Forestry, expresses parody by combining simple melodic phrases that would generally be idiomatic to folk songs, with an ongoing through-compositional form. Also a bit unusual is the frequent shifting between Dorian and Locrian modalities which strikes the ear as a kind of wrong-note version of the melodic minor.

The editions are excellent and contain no bad page turns.  Ample instructions for the second movement of Forestry (the only place where special effects are required) are supplied.  Upper intermediate players could handle these pieces.

Pete Rose, American Recorder, March 2004