Gunter's Dance

YCS012 Madeleine Phelan Günter's Dance

This piece is published as part of the Young Composer's Series form Orpheus Music Publications.  According to the notes accompanying the publication Madeleine Phelan wrote Günter's Dance 'after being inspired by a friend's rendition of "Günter had a little lamb" (complete with German dance)'.  I have to admit that I am not familiar with that particular German song, but Phelan's piece itself is a concise, fun and sprightly piece for recorder quartet (SATB).

It is musically straightforward with a simple harmonic structure and form, concluding with a rousing coda in 6/8. The two outer parts offer the most technical challenges: the descant part requiring deft finger work in the key of C minor in the middle section and the bass part boasts 16 bars of unaccompanied solo, containing large leaps and arpeggio figures.  The two inner parts share less of the glory, but the tenor part has to be prepared to pick up a descant for a few bars.

All in all, this is a well-devised piece for the intermediate recorder ensemble, with ample technical challenges to keep all players interested, particularly the bass player.

Alison Baldwin, The Recorder Magazine Winter 2002 Vol. 22 no. 4