Help me hive mind. Our kids are learning recorder in fourth grade and complaining.
I love the use of recorder in Kilar's Portrait of a Lady ("My Life Before Me") and I know there are several others like that, but I can't think of them right now?
Help me hive mind. Our kids are learning recorder in fourth grade and complaining.
I love the use of recorder in Kilar's Portrait of a Lady ("My Life Before Me") and I know there are several others like that, but I can't think of them right now?
Sorry I don't really have any music themes for Recorder to suggest to you Lukas, but you sure brought back a memory of youth with your post. I think I was actually in 2nd grade back in 1964 when my parents bought me a Recorder that the school was offering with lessons. I never really dedicated myself to it and you just had put up with 15 or 20 minute class sessions if I remember correctly. It seems crazy but I still have that Recorder in its Blue buttoned carrying sleeve in a box in the house somewhere to this day. I think I was 7 years old when I first got it and I'll be 67 this coming October. Best of luck with your music search and to your kids adventures with their Recorders! Thanks for reminding me of a time when life was good and McDonald's Cheeseburgers were 15 cents in my neighborhood.
I have a traumatic relationship to the recorder. I vividly remember music classes in primary school, when the intstrument was being used to teach scales and simple melodies etc. As 99% of the class had no musical talent whatsoever, the combined, dissonant sound was painful for someone like me, who had a musical ear.
So it took a long time until I got around on the instrument, because in and of itself - and when played and used properly - it can be quite beautiful. It was John Williams' JANE EYRE that did it, which surprisingly hasn't been mentioned so far.
Speaking of Williams, in addition to AZKABAN and JANE EYRE already mentioned, there are a couple lovely recorder solos in SCHINDLER'S LIST (in the tracks "Immolation" and "Stolen Memories") as well as in ROSEWOOD ("Scrappie and Mann Bond"). There is a sweet recorder solo also in one of the Tatooine cues in THE PHANTOM MENACE ("Anakin is Free").
Ennio Morricone used a lot of recorder in many of his film scores. MARCO POLO features some really beautiful writing for reeds, especially in the track "Adolescence".
Lukas, the classic film composer-related work for recorder is David Raksin's scoring for the 1953 UPA cartoon film THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN, written for a very small ensemble. Raksin once recalled receiving a letter from the author James Thurber saying that, "...recorder sounded just right for a unicorn".
I believe the Library of Congress web-site has more info on the music. And the film itself can be seen on Youtube -
I think they should be able to tackle the short flurry of notes from For a few Dollars More where the Man with No Name twirls his 45 n puts it in his holster! Morricone may have used a flute or piccolo but it should be perfectly effective on a recorder. Lol.
A great soundtrack of the Maestro featuring recorder is E' RIDENDO L'UCCISE. There isn't much of it on YT it seems but here's an excerpt featuring a passage played by the recorder (but there is more in the complete OST) :
THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY's lovely Renaissance cue "The Medici" might be too intimidating for beginning students to attempt playing themselves, Lukas, but your daughters at least might find it charming. But how about Goldsmith's theme from ROOM 222?
