Composition -
Woodland Whimsy - MLE 58
By Gary Betts 2015
 
S A T B
 
 
The beauty of the woodlands lies in a perfect juxtaposition of the calming stability of trees and a flurry of animal activity. “Woodland Whimsy” is a depiction of gently swaying trees in and around which bears, birds, and butterflies perform nature’s ballet.
-- Gary Betts
 
 

Fun and frolic abound in the sylvan imagery conjured up in this piece. While the composer describes for us a bucolic setting in the music, populated by birds, insects, and other animals large and small, as players we must endeavor to create that vision in the minds of the audience. For example, a significant change of tempo at the Più mosso (rehearsal letter C) might introduce new characters or a new scene. The composer’s instructions are deliberately sparse in order to encourage playing groups to invent their own interpretations.

On a side note, as an educator I am particularly pleased with the composer’s use of the key of A major, with its 3 sharps, which I advocate should be comfortably under the fingers of all recorder players.

-- Glen Shannon, Editor

 
 
No. of Recorder Parts:
4
Difficulty:
Moderate
Occasion:
Any
Libraries:
Members' Library Editions
Date Added:
09/01/2016
Style:
Fast/Up-tempo, Tonal/Melodic