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Composer’s notes: I wrote Blue Ridge Water Music shortly after Hurricane Katrina. It is a
single piece with four movements, but each movement can also stand alone. I wrote these in
the field, as it were, while visiting many of the 250 waterfalls in Transylvania County, NC.

Editor's notes: “Scripted improvisation” might aptly describe this set of four movements for Tenor recorder solo. The written notes provide the general script, but that is just the starting point, like the printed words of a Shakespearean soliloquy. The freedom to interpret the notes on the page, in the moment, brings a different sort of inner satisfaction than playing an ensemble piece, which often necessitates pre-decided phrasing or group gestures. As you get to know the music, you begin to find little phrases, eddies and ripples that were not immediately apparent in the first readings. These discoveries are very personal, and no two players will tell the same story. Performances can be found on Daniel Hay’s YouTube channel. — Glen Shannon