Taynton Suite (TrTB)
MHE 10222 £8.00
Allegretto 
Andante
Blues
Andantino
Allegretto
This suite is about seven minutes of moderately difficult music for a recorder trio. The five pieces are varied and, I hope, interesting. Although I wrote the Taynton Suite for three players, it also works well for an ensemble. Perhaps a little surprisingly, three of us also enjoyed playing it on bass, great bass and contrabass.
 |
Ann's Choice: Volume 13 Equal Trios (TrTrTr)
MHE 20421 £8.00
Quel Tristarel d'Amore (Bellasio)
Pleni Sunt Coeli (Palestrina)
Christe Eleison (Victoria)
Cancionero de Palacio No 131 (Anon)
How Merrily We Live
There is not much music for adults that is both interesting and easy. All too often music that is easy is also a bit childish. I hope that the series 'Ann's Choice' will help to fill the gap. Volume 13 comprises arrangements of music in three equal parts. I enjoy playing such music – it is fascinating to hear how composers manage to create interest with so few available notes. As always with ‘Ann’s Choice’, I have chosen music that is straightforward, but interesting. I have avoided canons, of which there are many written for equal instruments. Although the five pieces are broadly ‘Renaissance’, they are
quite a mixture of work by well-known and less-known composers. Versions are also available for tenors and basses.
|
|
Ann's Choice: Volume 15 (Trios) (TrTB)
MHE 30522 £8.50
Of All the Birds that I have Heard
Whither Away So Fast?
Nous Voyons que les Hommes
Fly, Love, Aloft
There is not much music for adults that is both interesting and easy. All too often music that is easy is also a bit childish. I hope that the series 'Ann's Choice' will help to fill the gap. This set comprises arrangements of TrTB trios, composed by Arcadelt, Mundy, Morley and Wilbye – giants of their time. Total playing time is about seven minutes.
|
|
Five Ayres from the Baroque (TrTB)
MHE 31120 £8.00
Ayre No 1 (Almaine)
Ayre No 2 (Almaine)
Ayre No 3
Ayre No 4
Ayre No 5 (Echo)
These ayres were all written in the first half of the seventeenth century by English composers. With the notable exception of William Lawes, the composers are little-known today except, perhaps, to specialists in the area. A pity, because all of the music here is interesting to both players and listeners. Total playing time is about twelve minutes.
|
|
Made for JADE (TrTB(or bass guitar))
MHE 51120 £10.00
Shade 1
Shade 2
Shade 3
I was asked to write something for a music group called ‘JADE’, that word being constructed from the names of the group members. JADE is an unusual group, comprising two recorder players and a bass guitarist. I duly came up with three pieces where the recorder parts are moderately difficult, and the bass guitar part is definitely difficult featuring, as it does, quite a lot of high double stopping. I have now made a bass recorder part from the bass guitar part. The recorder part is, I would say, now of similar difficulty to the other recorder parts. Although all parts are full of rhythmic vitality – in other words a bit tricky! The sound files involve the bass guitar part - even if you never play this piece you can hear this unusual sound combination.
|
|
Ann's Choice: Volume 13 Equal Trios (TTT)
MHE 20421a £8.00
The version for tenors. Other versions are available for trebles and basses.
|
|
Ann's Choice: Volume 13 Equal Trios (BBB)
MHE 20421b £8.00
The version for basses. Other versions are available for trebles and tenors.
|
|
Four Bagatelles for Recorder Trio (DTrT)
MHE 30713 £6.50
Bagatelle 1
Bagatelle 2
Bagatelle 3
Bagatelle 4
I almost called these pieces 'studies', because I think there is a lot in them that would be useful for a trio to work on. Not least the parts are quite independent, and the notes in each part do not always occur exactly in the most obvious place! The problem is that the word 'study' is often used for tricky pieces, for extending the technique of already-strong solo players. And my pieces are aimed much more at players of modest technique, trying to improve their ensemble playing. So 'bagatelle' it was. For fun, some of these pieces were constructed around the chord progressions of well-known songs. It may be diverting to try to figure out which. Total playing time is about seven minutes.
|
|
El Condor Pasa (TrTB)
MHE 70813 £5.00
El Condor Pasa was not, as is commonly assumed, composed by Paul Simon. It was in fact written by the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles (1871-1942), who based it on a traditional Andean folk song. My arrangement, for recorder trio, is fairly easy to play but I hope it lets the charm of this tune shine through.
|
|
Three Madrigals by John Mundy (TrTB)
MHE 11114 £5.75
As I Went A Walking In The Month of May
Of All The Birds That I Have Heard
Turn About And See Me
John Mundy (1555-1630) was one of the first English madrigalists. I have arranged three of his three-part madrigals for treble, tenor and bass recorders. Metronome speeds are suggestions only, but it is likely that all three pieces should be taken quite briskly. However, groups of more modest technical ability may be pleased to hear that the pieces still work very well at slower speeds!
|
|
Four Canzonettas in Three Parts (Thomas Morley) (DTrT)
MHE 50812 £6.50
Springtime Mantleth Every Bough
Good Morrow, Fair Ladies of the May
Lady, Those Eyes
Blow Shepherds, Blow your Pipes
Thomas Morley (1557/8-1602) was a master of writing music in few parts, which these four three-part canzonettas illustrate very well. All of the pieces are notated in 4/4 but they can be taken at a brisk two-in-a-bar, if the players are up to it. Also available (MHE 50812a) is a version for DTrTTBGtBCtB, which gives a robust and sonorous view of these little gems. It is impossible to say which version Morley would have preferred, but it seems to me that they both sound great.
|
|
The Dunn Thing (TTT)
MHE 10112 £7.50
Ouverture
Allegro
Andante
Allegro
Finale
I wrote this suite for Anne Dunn, a committed tenor player with both the Monmouth and Chepstow U3A recorder groups. The range for all parts is from bottom C to only top A, and so it would be possible to play the suite on three descants, without too much damage to the local environment. But three tenors is much better! Total playing time is about nine minutes.
|
|
Ann's Choice: Volume 2 (DTrT Trios) (DTrT)
MHE 50810 £6.50
Dama, Mi Grande Querer
En El Servicto De Vos
Away, Thou Shalt Not Love Me
Minuet
Lord Do With Me As You Will
The Ash Grove
There is not much music for adults that is both interesting and easy. I hope that 'Ann's Choice' will help to fill the gap. Volume 2, for DTrT trios, offers music from the Spanish Renaissance (Moxica and the famous 'Anon'), England (Wilbye), Germany (Bach) and Wales (The Ash Grove). Whatever the original forces, I have arranged all of the music for DTrT recorders. The keys are friendly and, other than four top As for descants (all in one piece), there are no notes higher than three fingers in the upper register.
|
|
Ann's Choice: Volume 9 (TrTB Trios) (TrTB)
MHE 20717 £6.50
Thirsis, Let Pity Move Thee (Morley)
O What Shall I Do? (Wilbye)
Cease, Sorrows Now (Weelkes)
There is not much music for adults that is both interesting and easy. I hope that 'Ann's Choice' will help to fill the gap.
Volume 9 comprises arrangements of three three-part English madrigals for TrTB recorders. The madrigals are by three giants of madrigal composition - Morley, Wilbye and Weelkes. In these pieces they demonstrate their ability to write very interesting music that is straightforward to play and that is in only three parts.
|
|
Ann's Choice: Volume 10 (TrTrB Trios) (TrTrB)
MHE 30717 £6.00
Sit Down and Sing (Weelkes)
Ah me! My mistress scorns my love (Bateson)
Where Art Thou, Wanton? (Morley)
There is not much music for adults that is both interesting and easy. I hope that 'Ann's Choice' will help to fill the gap. Volume 10 comprises arrangements of three three-part English madrigals for TrTrB recorders. The madrigals are by three giants of madrigal composition – Weelkes, Bateson and Morley. In these pieces they demonstrate their ability to write very interesting music that is straightforward to play and that is in only three parts.
|
|
The Monmouth Trios (DTrT)
MHE 30907 £5.50
Drybridge House
Market Day
Strollin' Along The Monnow
Three easy and tuneful pieces, written by Ann Marshall for the Monmouth U3A recorder group. Maureen Russell has teamed Strollin' Along The Monnow with some images, and this can be viewed here
|
|
The Tibberton Trios (TrTT)
MHE 20309 £6.50
1
2
3
4
These attractive short trios by Ann Marshall add to the small repertoire for a treble and two tenors. They are of 'easy moderate' difficulty.
|
|
A Year of Trios (DDTr and DTrT)
MHE 20313 £9.00
January: In The Mountains
February: The Skating Rink
March: A Brisk Stroll
April: Spring Dance
May: Flowers By The Stream
June: Summer Breezes
We wrote these easy trios (contributing six each) for a recently-formed U3A recorder group. At the time the group was descant-rich, with a few people learning treble and tenor. All players had got as far as the five 'common' left-hand notes (GABCD on a descant). Each of the twelve easy trios (total playing time about thirteen minutes) is a small sketch of something typical of that particular month, using just those five notes. The trios for the first and last three months of the year are for DDTr, and the others are for DTrT. We have also arranged these pieces for a DDTrTB quintet (A Year of Quintets, MHE 90813). The sound files here are for the first six months of the year, and the other six are with the Year of Quintets.
|
|