Guest Composers

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Little Suite for Recorder Quintet (DTrTTB) MHE 10321 £11.50
Prelude 
Tambourin 
Sarabande 
Jig 
Little Suite won second prize in the Composers’ Competition 2020. That competition was for music suitable for branches of the Society of Recorder Players. The five-minute suite consists of four short movements whose order (slow, fast, slow, fast) is inspired by the Baroque dance suite, though the musical idiom is tonal twentieth-century with an English flavour.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Revelry (S^noDDTrTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 10522 £24.00
Fanfare 
Rain Song 
Scherzo 
Nocturne 
Jig 
‘Revelry' was written early in 2022 at the request of Shirley Brown, who celebrated a special birthday by inviting a group of friends to join her for four days of recorder playing. This rather challenging suite was given its first performance in May 2022. Total playing time is about fourteen minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON A Masque for Midsummer (DTrTBG^tBC^tB) MHE 11023 £15.00
Procession 
Divertimento 
Barcarolle 
Nocturne 
Round Dance 
I wrote this piece for the Bristol Branch of the Society of Recorder Players. The branch was founded in 1948, and its 75th Anniversary was celebrated in 2023. There are five movements, and the total playing time is about eight minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Culford Suite (S^noDTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 11222 £18.00
Prelude 
Under the October Twilight 
Ceilidh 
Culford Suite was written for Moira Usher, and was given its first performance at the October Recorder Festival in 2022. The suite is in three movements, with a total duration of about ten minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Five Folk Songs (TrTrTB) MHE 21222 £11.50
The Lark in the Clear Air 
A-Roving 
Ca' The Yowes 
Flowers in the Valley 
The Raggle-Taggle Gypsies-oh! 
Rosemary wrote these folk song arrangements in the summer of 2022. They were given their first performance at the October Recorder Festival 2022, conducted by the composer. Total playing time is about ten minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Suite in the Olden Style (DTrTTB, Spinet) MHE 31222 £16.00
Intrada 
Lament 
Courtly Dance 
Estampie 
This four-movement suite for recorders and spinet was written in 2022. It was given its first performance at the October Recorder Festival, with the spinet part played by the composer. The movements use elements of renaissance and medieval style, while still sounding like twenty-first century music. Total playing time is about nine minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Ashby Trio (DTrT) MHE 60421 £12.50
Flourish 
Summer Song 
Madrigal 
Aubade 
Jig 
Ashby Trio was written in the summer of 2020. The five movements are:(1) A vigorous 'Flourish' with a medieval flavour and constantly-changing time-signatures, (2) 'Summer Song' which, though written in 3/4, alternates between 3/4 and 6/8 throughout, (3) A rather syncopated 'Madrigal‘, (4) A Celtic-sounding and mysterious 'Aubade‘ and (5) A very Irish 'Jig'. Total playing time is about eight minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON The Hayes Suite (DTrTB) MHE 10716 £11.00
Intrada 
Pastorale 
Folk Song 
Madrigal 
Jig 
‘The Hayes Suite' was written for use on the 2016 Easter Recorder Course. The piece is so named because the course was held at The Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire. Total playing time is about eight minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Sulgrave Suite (DTrTrTTBG^tBC^tB) MHE 40405 £11.00
Intrada 
Air 
Scherzo 
Lullaby 
Dance 
A suite of five miniatures by Rosemary Robinson which are charmingly easy on the ear. They do however give players something substantial to work on, as they require accurate tuning, and include some rhythmic difficulties - the Air, for example is graceful music, but 5 in a bar throughout.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Cantilena (DTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 10919 £12.00
Cantilena is a lovely but moderately difficult piece, written in the Spring of 2019 for Margaret Shearing and David Scruby, to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary. Playing time is about five minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Dunholm Suite (DTrTrTTB) MHE 10119 £14.00
This piece was commissioned by the Durham and Newcastle Branches of the Society of Recorder Players, for that organisation’s National Festival, held in April 2019. This nine-minute suite is beautiful, and is not difficult to play. At the festival itself a version of Dunholm Suite for eight-part recorder orchestra was used. This is also available, as MHE 20119, and that is where the sound files can be found.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Dunholm Suite (DTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 20119 £15.50
Intrada  
Farne Song 
Round Dance 
This piece was commissioned by the Durham and Newcastle Branches of the Society of Recorder Players, for that organisation’s National Festival, held in April 2019. This nine-minute suite is beautiful, and is not difficult to play. At the festival itself this version of Dunholm Suite for eight-part recorder orchestra was used, but a six-part version (without big basses) is also available, as MHE 10119.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Avon Valley Suite (DTrTBG^tB) MHE 10818 £15.50
Pageant 
Fantasia 
Spinning Song 
Elegy 
Jig 
The Avon Valley Suite adds to quite a short list of modern pieces where the lowest instrument is the lovely great bass. This ten-minute suite is dedicated to Ruth Burbidge.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Arden Dances (DTrTTB) MHE 10911 £16.00
River Song 
Windmills 
Lonely Hills 
Fireworks 
These pieces by Rosemary Robinson were inspired by the four movements of the typical Baroque Suite (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue), and each one represents one of the four Elements (Water, Air, Earth and Fire). The suite as a whole is an evocation of that remote and beautiful part of Warwickshire once covered by the Forest of Arden. The dances are of moderate difficulty.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Ambion Hill (S^noDDTrTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 10109 £17.00
Flourish 
Invocation 
Tambourin 
Ambion Hill, in Leicestershire, is where the Battle of Bosworth Field is traditionally supposed to have been fought. Although the suite is not intended as a programmatic account of the battle, the ideas for it were formed during a blustery walk there. The suite is of moderate difficulty only, and total playing time is about 10 minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Fantasy Suite (S^noDDTrTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 60108 £17.00
Fanfare 
Willow Song 
Scherzo 
Nocturne 
Jig 
This 11 minute suite was composed by Rosemary Robinson for Justine Spence and the 2008 Northern Recorder Course, specifically for the course's chamber recorder orchestra. Complex and rich music, which will pose a challenge, even to a very good group of players.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Linden Suite (S^noDTrTrTTBBG^tBC^tBSubC^tB) MHE 21117 £25.50
Intrada 
Invocation 
Burlesque 
Aubade 
Revelry 
Linden Suite was written early in 2017 at the request of Josée Beeson, who wanted a new piece for her recorder courses in Lyme Regis. Note that there is an essential part for a sub-contrabass (contrabass in C) in this piece. This is a difficult work, which will provide an interesting challenge for any ensemble. Total playing time is about twelve minutes.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Divertimento for Spinet and Recorder Orchestra (Spinet, DTrTBG^tBC^tB) MHE 31215 £25.50
Badinage 
Sarabande 
Introduction and Jig 
This piece was written for the Recorder Orchestra Weekend held at the Mansion House, Biggleswade in October 2015. The conductor was Helen Hooker and the soloist was the composer. This is a substantial (thirteen-minute) piece, in which the spinet plays such an important part that it could be regarded more as a concerto. The solo part is difficult, while the orchestral parts are on the harder side of moderate. This is sure to be popular with recorder orchestras and their audiences.

ROSEMARY ROBINSON Rainsbrook Suite (S^noDTrTrTTBBG^tBC^tB) MHE 21110 £26.50
Canzonetta 
Lament 
Scherzo 
Cradle Song 
Jig 
Rainsbrook Suite was written during the summer of 2010. It takes its title from Rains Brook, a tributary of the River Leam, which runs south of Rugby, forming the border between Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. Total playing time is about fourteen minutes.

MARG HALL Sunrise To Sunset (DTrTrTTBG^tBorBC^tB) MHE 10505 £8.50
Busy Morning 
Siesta 
Evening Out 
This suite of three light and tuneful pieces from Marg Hall will be very welcome with groups which have a contrabass, but want something outside the normal orchestral repertoire. Sunrise To Sunset was the winner of the Big Bass 2005 competition, set up to encourage the writing of accessible pieces involving bigger basses.

HELEN HOOKER (arr) Easy Baroque Consorts (Volume 1) (DTrTB) MHE 10712 £7.50
March (Clarke) 
Aria (Bach) 
Menuet (Handel) 
Chorale (Bach) 
An Ayre (Clarke) 
Aria (Bach) 
Chorale (Bach) 
This collection was created for an Easy Recorder Playing for Adults course at Hothorpe Hall in July 2012. The music makes no great technical demands, but allows players to hone their ensemble skills through the music of these three well-loved composers.