Recorder - more than just a squeaking student instrument

 Recorder, a musical instrument, not the audio recording device, nowadays, it is a popular instrument for school children as an easily accessible instrument to learn music. It can be traced back to the mid-20th century, German composer and music educator Carl Orff popularized it. The descant recorder is used in the school system, however, the children always overblow and its range is high, ending up as a squeaking instrument to the general public. 

The alto and tenor recorder were good solo instruments before the baroque period and they were often played in a small ensemble setting. The expressiveness of the instruments compares to all other contemporary instruments in history. Sadly, after the baroque period, they were mostly replaced by the flute. Until the contemporary period, recorders were picked up by contemporary composers as searching for a new sound. Thought recorders are not any new instrument, but new materials, playing techniques, mechanisms offer a new sonority for composers. The piece below C. Tsoupaki: Charavgi (1994)for a solo alto recorder. The title is Greek ("ΧΑΡΑΥΓΗ") for "early dawn." With a beautiful melody, Tsoupaki focuses on the singing and playing technique as well as pitch bending.

Calliope Tsoupaki (1963 )was born in Piraeus, Greece. She studied piano and music theory at the Hellinicon Conservatory in Athens and composition with Yannis Ioannidis. She continued her studies with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.

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