Musical Compositions for Recorder

 
Dick playing recorder in Bristol, NH (click on image for larger size)

As Dick approached his 1982 retirement from North Central College, he began taking lessons in the recorder, an ancient flute becoming rediscovered and popular in school classes and adult clubs. His love of music had shown itself in an early ambition to becvome a second Cole Porter.He took a music composition course at Oberlin Conservatory and did write songs for a student musical comedy at Oberlin College. Now he returned to composing, this time for the recorder, and successfully. His pieces won several prizes offered by the American Recorder Society. They were published first by Loux and then by Dick's own firm, House of Porter (he lived on Porter Avenue). Representative pieces are summarized and sampled as follows: 

 A Masque - composed in 2001 and awarded Honorable Mention in a competition held by the Chicago chapter of the American Recorder Society. The masque in older days was a flashy entertainment. Here it is a suite of several dance forms, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders, and consists of four sections: Intrada (or entrance march), Valse Lente, March of the Goblins, Midnight Reel. Here are some excerpts: Intrada,  March of the Goblins and Midnight Reel.

 One Day - composed in 1998 and was awarded Honorable Mention in the 1999 competition. It is a suite for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders in four sections corresponding to the events of one day: Dawn, Matins (morning devotions), Noon (maximum activity), Vespers {evening devotions).  Here are some excerpts: Dawn, High Noon, Vespers

Three Moods - composed in 1994 and was awarded second place in the next year's competition. It is a suite in three sections for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders, each expressing a different mood: The Valiant, Les Melancoliques, The Merrymakers.   Here are some excerpts: The Valiant, Les Melancoliques, The Merrymakers

Little Suite - composed in 1992 and won first place in the next year's competition. It is a suite for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders, in three sections: Mirror March, Shadow Dance, Clap Dance. Here is Mirror March, which employs an unusualtechnique where the voices reflect each other in opposite direction. Thus when one voice goes up, another goes down at the same interval.   Here are some excerpts: Mirror Mood, Shadow Dance, Clap Dance

 Elegy - composed in 1998 in remembrance and honor of Dick's brother Arthur. It moves from a motif of grief to one of celebration,to end somberly on the opening theme. Here are some excerpts :  beginning, middle, end 

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