Sitting in the company of an old pond on a summer’s day.
-- Kim Diehnelt
This beautiful duo pairing tenor recorder with cello is easy, tuneful, and very satisfying to play. Both parts have engaging melodies that could stand alone, and together they weave imagery of a calm day relaxing by the Old Pond. Shimmering trills in the cello remind us that we are by the water in the sunshine, carefree. A couple high B-flats in the tenor stretch the envelope just a tiny bit, but overall the piece sits in the comfortable range, with no low E-flats. Be sure to observe the composer’s occasional slurs, dynamics, and articulation markings to most effectively convey the story – shorts and longs contrast each other to great effect. The cello part also fits on a contrabass recorder without any adjustments (or an F bass sounding an octave higher), though some care will be necessary to work out breathing.