Favorite Recorder Tunes: Beautiful Airs and Ballads of the British Isles

This exceptional collection of 41 truly beautiful airs and ballads from the British Isles offers both well-known tunes by the prolific blind Irish harpist, Turlough O’Carolan and rarely heard melodies by anonymous composers; all have stood the test of time. Arranged for soprano or tenor recorder, these include O’Carolan’s classically influenced “Lord Inchiquin” and “Eleanor Plunkett” as well as “O Gentle Dove” and “Cuckoo Dear”— both examples of the strong tradition of song in Wales. Among other tunes, the haunting modal melodies of “The Dark Slender Boy” and “Enchanted Valley” express the melancholic heart and soul of the British Isles.

A few of these songs have taken on a life of their own in modern times. “Bonny at Morn”, a popular traditional tune of northern England and Scotland, was arranged for soprano voice and harp by the 20th century British composer, Benjamin Britten. “The Skye Boat Song” originally recounted Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s journey to the Isle of Skye after his defeat at the historic Battle of Culloden. Later, the song evolved into a lilting lullaby and was more recently used as the theme song for the popular Outlander television series.

Departing slightly from recorder notation practice, author Marcia Diehl has judiciously arranged these melodies complete with spare slur markings to aid the amateur player in authentically and musically rendering these tunes.