Suites and Airs for Alto Recorder and Keyboard: Recorder – Treble (Alto) & Keyboard

Strungk's suites offer the rhythmic grace and harmonic clarity of the Baroque without the technical complexity that can bog down developing recorder players. These pieces let students experience the joy of playing in ensemble with keyboard while working with melodic material that sounds genuinely musical, not merely pedagogical.

Graceful and unhurried, with the buoyant character of German Baroque instrumental music. These suites breathe with the rhythmic clarity and harmonic logic of the era, offering players a window into how composers like Strungk wove together dance forms and lyrical airs.

Alto recorder players in the intermediate to advanced range who want to explore Baroque ensemble repertoire beyond the standard pedagogical suites. This edition works equally well for advanced high school students and adult amateurs seeking repertoire that sounds idiomatic and rewarding.

• Shape each movement's opening phrase to establish its character; Baroque suites thrive when their dances have distinctive articulation and energy rather than uniform legato playing.
• Balance your tone to blend smoothly with the keyboard partner. The recorder's brightness should complement rather than dominate the harpsichord or piano part.
• Pay attention to the published articulation and slurring as guides to phrasing conventions of the period; Baroque composers notated these details for good reason.

Feature one movement in a recital or chamber concert to showcase your alto recorder player's solo capabilities in an ensemble setting. Alternately, use the suites as study material during a unit on Baroque forms and national styles, pairing them with comparable works by Telemann or Blavet to highlight regional differences in the same period.

• Baroque articulation and phrasing conventions
• Ensemble balance and listening to keyboard partners
• Rhythmic clarity in structured dance forms
• Reading figured bass and understanding harmonic movement
• Stylistically appropriate ornamentation and breathing