I wondered if anyone had any advice on tempo recommended for the pieces I have chosen for my exam in the summer. I have decided I must take the plunge and get on with it (had a year off playing last year as I had a really bad shoulder) but I really enjoyed doing my grade 7 Dec 04.

Telemann Sonata in D minor - Affettuoso and Presto

Milford Sonatina in F - Andante and Vivo

Herberle Sonata for descant - Allegro

Many thanks for any suggestions you may have.

I did the Telemann for grade 6 flute last June. As a rule of thumb, Baroque tempos are not extreme at either end. 120 sounds good for the Presto. 80-90 perhaps for Affetuoso. My examiner said 'apt choice of tempo'.

Can't help with the others I'm afraid, but I'm sure many others can.

Good luck

I'm potentially doing the Telemann as part of my diploma, going through it and listening to Bruggen playing it, the presto need not be fast but fast enough so you can tongue all the quavers. As for the Affetuoso, again, keep it somewhat relaxed

Thanks for your ideas.

Any other recorder people out there to give me some advice?

In my (very) novice opinion, I agree with Chris and Neil.

Matt

Yea I agree, although I have no idea what those pieces are like!

Hi trio,

Sorry not to have replied before. I did the Telemann at around crotchet = 40 for the Affetuoso, and minim = 116 for the Presto. It's just a shade slower than the AB flute Grade 6 CD tempo.

The Milford Vivo (which I played many moons ago for flute Grade 6) is around the same speed as the Telemann presto (although it's crotchet = 116 I think). I haven't played the slow movement, so can't help you there. Neither have I played the Herbele. If you can get hold of a copy of 'Playing Recorder sonatas' by Anthony Rowland Jones, he has a good analysis of the Telemann there.

Thanks Andante - that's helpful (although a bit faster than I can manage at the moment!! )
Why do you think these two pieces are set for grade 6 on flute but grade 8 on recorder? Seems strange to me.

I think the board feel the fingerings are easier on the flute. I find the Telemann about the same level of difficulty on both - it's a harder Grade 6 option than some of the others on the list. Of course the f-p-pp repeated notes in the Affetuoso are easier on the flute. The Milford is definitely harder on recorder because of all the slurred chromaticky bits on the second page.

It's an interesting experience playing Telemann treble recorder sonatas on flute; sometimes the difference between the C and F instruments affects the difficulty considerably. The C major sonata from Getreuer Musikmeister is a good example: fiendish cross fingerings on the flute, but much more straightforward on the treble.

For baroque tempi, read some of the treatise on Tempi. Joachim Quantz, "On playing the Flute" is applicable to all instuments not just woodwind, and certainly not just the flute. As a general rule, make sure you can single-tongue the shortest note value in both Allegro and Presto movements. Some tempi relate to each other so if a slow movement is clearly meant to be half the speed of a fast movement make sure it is.

Then think about embellishments. For Grade 8, you should now be capable of contributing towards this rather than just doing as your teacher suggests.

Good luck with the exam, trio -- I've only looked at the Telemann, not worked it up "for real" - but there are some good recordings out there - see if you can get a listen to some of them, and see what you like. jod's suggestion of Quantz is a great one - I read it before sitting my grade 8, and it is a mine of useful information. Despite being a huge volume, it is also fairly easy to dip into. One day I must read in detail all his advice for ornamentation...I don't know your other pieces either, and copped out of scales by doing Trinity, so no advice on all that either. Back to those who can help!