Jonathan Merrett – Three Descant Recorder Pieces

Composed by Jonathan Merrett and written in an approachable modern idiom Three Descant Recorder Pieces is fun to play and easy to listen to. The first movement, Promenade, is a gentle walk in the countryside. The second piece, Song, is a lyrical melody that challenges the player to sustain the long lines of the tune. The finale, Swinging Along, is joyful and jazzy and is a lively counterpart to the other two movements. The piano accompaniment supports the soloist well, and is written in an accessible style for the teacher to accompany their pupil. Ideal for teaching studios, middle and secondary schools.

Review: “These three pieces offer the opportunity for the player of about grade 3 standard to learn much longer works than the standard fare at this level, the length ranging from 73 to 114 bars long. They all contain very playable and enjoyable melodies with lovely piano parts that really add to the music. The first piece, Promenade is somewhat reminiscent of Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances. The second, Song, has a legato melody where the player could really work at developing a beautiful singing tone. The third piece, Swinging Along‘ does exactly what the title suggests. The music is well presented and very easy to read. Great enjoyment could be had by spending some time working them up to performance standard. They would make great concert items.” – Debbie Porro in the The Recorder Magazine, Autumn 2012

Biography

Merrett, Jonathan

Born in 1955, Jonathan’s interest in music began at an early age as a Cathedral chorister. He learned the recorder and then the flute and studied music at the University College of North Wales in Bangor. His main interest was in composition and this was the focus of his masters degree. Since then, first as a clergyman and then as a teacher, he has continued to write music, always responding to the needs he sees - church music for services, songs for children to sing in school and music for friends to play. Jonathan has been the musical director for various local choirs and amateur dramatic groups and he also enjoys playing the Baroque flute, singing and playing the piano. More recent works have included a concert piece for Bagpipes and Orchestra, sets of songs for school choirs as well as Three Pieces for Descant Recorder. Jonathan now lives in the south of France where he continues to compose in between the duties of running a Bed and Breakfast.