Wie soll ich dich empfangen

*Contemporary Arrangement* of a Baroque Melody for Recorder Octet. 

1. Wie soll ich dich empfangen

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The Recorder Magazine Summer 2019

New Publications - CD reviews

Lance Eccles - Wie soll ich dich empfangen - (for Large Ensemble. Choir 1: SATB  Choir 2: TBGbCb)  - OMP260

As every Bach fan knows, the Lutheran chorales offer the potential for gratifying sonorities for recorder ensembles, whether as plain four-part hymn tunes or in more elaborate chorale prelude settings. Johann Cruger's splendidly strong melody Wie soll ich dich empfangen (How shall I receive thee?) is here given typically contrapuntal treatment for recorder orchestra in double choir formation: one at 4 foot, one at 8 foot. The opening 16 bars present the tune harmonised in four parts, doubled in octaves, and the remaining two minutes of this short but satisfying exploration of the organ-like possibilities of Cruger's hymn deploy the eight lines o as to make good use of the shifting textures. I like the way that at bar 49 the chorale harmonisation appears first in the high choir accompanied by a running line in the lowest voices of choir 2, and is then repeated in the low choir with the running bass line emerging as a descant. At just under 3 minutes this should prove a useful item for recorder orchestras and is recommended for encouraging legato cantabile playing.  Reviewed by Christopher Burgess

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_Score 6 pp. Parts 1 pp. Downloadable PDF File._

OMP260 Lance Eccles "Wie soll ich dich empfangen for recorder octet".

Johann Cruger was a 17th Century German composer who, despite the hardships of the 30 Years War, managed to write many church works; including the hymnal Praxis Pieatatis Melica, in which Wie soll ich dich empfagen can be found. "Ah! Lord how shall I meet Thee" is a Christina hymn for Advent. Lance Eccles (born 1944) has played recorders for many years, including for two decades in Sydney's Reluctant Consort. The prolific Australian composer has taken Cruger's melody as the basis of a double-choir composition, for two quartets: a high SATB and a low TBgBcB. While the piece starts with the two choirs doubling at the octave, it quickly spreads out into passages where the two choirs imitate or answer each other. Whith all parts in an octave-and-a-fifth range, and demanding not more than some eighth-note scales, this is a pleasant sounding piece at low intermediate level, suitable for any group that has a great bass and contra bass recorder for the low quartet. Running time is about 2'30". Typesetting is very clear, with each part fitting precisely on a single page.

Victor Eijkhout, American Recorder Fall 2021 Vol. LXII no.3