Six Transcriptions Francis Colpron

• Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840): 24 Caprices, Op. 1
• 1 24 Caprices, Op. 1: No. 24 in A Minor (arr. F. Colpron for recorder) 05:48
• George Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): 12 Fantaisies
• 2 12 Fantaisies: No. 8 in E Major, TWV 40:21 (arr. F. Colpron for recorder) 06:36
• Marin Marais (1656-1728): Pieces de viole, Book 2
• 3 Pieces de viole, Book 2: Les folies d'Espagne (arr. F. Colpron for recorder) 12:19
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013
• 4 I. Allemande 07:27
• 5 II. Corrente 04:04
• 6 III. Sarabande 05:02
• 7 IV. Bouree anglaise 03:06
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770): L'arte del arco, B. F11 (38 Variations on Gavotte from Corelli's Op. 5, No.10)
• 8 L'arte del arco, B. F11 (38 Variations on Gavotte from Corelli's Op. 5, No.10) (arr. F. Colpron for recorder) 11:03
• George Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): 12 Fantaisies
• 9 12 Fantaisies: No. 4 in D Major, TWV 40:17 (arr. F. Colpron for recorder) 04:34
• Total Runtime 59:59

Info for Six Transcriptions

This project, a recording of transcriptions for recorder of works for violin, requires some explanation. First, it’s worth noting that musicians have always used whatever instruments are available to them. It was not until the 18th century that the practice of writing for specific instruments gradually began and, even since then, the practice of adapting and arranging the most popular pieces in multiple ways has continued unabated—for instance, to give just one example, in Liszt’s transcriptions for piano of Beethoven’s symphonies.

During the Baroque period, composers, or publishers seeking to boost sales, proposed various ways to play their works. In the preface to one of his collections of viol pieces, Marin Marais says that they can be played on all instruments. In several of his duos without bass, Telemann leaves the choice of instruments to the performers; sometimes he even overlays, on the same staff, both the violin part and the same music in a key a third higher, to facil- itate playing it on a recorder. We should remember that Bach himself was a great transcriber of music by Italians, and left us several of his own works, particularly his concertos, in multiple versions.

I lament the relative poverty of the repertoire for my instrument, the recorder. Though it remained very popular until the middle of the 18th cen- tury, the music written for it was not always interesting or virtuosic. Hence the temptation to transpose violin pieces; I have always been fond of this repertoire and have immensely enjoyed playing sonatas by some of the great 17th-century violinists such as Fontana, Uccellini, and Schmelzer.

Francis Colpron, recorder

Francis Colpron
recorder and traverso player, is one of the most talented instru- mentalists of his generation. His virtuosity and capacity to innovate both in the artistic and interpretative spheres have been acclaimed by the public, the critics, and the cultural estab- lishment. In 1991, he founded Les Boréades de Montréal. This ensemble, of which he is the artistic director, runs a successful concert series in Montreal, tours in North America and Europe, and records on the ATMA label.

Francis was associate flutist with the Trinity Consort of Portland from 2000 to 2009, and is frequently invited to play with ensembles such as Apollo’s Fire, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Opera Atelier, Les Violons du Roy, Symphony Nova Scotia, and L’Harmonie des Saisons. He teaches at the Université de Montréal, and is a regular guest at prestigious summer music camps such as Amherst (United States), CAMMAC (Quebec), and Boxwood (Nova Scotia).

Booklet for Six Transcriptions