“Fippalicious” is an original composition auctioned off at the 2018 summer San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS) Recorder Workshops, directed by Hanneke van Proosdij and Rotem Gilbert. Dan Bloomberg (of The Bloomberg Codex, GSM1002) was the winning bidder, joining the other auction proceeds benefiting SFEMS and future workshops. Bloomberg’s group Amaranta is an adventurous recorder ensemble and I enjoyed writing something that would really engage them.

The title is a fun hybrid of “fipple”, the part of the recorder that makes the sound, and “delicious”.

The structure of the piece vaguely follows Baroque dance form, with an opening section that repeats, followed by a development, a Bloomberg-requested fugue, and a da capo-style recap without repeats. Influences in this piece include Renaissance composer Anthony Holborne, JS Bach, and contemporary composers whose music I admire and enjoy, such as Matthias Maute and Sören Sieg.

Part of the original intent was that the piece would also work on Renaissance recorders and stay within their more limited ranges. However, the high B-flats in the Tenors and the low E-flats in the Great Bass might prove challenging on some instruments, and therefore creative alternative solutions are of necessity acceptable.

The Great Bass and Contrabass parts are labeled “optional” because the piece was originally composed for ATTB quartet. At Bloomberg’s request after the first draft I added a lower bass part suitable for either instrument. Indeed, the rich sound of the lower octave enhances the piece tremendously, but the piece can also be perfectly satisfying without them.