For centuries European composers have looked towards the Orient and captured their imagination in music. Recorded by the Berliner Blockflöten Orchester, ‘Alla Turca’ makes audible not only the musical diversity of such Western representations of the Orient, but also the manifold timbral facets of the recorder. Well-known works such as Mozart’s ‘Rondo alla Turca’ stand alongside unfamiliar gems. Contemporary depictions are juxtaposed with Baroque perspectives. With meticulous care, Simon Borutzki has arranged these works for recorders. His bespoke arrangements enable the Berliner Blockflöten Orchester to present the diversity of recorder music to its fullest. The orchestra’s sound is enriched by percussionist Nora Thiele. In some cases, her performances are improvised responses to a given work’s atmosphere, offering the ideal complement to the Oriental marches and dances of ‘Alla Turca’.