aww - I hope it was just a blip for you - we all get those from time to time...

Last night I was dreaming about recorders.
Where I work, just on the other side of the fence there is a church. We get invites when there is a lunchtime carol service, around harvest festival time, things like that.
In my dream, I was performing there I was doing a lunchtime recital and an astonishing number of my colleagues had turned up. I was doing a practice-recital prior to a diploma, so we can safely assume it to be set several years hence Reckon I must have nicked the idea from anacrusis
Anyway, after I'd done the proper recital bit, I rounded off with two short extras - they were the two pieces I played at my first lesson with my teacher last month! Only played not so shakily in my dream as at that lesson
The first was a Van Eyck piece only I played it on tenor not descant. I didn't have to actually listen to myself play it, the dream just hopped straight to the end having gone very well indeed The second was The Elephant by Saint-Saens, I own an arrangement for treble (it's in Time Pieces 2, and on the G4 syllabub). At my first lesson, my teacher had said it was a good piece, though of course needed to be played on a great bass. In my dream, I had somehow managed to borrow a contra bass from somebody, so my final piece before sending everyone back to the office to work for the afternoon was The Elephant on a contra bass, which had to be introduced with 'yes, this great big thing way taller than me really is a recorder'.

Have nosed at the orchestral score for The Elephant this morning. The pitch is such that even if you had a sub-sub-contra (i.e. octave below contra), you still can't get the bottom note (an E) to match the double bass. Still, if anyone wants to lend me a sub-sub-contra, I'll give it a go

What you need, Maizie, is a rackett. Although you'd have fun explaining how such a low note comes out of a small instrument.

Oooh, a bit of investigation later, and you are very right. I need a great bass rackett kit from this place. And yes, I need it in kit form rather than ready-made, so that if anyone asks me what I'm doing, I get to say 'making a rackett'

These funny little things were called pocket bassoons or sausage bassoons. They make a great sound, the renaissance ones sounding much like crumhorns and the later ones a little more refined and bassoon-like. They have one serious design flaw though; they are almost impossible to dry out after playing and are very prone to cracking because of this.

(Note to Sarah: Never, ever buy a rackett. )

Advice taken!

Has anyone got any recommendations for recorder music (for treble or smaller instruments)? I've got a music gift voucher to spend and it would be nice to get something "fun" as well as stuff I actually need.

In particular, I'd be interested in any gems from the g6 syllabus (AB or TG), anything really cool that's not on any exam syllabus or anything that's designed for one person playing two recorders at the same time (I know it exists but I can't find any).

Thanks,
T.

There are some pieces written for one performer with recorder in one hand and the other hand playing the piano. Try as I might I just cannot recall the name. They worked well and were fun. Perhaps one of the other recorder players will know.

David Bedford wrote a piece for Piers Adams (as well as the concerto) that uses 2 recorders at once.....it is more than a little above G6 though. One day I'll manage to get more than the 1st 30 bars or so mastered



I can't remember if you are another of the small handed recorder players but be warned......my desire for a rackett was quashed when I discovered I couldn't reach all the holes, on any size :-(

Can someone explain how to do french 'inegale' tonguing please?
What kind of 'r' is it meant to be? As in normal english r, french r, rolled r etc

Thanks

which one are you doing?
I do di-diri-diri, but there is also le-re, if I remember rightly. I roll a front of mouth r for the one I use.
The one I use doesn't start on a R ever, but the Ri syllable co-incides with the longer of a pair of inégale notes, hence the starting Di-. The d - is very soft, in keeping with French diction, the r a single flip of the tongue, also soft.

My teacher described it as tu-tu-ru-tu-ru... I'm sure I'm getting the ru bits wrong though as it's just coming out as pairs of slurs.

Sneakily try di-diri and see if it suits you better. It should be soft, which ever way you do it. Remember the French t is also very soft. Aim for the r being almost like a very soft d which has sort of "escaped"...and see how that sounds. It's the balance between the two you really want. The u is in any case more similar to the German ü sound - which is not so vastly different from i as in pit.

Red Priest. Live in concert. In the town where I work.




In February...I can be patient, oh yes I can...

I had a good surprise the other night . I'd been told, go to St Cecilia's, Serenissima are playing and I think there is some recorder music too....

Boy, was there recorder music . It was "only" Pamela Thorby, on much better form than I'd heard her the last time she'd come up, and playing some relatively recently discovered Vivaldi with a fantastic group of musicians. The harpsichordist I'd met before - he's really outstanding, the violinist is one to look out for, and the bassoonist, who had the craziest stuff to play ever, was also amazing. Even better, a brief chat to Pamela afterwards laid the ground towards my maybe cadging a lesson with her some time .

The next in the series will be Rachel Podger . And then later on I get to go to Brinkburn cos my husband is tuning for Red Priest .

They were so good when I saw them back in March...

Wow!

I need some more advice, folks....
have been approached by a lutenist, with a view to trying out some repertoire for recorder and lute. He's a seriously good player, so I'm feeling extremely flattered to have been asked - and the problem now is finding repertoire. Mr Everingham from Saunders Recorders is on annual leave so I can't pick his brains either.

The thing is, I tend to play baroque stuff, much of it later baroque too. I have Castello's sonatas prima and secunda, and can make fist to busk through both of them relatively well, also two sonatas by one of the Cima brothers. Both of these volumes are of early 17th Century music, so I thought would be a good start. My new volume of Fontana sonatas is still a little beyond me due to counting problems, and if I go too early and start looking at Byrd Fanatasias or similar, I fall heavily onto my face for the same reason. Anybody got any more suggestions for me to try?

I would steal lute songs from the singers! There are hundreds of these and they sound good when played on the recorder. Apart from those the anon variations on Greensleeves to a Ground, the Robert Carr Divisions on an Italian Ground and the two Schott publications of Music of Shakespeare's Time and Elizabethan Aires and Dances would be suitable too. Good, tuneful things if not baroque!

Sorry, yet another question from me...

Does anyone know what Marsyas recorders are like? Would it be worth spending £200-300 more for one of them rather something like a Kung Superio? It says that they are voiced and tuned by hand, which sounds good, but do you think the difference is significant when it comes to playing it? I'm also considering trying to persuade my mum to make up the money to get a Ran (I've borrowed my teacher's do do my exams when mine has been broken ), but I think that is unlikely to happen Birthday and christmas presents for the next few years maybe...

Thanks, Sarah

ps, I promise I will stop asking questions soon!

Marsyas recorders are well worth considering, and have their own distinct and attractive voicing - full and refined. I prefer the more obvious reediness of the Küng Superios, which have more character to my ears, but they can be overpowering.

The Rans sound more conventionally 'baroque', but they are in a different league for quality of voicing and refinement - I would personally go for a Ran if funds allow. I am also a big fan of Ralf Netsch recorders - he's made some very fine, good value instruments and is well respected in professional circles.

Depending on how far you go with your recorder playing, you want a good versatile all-rounder before you start getting into specific types of recorder for certain repertoire.

Let us know how you get on auditioning instruments!

I bought a Marsyas tenor in April and it's a lovely instrument. It is the only unkeyed tenor I've ever been able to play, which was the main reason for going for it.

I think the only way to decide if it's worth splashing out that bit extra for is to try it against the Kung. I tend to go for recorders if they feel as if they were made for me the first time I pick them up.

However, I'm loathe to say anything seeing as it was me who extolled the virtues of the olivewood Denner.

Ok, so I'm back from London with a recorder.

They didn't have any Rans - there weren't any in the other branch either, so that was a bit of a non-starter. I tried out most of the trebles in the shop. The Marsyas ones were much nicer than any of the Kungs, but not quite as nice as the ebony Takeyama, although it was a close call between the Takeyama and an ebony Marsyas. (I discovered I really like ebony )

So this 12th June has been somewhat better than last year's recorder-wise (It's a funny coincidence that it's the anniversary of the first crack )

Enjoy the new arrival!

I'm really pleased that you've found one which you like so much, Sarah.

Hopefully, this one will be your long-term friend.

I've been recorder buying as well, which isn't doing my alto flute budget any favours. Having discovered that the pearwood descant I got of ebay was so much nicer than my plastic yam (both in terms of tone and ease of playing in the top register from A up), I've now got a Hohner treble in maple which arrived yesterday. I obviously haven't played it much, but it has a really full, fruity sound and projects surprisingly well. It's no where near in the same league as your recorder, but was the most I could afford and I'm really pleased with it so far.

That sounds great Sarah! Hope you have fun with your new recorder!

Sounds like you've found some nice instruments too Flossie. I'd like a wooden treble sometime, but there are other instrumental priorities at the moment...

Hopefully. (I'm not going to cross fingers, touch wood etc because clearly had the opposite effect the last two times - not that I'm at all superstitious )



Who wants an alto flute anyway...? Recorders are definitely the way to go.

I hope you enjoy the new recorders and DON'T PLAY THEM TOO MUCH!

I wish you and your new instrument a long and harmonious relationship

A question about condensation.

Some of my young treble recorder players still play too wet. I believe there is a product which you can wipe inside a recorder to help eliminate condensation. Please does anyone know anything about it? Does it exist? Is it useful? Is it for plastic recorders or wooden recorders or both? Is it in any way harmful?

Moek (ok spelt that wrong but don't want to look it up as that would mean going close to websites that are too tempting!) sell an anticondensing fluid that you put a couple of drops down the windway of the instrument. Seems to help a little and can be used on both plastic and wood.

For plastic instruments very very very dilute washing up liquid works really well......I have a suspicion that is what the Moek solution is but I can't bring myself to use fairy liquid on my wooden instruments!

Erm... does anyone know whether my new recorder is varnished or not? My guess is not, but it's very shiny so I'm not 100% sure about that and I don't want to risk putting oil on the outside if it is varnished.

It's one of these.

I'll just do the inside for now.

You shouldn't need to apply anything to the outside for a very, very long time :-)

However, I would use a microfibre cloth to wipe the exterior after every practice.

HTH

Thanks

I've just finished de-oiling them all now. I'm amazed how much olivewood seems to come to life with olive oil!

Thank you CJB

When you say very dilute, can you be a bit more precise? One part washing up liquid to how many parts water?

I think like you I would only risk it on plastic recorders!

I've tended to use about 1 or 2 drops in a sink of luke warm water then totally immerse the recorder in the water. I haven't done this for a while as it was mostly my old Aulos bass that water logged continuously. I now play much more on my Dolmetsch Nova bass which has a more strident tone and is direct blown so a lot easier to keep clear.

Just be aware that anyone using the sucking back method of clearing a recorder will get a horrible taste in their mouths from using washing up liquid....the same goes for the proprietary anticondens mixes sold by recorder makers, which are also used in the just in the windway of even wooden recorders. I sent mine for servicing and they put the stuff down there unasked, bleaaaaargh.

I agree completely - 1-2 drops in a sink doesn't leave a taste. I hate the anticondens taste as well and only use it if I'm having real problems with condensation.

Ah, that could have been what the horrible taste was last time mine came back from Mollenhauer.

Quite likely Sarah - the only thing I wasn't happy about with the service Mollenhauer did on my descant was the funny taste. I put it down to the oil they had used on it (which struck me as strange as the notes that came with the recorder told me not to oil a wax impregnated instrument) but with hindsight it may well have been anti condense.

Two questions today...

1) When playing a recorder one-handed (as in one in each hand), is it normal for it to hurt your little finger or am I probably doing something wrong? I have quite weak and, I think, slightly double-jointed little fingers which often lock up when playing octaves on the piano or 4th finger on the fiddle.

2) Can anyone think of any music I can download which would be suitable for two trebles, descants or one of each? It doesn't have to be recorder music, just something with two easy parts in a suitable range - I've got out my old five-finger-position piano books at the moment and was all excited about learning twinkle twinkle little star then realised I couldn't do the A.

Thanks

Don't know whether this will be useful but if you go to www.janwolters.nl you'll find some folk songs with two parts that are for recorders and some for recorder/flute but both parts OK for recorder range (Scarborough Fair, Barbara Allen, Foggy Dew, etc.). I stress this is real beginner's stuff -- but as you said "easy parts"...

Hope it's of some use,

The elephant

Thanks, elephant.

Reading back over what I'd written, I don't think I made myself very clear. I'm looking for music with two parts for one person playing two recorders. So descant range seems to be G-D ish and treble is C-G ish (hence why I've been trying five-finger piano pieces).

anacrusis and family are spending a weekend at Brinkburn Priory, at the music festval: harpsidoc was tuning for Red Priest, and of course I had to come along for the trip . That meant the offsprogs had to come too, poor things: they have had rather too much exposure to baroque music and normally would run a mile in the opposite direction to any concert we'd go to, but this group is tolerable even for them. Mind you, it was a Bach programme, and the second piece turned out to be the slow movement of the Bach flute sonata I'd played for my LGSMD...that one did stretch their tolerance to the limit, I will admit .

What playing...basically a Bach programme this time, and absolutely fantastic as ever. One item included Badinerie, and the movement which comes before it, setting us all off in glggles as the theme tune to Fawlty Towers suddenly emerged from it all. There was the usual mix of dramatic entrances, wild costumes and quirky playing, but this lot still manages to pull it all off without appearing contrived. Probably because they're such outstanding musicians....

Today we get to hear a family concert, just Piers Adams and his harpsichordist, before heading back up to Edinburgh where I get to come back to earth for another week's work before my hols start...

Lucky anacrusis.

Envy, envy, ENVY!!!

Emsoboe will be so jealous! she loves Piers Adams You would have had no problem persuading her to come on the trip

The family concert was every bit as much fun as yesterday's - in fact, for the sprogs probably even more so. Entitled the Flying Recorder, there were a lot of pieces involving flying beasts - birds, and a mosquito, with a biiiiiig spider chucked into the mix for fun. We didn't get a programme, but Piers explained as he went along: there was a competition for people to count just how many times a cuckoo emerges in one piece, and I'm not going to let on in case anyone here gets to go and see the same thing. (It was for the under twelves anyway...). There was also a good bit of audience participation, and though my tolerance of small kid behaviour was a bit stretched by three tots running up and down the aisle of the church, the family atmosphere was great. Today the weather even smiled on us - yesterday it rained stair-rods, today baking hot sunshine .

Afterwards I asked Piers what his peculiar-looking black and white tenor is made of. Turns out he gets a bit too enthusiastic with trying to modify his recorders and had broken the head of a blackwood one, whereupon the recorder maker made him a replacement head of boxwood....

I know one over twelve who would have loved it!

What is the normal way of keeping more than one recorder warm while you switch between them?

For my grade 7 exam, I just kept my descant in my pocket apart from when I was playing its piece and had a borrowed treble that wouldn't muck me about if left on the piano stool during the descant piece, so it wasn't too bad.

This time, however, I have 3 instruments to juggle. (None of which I trust to not go out of tune if I leave it out on the piano/floor/case/etc.)

The order of things is going to be Vivaldi on new Treble, Bergmann on descant, Quantz on new treble, scales and sightreading on old treble.

I can easily fit one treble and descant in my pockets, but it's a bit of a squeeze to fit two trebles in (and I would end up looking rather odd with various ends of recorder sticking out all over the place)

And that's ignoring the fact that I really want to keep old treble separate from the other two so they don't catch its mildew....and I don't really want to put new treble in with anything hard (including other bits of itself) because I'm paranoid it's going to crack.

What would you do?

I somehow ended up playing a recorder in last night's recital.

How did that happen???

Did it go well?