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Red Priest Master Class, concert and Moeck Recorder Competition Greenwich, 11 November 2011 Piers Adams, assisted by his violinist wife Julia Bishop, gave valuable technical advice to nine advanced recorder students from London and Welsh colleges on ways to improve their playing techniques and, crucially, how to communicate with audiences more effectively with gesture and posture. It was amazing how much he was able to achieve in precisely timed 30 minutes slots for each solo player, duo or group, based, doubtless, upon wide teaching experience and all that lay behind his having becoma a world leading virtuoso. Piers never wasted a minute and finished each pupil's session by lamenting "never enough time..." The only thing missed in the tight schedule was incorporation of the 11 o'clock Two Minutes Silence to remember 11/11/11 ! Having anticipated my sampling the class for an hour or so - so many things happening simulatneously at the Early Music Festival - I remained for the full three hours, enthralled throughout. Julia Bishop talked of the importance of a Piers Adams shared his experiences with the student players and, importantly, with the capacity audience right to the back row (many don't!) and with consummate skills he demonstrated (on students' instruments as well as several of his own) many advanced technicalities - e.g. that there are some ten alternative fingering possibilities to explore for each note! Not one recorder player on stage or in the audience left without tangible help to raise their game, the class having demonstrated how professional recorder playing has advanced out of all recognition since the long-ago time when I had recorder evening classes with the still revered Walter Bergmann. Peter Grahame Woolf Baroque Carnival Renowned early music revolutionists, Red Priest (Vivaldi of course) treated the audience in a (rarely) packed Chapel to a specifically created programme: 'Baroque Carnival', a concoction of Baroque allsorts which Bertie Bassett himself would have envied. Another exciting feature of the evening was the London premiere of the new 'Eagle Recorder' developed by Adriana Breukink, Geri Bollinger and Kung Recorders. Described by the makers as 'A New Dimension in Recorders,' Piers Adams (with his new dimension of recorder performance) seems a fitting candidate to have chosen to introduce it to us. The Eagle's unique qualities include a wider bore: enhancing the instruments 'grand orchestra sound,' and balancing the dynamic strength of the instrument throughout all registers. Its capacity to achieve an 'ff' dynamic across its range is perfect for Adams, who has never seemed content restricting his audible range to the higher register recorder players often settle for. However, tuning was an obvious issue even with Piers' versatile use of alternative fingerings: only later did I discover it's pitched at A=443, 3Hz higher than modern British players are accusomed to - perhaps considered a small sacrifice to compensate for in exchange for greater dynamic capabilities. Overall the booming sound of this instrument was perfect for the flamboyant virtuosity of Adams, he never one to be bound by the recorder's quieter subtleties! The group has a new Harpsichordist who joined them this year - whilst initially lamenting the loss of his twinkle-fingered predecessor Howard Beach, it was soon obvious that David Wright [don't fail to click on this link ! Ed.] was a force to be reckoned with! Cellist Angela East fulfilled the role of walking cello in two senses: literally adorning the cello and striding across the stave as if it were a guitar, as well as incorporating pizzicato walking bass lines, which along with the extended techniques heard especially in 'Spring' gave these historic masterpieces a refreshing injection of the 21st century. For me, the highlight was the closing suite compiled from the group's most recent album 'Johann I'm Only Dancing.' Here, J.S. Bach's infamous 'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor', which he mightn't have composed, served as the perfect virtuosic close to the enthralling 'Baroque Carnival' evening.
A welcome re-issues of earlier recordings by the recorder's most successful UK ambassador. The 6 concertos are given with Music da Camera/Robert King and the 7 sonatas with Howard Beach & David Watkin. Adams, the original winner of the Moeck Competition (see below) plays recorders of various sizes by five modern makers. Recorder players will want it and everyone will enjoy it all, though better not played straight through. PGW The English Nightingale - virtuoso recorder music Piers Adams with Howard Beach & David Watkin Red Priest RPR RP009 This 1989 recording was made "to show the altogether surprising capabilities of this classroom toy", no longer necessary! Virtuosity can become wearisome - Adams' is familiar by now and duly recognised. This re-issue is fatally marred by its presentation, with the old notes in small, grey-on-white print, no track listing of the 10 recorders and several keyboard instruments used to ring the changes. Most interesting are two 19 C reminders of the Viennese cazcan, with two pieces by E Kraemer transcribed for modern recorders, accompanied on fortpiano. Peter Grahame Woolf MOECK/SRP RECORDER COMPETITION Eva Fegers - Recorders 1. Godfrey Finger (1660-1730) a ground in d (from: 40 airs anglois pour la flute) 2. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Fantasia no. 8 (Largo – Spirituoso – Allegro) 3. Moritz Eggert (*1965) – Ausser Atem (1994) Breathless 4. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre „le Romain“ (1674-1763) – Prélude en G. Ré, Sol, 3ce Mineure. From "L´art de préluder" 5. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Sonata C major, op.5 no. 3 (Adagio – Allegro – Adagio – Allegro – Allegro) 6. Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c. 1623-1680) Sonata quarta from: Sonatae unarum fidium seu a violino solo 1664 13th November 2011 - Peacock Room, King Charles Court
Old Royal Naval College Greenwich Eva Fegers (24, German, studying in Austria) was the clear, indisputable winner this year; there were no UK finalists and the runners-up both lacked intensity sufficient to hold attention through their three-quarter hour recitals. Both of them might have benefited from attending Piers Adams' master class, especially in respect of communication with the audience. Yi-Chang was best in a work by Emanuele Casale for electronically enhanced bass recorder. He demonstrated his skills entirelyon his own throughout, tending to emphasising the high screeching tones of the modern recorder. which are not to everyone's liking nor mine. Eva made of it music, quite other! Her whole programme was very much a team effort, brilliantly conceived. An indication of their thorough preparation for the recital was that her accompanists, when not playing, took turns to warm Eva's instruments, thereby obviating pitch problems... She evinced musicality throughout, exuding confidence with a relaxed manner on stage and evidently warm Jonas Nordberg is a notable theorboist who 'drove from the bass' (as stressed importantly by Julia Bishop discussing continuo in the master class). His chosen strings (not gut) enhanced the power of an instrument which often looks better than it can be heard). This programme, with its well placed variety, ought to transfer straight into a celebratory CD, which Musical Pointers looks forward to reviewing! 3rd Prize: Kerstin Fahr with
Ricardo Magnus - Harpsichord
2nd Prize: Yi-Chang 1. Maki Ishii - East Green 2. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) - Fantasie Nr 8 G minor (Largo – Spirituoso – Allegro) 3. Emanuele Casale - Studio 2a 4. Toshio Hosokawa - Vertical Song 5. Jacob van Eyck - Comagain 5. Jan Rokus van Roosendael - Rotations 6. Jacob van Eyck - Stil, stil een rays 7. [Igor Stravinsky - Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo (Piece No III)
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confident, smiling demeanour to help overcome nerves; an open posture, planned brief eye contact with audience members, and the advantages (not withstanding its perils) of working by stages towards playing by memory. Two of the students demonstrated how risking doing so improved performances of their chosen pieces at a stroke. 
modernist showpiece Ausser Atem for multiple recorders in one mouth. 
relationships with her partners - including an unembarrassed smile at the moment when her heavily laden music stand fell apart; small disasters can be turned into audience pluses !