The Windway January 2010 – San Francisco Recorder Society Meanwhile, there will be two very interesting IMPORTANT REMINDER workshops in February for your consideration. th Our January 20 meeting will be at Recorder virtuoso, John Tyson, will be here from Christ Church Lutheran. See flyer at Boston, and in conjunction with the East Bay end of this Windway for location Recorder Society, will be presenting “Renaissance Chamber Music for Recorders information. and Viols” in two sessions on February 13. The morning session will focus on the joys of playing from unbarred music (in modern President’s Message notation). In the afternoon, John will introduce us to playing from 15th century notation. If this New Year Greetings to you all! seems like a challenge for you, please don’t be intimidated! John promises that it will be fun and We have a new beginning this month at our new that he will teach the concept progressively. home, Christ Church Lutheran, and hope that Learning to play from original notation is a very many (most?) of you will be there to play under gratifying experience. You may enroll for one or the direction of the fabulous Hanneke van both sessions. The workshop will be held in the Proosdij! If you have any questions about the parish hall of our old home of St. John’s UCC new location, you may contact our secretary, here in San Francisco. Jerry Walker at [email protected], or see the info sheet at the end of this Windway. The second workshop is the SFEMS Medieval & Renaissance collegium, directed by Tom Zajac We are looking for volunteers to play at the CCL (also of Boston, coincidentally!), to be held services as a way to repay the church for the Saturday, February 27 at Zion Lutheran in generous use of their hall for our meetings. SDQ Oakland. This day is open to singers, recorders, (Jay, Nancy, Daniel, Beth and I) will play on viols, and other “soft” Renaissance instruments February 7. The church would like us to provide (dulcians, sackbuts, harps, etc.). Tom always music on the fourth Sunday of each month brings a delightful array of interesting music – thereafter. The playing time is quite brief, and it’s and this will be no exception. His theme is “A a lovely opportunity to offer a mini-performance Musical Tour of Colonial Latin America” with little or no stress. I’ve created a sign-up which promises catchy rhythms, luxurious form which will be available at each meeting, or harmonies and knock-dead gorgeous melodies, you may email Jerry or me to volunteer for a all presented in Tom’s own easy-to-read specific date. Will you sign up? editions. Your officers are still working on procuring a Registration forms and information for both of location of our 2010 spring workshop, “Tune into these wonderful days are included in this issue the Recorder VI” – can you believe that this will of our newsletter. Many thanks to Dana Vinicoff be our sixth? Since we learned that City College for posting the John Tyson workshop flier on our will no longer be open for classes on Saturdays, website, arssanfrancisco.org. it has been necessary to find new digs. We do know that the date will be Saturday, March 6, Well, I’m off to India for the month of January, so from 9:00 to 3:30, and that our conductors will I’ll miss our first meeting at CCL, but will see you be Louise Carslake and Eileen Hadidian, who in February at our chapter meeting with David have been such a great team for our workshop. Hogan Smith, and hopefully at one or both of We expect to have news for you soon, which will these unique workshop events. be sent out via email. ~ Greta Haug-Hryciw President, SFRS The Windway – January 2010 Page 1 Editor’s Turn Hanneke van Proosdij So many great concerts and workshops in store for us over the next few months. You will find performs regularly as lots of listings and flyers included in The soloist and continuo Windway. In fact so much, I’m going to stay specialist with quiet so there is room for all of them. Philharmonia Jerry Walker Baroque Orchestra, Editor, The Windway Festspiel Orchester Goettingen, Voices of Take a Look Here Music, Concerto Palatino, Magnificat and There is a wonderful new Recorder Network American Bach Soloists. She has appeared as a site. Hanneke van Proosdij (our conductor this guest artist with Hesperion XX, Concerto Koln, month) has just started it. It is a forum for recorder players and enthusiasts. Check it out Chanticleer, Orchestre dAmbronnay, and see all the familiar names, then add your Gewandhaus Orchester and the Arcadian own. Ask questions, post videos, comment on Academy. things recorder, seek and provide resources. She received her solo and teaching diplomas http://recorders.ning.com/ from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague where she studied recorder, harpsichord and Our Conductor for composition. Together with her husband David Tayler, January Hanneke cofounded and codirects Voices of Our January 20th conductor will be Hanneke Music. Hanneke is a cofounder of the Junior van Proosdij. Hanneke writes: Recorder Society in the East Bay, was the director of the SFEMS Medieval Renaissance The first half of our evening we will play music Workshop for seven years and now, together by Flemish composers who were in Italy. We with Rotem Gilbert, codirects the SFEMS start our evening with music from two Recorder Workshop. She has recorded over composers active around 1470 in the Court forty discs for Magnatune, BIS, Koch, Musica chapel of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan. Omnia, Carus, AVIE and Delos. Hanneke enjoys J’ay pris amours by Jean Japart and O Bone Jesu reading books, downhill skiing and hiking. by Loyset Compère. We then go to the 16th Hanneke just started a network for Recorder century Ferrara court with Willaert and Players, and hopes that lots of recorder players Josquin.We will play a lesser known, but will join this new community with forums, beautiful piece by Willaert: In tua patientia. photos, events and videos: Followed by Josquin Ecce Maria, and his famous http://recorders.ning.com/ Mille Regretz. Josquin’s Mille regretz is a chanson in the Phrygian mode, always evocative of solemnity or mourning due to its prominent half‐step motion. After the intermission we will go into the 18th century, first in England, then to Germany. The aria Softest Sounds from Händel’s oratorium Athalia, will be played by recorders for the first time (SFRS will have a premiere of my new arrangement).We then finish with two pieces by J.S. Bach. First, a short organ chorale Herr Christ der ein'ge Gottessohn BWV 601 followed by Esurientes from the Magnificat. The Windway – January 2010 Page 2 flow smoothly, unimpeded, and at the right Playing The Recorder pressure from the diaphragm. Only Seems Easy In addition to good breath control, the way the © 2002 Phil Robbins recorder is held is also important to good tone (Ed. Note: This is the second of the late Phil production. Recently, Gerry Greer pointed out Robbins’ essays on the recorder and music. an error to me about the angle at which I held See the December 2009 issue of The my recorder. I was holding my alto almost Windway for the background of these essays. vertically. Instead, Gerry showed me how to Again, Thank you Phil. – Jerry/Editor) hold the instrument more horizontally. It was a simple change which made an immediate Introduction 2 difference in my tone, improving it The recorder is, on the face of it, an easy immeasurably. The correct angle to hold the instrument to play. Just pick it up, learn the instrument will vary from person to person and fingerings and blow. Would that it were so according to which instrument is being played, easy. Playing the recorder well demands a soprano, alto, tenor or bass. A little high level of musicianship. For the amateur, experimenting will allow you to discover which especially the beginner, however, the recorder angle is best. doesn’t, at least at first glance, require years of In addition to breath control and the correct study as does the violin or piano. Depending angle for holding the instrument, a good on the level of interest one brings to it, the embouchure and careful articulation will recorder may be a simple tune maker or with improve your tone. All too often, recorder study it may be an instrument of the highest players pay no attention at all to the musical disposition. Most of us fall somewhere embouchure. However, a correct in the middle. Intermediate players, we play embouchure, along with the shape of the well enough to get by. But just getting by isn’t mouth’s cavity and correct placement and use really enough. The good recorder player of the tongue when playing will contribute to needs a combination of good technique and tone quality. Embouchure and articulation are musical sensibility. In other words, good as much a part of good technique as learning musicianship. fingerings. Just as fingerings become second nature, developing a good embouchure and Good technique is fundamental to good correct, appropriate articulation should be a musicianship and one of the most important part of every recorder player’s regimen. aspects of technique is good tone production. One of the most common mistakes we all Early Music and Recorder make is to forget good breath control. The recorder is not a whistle. Like all wind Events instruments, it requires careful breath control.