Berlin Recorder Orchestra (Berliner Blockflöten Orchester) Photo: Berlin Recorder Orchestra
Once it was the gateway instrument for many young musicians before falling out of favour. But maybe the recorder is about to make a comeback.
Simon Borutzki certainly hopes so. The director of the Berlin Recorder Orchestra has been in Aotearoa taking workshops with some of this country's up-and-coming recorder players, ahead of a solo recital as part of the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul's weekly Thank God it's Friday lunchtime concerts on 18 October.
Borutzki spoke with RNZ Concert host Bryan Crump about his love of the recorder, and how recorder orchestras are growing in number across Europe and parts of Asia.
He puts that down to the modern sub-contrabass which gives a recorder ensemble that extra 'oomph' down low.
Recorders have always come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but Borutzki believes the invention of the sub-contrabass changed everything.
He told Bryan Crump the lower notes open up a new repertoire of modern music to recorder groups, who might previously have stuck to works written no later than 1750.
Borutzki says without those sub-contras, a lot of recorder orchestra arrangements of modern music sound like they're being played at double speed.
To that end, as well as diving into reviving renaissance and baroque recorder music, Borutzki arranges pieces by 20th century and even living composers, such as Karl Jenkins.
You might like to pump up the bass on your own listening device to make the most of them.
