On Saturday 20^th November we will be holding the Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia's third Annual general Meeting. It is vital that as many members as possible attend the meeting as we have important events to discuss, such as a foreign tour and a further CD recording. Parents of members are also very welcome to attend, although only playing members of the Sinfonia may vote on any proposals. Please make the effort to stay for the meeting - if you want to have a say in the running of the Sinfonia and the concerts we give this is your opportunity to make your feelings known. The AGM will start at 12.45pm and last no more than an hour - see you there!

One of the problems of playing in a recorder orchestra is that you seldom have the opportunity of hearing a recorder orchestra play and never the opportunity to hear yourself live. It was, therefore, with considerable curiosity and anticipation that Tom and I went to the London Recorder Orchestra's concert back in July.

The London Recorder Orchestra is a large group of nearly 40, generally adult, players. It is conducted by Denis Bloodworth, with whose work we are all familiar. Their players are well distributed between the instruments. There are, for example, eight basses, four great basses and three contra basses. They played in a modern hall with a good acoustic but space and numbers required that they arranged themselves in blocks. This may reduce the ability of the audience to distinguish between, or hear in complete balance, all of the separate parts of the orchestra.

The programme was mixed. It included: arrangements of classics like Dvorak's Minuet from Serenade Opus 41 arranged by Denis Bloodworth and Slavonic Dance No. 8 arranged by Andrew Collis; some Gabrieli canzons (Canzon Duodecimi Toni and Canzon Primi Toni); recorder orchestra compositions like Paul Clark's Pasticcio della Cornovaglia written for the Society of Recorder Players Annual Festival of 1998; and well known pieces like Colonel Bogey (arranged by Chris May) and Cheek to Cheek (arranged by Denis Bloodworth). It included the first performance of Andrew Melville's Glorias Tibi Trinitas, based on an organ Fantasia by Thomas Tallis. This was a short but interesting piece. There were several pieces like Dvorak's Slavonic Dance No 8, Elgar's Bavarian Dance and Cheek to Cheek that I hope Chris will introduce to the HRS repertoire.

It was, however, the sound and the playing that particularly interested me. I found the sound surprising; very much softer than expected and very mellow. They do, of course, have the benefit of a very large bass section though the distribution of basses was adjusted for different pieces. Having so many players, they had considerably more 'volume control' than is available to smaller groups - very useful in Ian Farquhar's Symphony No. 2 in E minor. The playing 'settled' as the programme advanced. Certainly, William Alwyn's Moto Perpetuo, the opening piece, requires great precision and total 'togetherness'.

The Orchestra were complemented by two consorts. A young group, the Brushwood Consort, played their light and sprightly contribution of a Schmelzer sonata and Andrew Challinger's Riffs in the first half. The Morley Recorder Consort included pieces by Chabrier and Shostakovitch arranged by Chris May, a member of the group.

So were there any lessons for HRS? The answer is a clear "Yes". The one that I would like to share is Chris's goal of precision - of "taking the note off", of separation - to ensure that elements of the texture can "come through" and all parts be heard. It is clear that, when you have so many parts as we are used to playing, this is vital to the audience's enjoyment of recorder orchestra music.

Overall, it was an interesting and enjoyable experience. It was also pleasant to meet familiar faces, both in the Orchestra and in the audience.

Jane Taussik

We would like to offer our congratulations to the following members of HRS who have passed recorder exams since the last Issue of Sinfonia News:

Lucy Page Grade 5 Distinction
Jill Edmunds Grade 5 Merit
Bethany Gibbs Grade 5 Distinction

The following HaRE members were also successful last term:

Sally Pearce Grade 3 Distinction
Nicola Bex Grade 3 Distinction
Helen Willicombe Grade 2 Distinction

If you would like more information about the Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia please contact:

Christopher Burgess, Musical Director
West View, Heath Road, Soberton Heath, Hampshire. SO32 3PQ
( 01329 833559

Alternatively why not visit our web-site:

http://www.hants.gov.uk/hrs
E-mail: hrs@hantsweb.hants.gov.uk

If you would like to contribute to the next issue of Sinfonia News please contact:

Helen Hooker on 01243 537398
E-mail: Helen.Hooker@tesco.net

18 December The Parnassian Ensemble (including Helen Hooker)
John Edes’ House, West Street, Chichester, 7.30pm

18 March Michala Petri & Lars Hannibal
Turner Sims Concert Hall 8pm
Box Office 023 8059 5151

29 March Piers Adams Recorder Roadshow
Turner Sims Concert Hall, 7pm

30 March Piers Adams & Red Priest - "The Electric Baroque Show".
Turner Sims Concert Hall, 8pm

30 March The Parnassian ensemble
Purcell room, South Bank Centre, London, 7.30pm

1 April The Parnassian Ensemble,
West Dean college, West Dean, Near Chichester, 7.30pm

13 May Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet
Turner Sims Concert Hall, 8pm