It’s been a huge pleasure and privilege to see recorder players worldwide using my consort videos during the Covid-19 pandemic. I’ve made so many new friends and have been blown away by the warmth and generosity of the recorder community. As we gradually emerge into something closer resembling normality I will continue creating new videos, but I also want to broaden the resources I offer as the virtual consorts are needed less. As part of this process I have created this blog to share other material - that may be new editions of music, advice on technique, repertoire recommendations and general musical musings. It will take a while for this new project to get going so I’m going to start off with the words of another recorder player.
Walter Bergmann (1902-1988) was a German musician who worked in his home country as a lawyer. In 1930s Germany his efforts defending Jewish clients were frowned upon by the authorities and in 1939 he escaped to England with a suitcase of books, music and his flute, followed soon after by his wife Greta. His law qualifications weren’t valid here, so instead he decided to pursue a career in music. Through a job working for the publisher Schott, he met many influential musicians, including the composer Michael Tippett and the countertenor singer Alfred Deller. He worked with both men and was instrumental in the revival of early music.
Bergmann started teaching a recorder class at Morley College in London and his interest in amateur recorder playing led to the post-war reformation of the Society of Recorder Players in 1946 and the foundation of the Recorder Summer School in 1948 - both of which still thrive to this day. His activities in the recorder world introduced him to generations of players and those who met him speak of his musicianship and dry sense of humour.
When directing amateur groups he came up with many witticisms and in 1957 a collection of them was published in the Recorder News (predecessor to the Recorder Magazine). Many years ago I was gifted a large pile of these magazines by Edgar Hunt and derived great amusement from his sayings. Many are clearly ironic observations of activities he witnessed while working with amateur recorder players, but a good number have a lot of musical sense in them. Most recorder players will have come across a few of Walter Bergmann’s Golden Rules for Ensemble Playing but I dare say some will be unfamiliar. Naturally, I find myself quoting them to groups I work with and over the years I have come up with new ones of my own - no doubt content for another blog post one day soon! For my inaugural post though, I couldn’t resist sharing the list from that 1957 publication with you, for your amusement and education.
1. Play the same piece
2. Stop at every repeat sign and enter into a lengthy palaver whether to repeat or not.
3. The most essential part in an ensemble is the other one.
4. If you play the wrong note give one of your partners a dirty look.
5. Keep your fingering chart handy; you can always catch up with the others.
6. Tune carefully before playing, then you can safely play out of tune the whole evening.
7. Take your time turning over: see No.5 above.
8. An ornament should be an embellishment and not an embarrassment.
9. Your conductor has been paid for. You waste your money if you don’t look at him.
10. Aim for the highest n.p.s. (notes per second).
11. A right note at the wrong time is a wrong note. The opposite is of course also true.
12. Spare the breath and spoil the tune.
13. If all the others are wrong and you alone are right, follow the wrong.
14. All forte and piano marks, slurs, dots above, below and behind a note etc. are not to be observed. They are only decoration for the eye made by frustrated engravers.
15. If a passage is difficult, slow down; if it is easy, speed up. In the long run it all evens out.
16. If you have lost your place in the music irretrievably stop everyone and say, “I think that you need to tune again”.
17. Blessed are they who have no perfect pitch, for theirs is the kingdom of music.
18. Have the answer ready: “I always play in tune because I play a Bressan (Coolsma, Aulos, Dolmetsch, von Huene, Koch, Koenig, Schott, etc.) recorder”.
19. When, thanks to you, the ensemble has had to stop, explain lengthily why you made the mistake. Everyone will be most interested.
20. Do not follow the conductor (be together with him).
21. Like the trill on the upper note, vibrato always (?) starts on the upper frequency.
22. Use historical evidence as some people read the Bible. They pick out what suits them and omit what does not conform with their preconceived ideas.
23. An authentic interpretation is achieved when not a note of the original remains.
24. Be careful in selecting an edition. In a good edition a forte stands at the beginning of a fast movement and a piano at the beginning of a slow one. Breath marks stand over rests, but are omitted where they could be helpful. Prefaces are essential. They make the performance of the piece complete unnecessary and sometimes even undesirable.
25. Shakespeare’s advice to recorder players:
· A rest is silence (Hamlet).
· My foot my tutor (Prospero).
· My kingdom for a semiquaver (Richard III)
26. Thou shalt not play the little bit left over at the end
I’m sure we can all associate with some of these ‘golden rules’, no doubt recalling some of our own bad habits. As a teacher I find his advice on ornaments and use of breath (numbers 8 and 12) to be very true, but as a conductor I often wish more people would remember number 20 when they’re playing behind my beat!
I’d love to know which ones resonate most with you. Are there any you find yourself quoting from time to time? Maybe you have your own ‘golden rules’, or perhaps you’ve encountered gems from conductors you’ve worked with? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Looking for the latest in my Recorder Consort Music Downloads? Click here and you’ll find this week’s offerings - a version of the tune Browning by Elway Bevin (c.1554-1638) and three new Bach Chorales, along with all my earlier offerings!