On Saturday 22nd of March, Alyson Lewin conducted our spring Recorders Galore meeting.

As usual, we met at Mereside Community Centre at 9.30 for a cup of tea and then had a whole day of playing beautiful, interesting music.

We started with Sing Joyfully by William Byrd, a good solid piece to get us all going, and Alyson, such an accomplished conductor, was able to quickly get the measure of the group and we settled down with confidence. This was followed by Irish Mist, composed by Alyson which was a very good contrast to the first piece, and which we all enjoyed playing. 

During the coffee break we were visited by Richard White, the founder of Recorders Galore many years ago, when it was just an afternoon session at the Gateway. He chatted to some of the members who remembered him and stayed on to hear us play. We continued with the glorious Ave Maria Virgo Serena by Josquin des Prez and before the lunch break Alyson tried us with a piece of unbarred music, O Come Ye Servants of the Lord by Christopher Tye which we enjoyed so much we asked to do a second piece , possibly by Thomas Mudd, Let Thy Merciful Ears O Lord. This was a new experience for many players.

After lunch we divided into two choirs and played Duodecimi Toni by Hassler, another new experience for some of our people, and then Ave Maria by Holst, a very successful arrangement for recorders by Steve Marshall. After tea and cakes we ended the day by playing Alyson's Staffordshire Ramble, a varied and interesting piece to finish with.

It had been a happy, friendly relaxed meeting with lovely music, and with Alyson bringing out the best in us and somehow making such a large, varied group of recorder players sound like a recorder orchestra.

Thank you Alyson.