Well, what a lovely day we had, playing with Grace Barton, the weather was perfect and we were able to sit and eat our lunch outside. The music was varied and some of it quite challenging but with Grace's help and encouragement we managed to play it very well. We started with 'Summer is icumen in' in fourteen parts, a great start to the day especially as it felt like a summer's day and it was a good introductory piece.                                                                                                                              

We played 'Wolf Suite' next, by Sasha Johnson Manning. This was quite new to me and was interesting and challenging to play, but we all rose to the occasion and did it justice and this was followed by Salut d'Amore by Edward Elgar, which was something completely different. 

The next thing we played was a fun piece, 'Buskin' by A Challinger, another very different and interesting piece, and after lunch we did Ricercar a 6 from a Musical Offering by J S Bach, a very beautiful piece and we made a very full sound with such a big group playing in only six parts.                                                                                                                              

We ended the day with a new piece by  Lance Eccles, 'Purple Neon'. There was no chance to feel tired or sleepy at the end of the afternoon, this was music to keep us on our toes yet again and it ended the day beautifully. I think we all felt very satisfied with ourselves for being able to get to grips with it so well.  A big thankyou to Anthony Barrett for coming to sort out our recorder problems and to Alyson Lewin for bringing her music shop with her.                                                                                     

What a lovely day, lots of music, lots of concentration and lots of fun. A big thankyou to Grace for giving us such a great day. We had the big hall doors open all of the time and our music floated out over the Mere.

-Written by Chris Green

On Saturday 25th October 2025, Alison Kinder took our autumn Recorders Galore day.

This was a day with a difference as it was celebrating the music of Orlando Gibbons who died four hundred years ago, on the 5th June 1625 aged only 42, an English composer known today mostly for his madrigals, anthems and fantasias.

We started off with Fantasia No. 5 in 6 parts. This was quite demanding with a lot of notes to play and needing concentration.  It had two themes to start and had a chromatic section in the middle and the first seventeen bars were the most tricky. It took the group a while to get used to the music but Alison managed to sort it out and by the end we played it all through without stopping.

The second piece was my favourite, an eight part madrigal setting of a thoughtful poem "What is our Life" by Sir Walter Raleigh, written while he was in the Tower waiting for execution.  It compares life to a play, God is the audience and death the final curtain. We all had the text written under the music which illustrated the poem beautifully and we were able to shape our playing to the words.

After lunch, we did an eight part anthem "O Clap your Hands together" which gave us a feel of playing in two choirs. It was happy, joyful music, quite different to the music of the morning and by tea time, we managed to play it very well with Alison's positive encouragement.

The last session of the afternoon was one of Orlando Gibbon's Fantasias, very popular with both viol and recorder players . Everyone was feeling a bit tired but with the help of tea and cake and Alison's amazing enthusiasm, we were able to finish the day by playing it all the way through and it sounded great.

This was a very enjoyable meeting, we played a lot of notes and learned a lot. It was also rewarding as we managed to play these big pieces successfully, due Alison's energy and enthusiasm, her passion for the music,  and her helpful encouraging conducting. Thank you.

-Written by Chris Green

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.

-Written by Chris Green