Info on old Hohner recorder?
James Provenzano
I am an advanced beginner with soprano recorder, but I am interested to move into alto, as
I like its voice much more. I have followed with interest the recent discussions about
plastic versus wood recorders and I am leaning towards a good plastic model to start with.
A friend, however, has offered me an old (about 20 years old) Hohner alto recorder in
pearwood. The information with the recorder indicates that it is made in germany and is
the "Konzert" model 9574. The instrument is cosmetically excellent, and doesn't seem to
have suffered in terms of obvious effects on the wood. The pieces join well, thecorking is
fine. The sound is pretty good, except not very consistent voicing of the lower notes with
the upper notes. I haven't played it enough to know if moisture build-up comes into play
to affect the sound.
I would appreciate receiving any info/comments on this brand (eg, what is quality like,
how much did such an instrument cost/is now worth, playing experience, etc), and advice is
welcome as to whether I should pay anything for it or spend the money for a better
instrument at this point in time.
Many thanks in advance.
Jim Provenzano (jam...@undp.org)
Nikolaus von Huene
> I am an advanced beginner with soprano recorder, but I am interested to
move into alto, as
> I like its voice much more. I have followed with interest the recent
discussions about
> plastic versus wood recorders and I am leaning towards a good plastic
model to start with.
>
you, I have several thoughts for your consideration.
First, some history. Recorder design has changed quite a bit over the last
20 years. Recorders of the vintage you describe pre-date the current trend
of making copies based on historical instruments, and tend to be more of a
modern "reinvention" of the recorder. In its day, this made sense, as
these instruments were played with piano, modern strings & winds, etc.
A little more than 30 years ago, just as the current craze for
"historically informaed performance" was beginning, Friedrich von Huene
and Hermann Moeck collaborated to produce the Moeck "Rottenburgh" series
of recorders, based (loosely) on an instrument designed by Jean-Hyacinthe
Rottenburgh. These recorders proved very popular, and a few years later,
Mr. von Huene was encouraged by Frans Brueggen to measure and copy the
Denner alto in Copenhagen, one of the first attempts to make an instrument
which would accurately reproduce the design, timbre and response of a
surviving 18th century recorder, and thereby (hopefully) give some insight
into the sound of the baroque recorder.
About 5 years later, Zen-On (one of the largest music companies in Japan)
asked Mr. von Huene to design an historically accurate plastic recorder to
market to serious amateur musicians. This again proved enormously popular,
and other manufacturers quickly followed suit. By 1980 or so, the "18th
century" sound was firmly entrenched. (All this is a vast
oversimplification, of course!)
Over the past 20 years, the research of many recorder makers and players
has helped to refine and reshape the sound that we identify with the
recorder. As tastes change, makers change their designs (if you play a
Moeck Rottenburgh alto from 1970 and one from 1997, you will notice quite
a difference!) and as new information becomes available, the instruments
are tweaked and modified. This is not necessarily to say that these
instruments are "better" (Lyle Nordstrom once said, "There are no advances
in music, just choices!") but they are certainly different from recorders
of 20 years ago.
It is a bit of a misnomer to label some recorders "factory-made" and
others "hand-made" (although we certainly do refer to them that way here
in our shop as well.) All recorders, no matter how inexpensive, require a
certain amount of hand-work to carve the labium (the edge which splits the
airstream and gives the instrument its voice.) When we refer to a recorder
as "hand-made, we generally mean that it comes from a small shop with one
craftsman doing all of the voicing and tuning. "Factory-made" recorders
are made the same way, but have many people doing the voicing/tuning, and
tend to be somewhat less consistent. Remembering that time is money, if an
instrument is to sell inexpensively, it must be made quickly, and
therefore less time and care can be lavished on a wooden recorder that is
to sell for $50.00 than one that will sell for $1,500.00! Plastic
instruments are much more consistent in terms of voicing, articulation and
tuning; being injection molded, they are virtually identical.
To sum up my long-winded diatribe, a good plastic recorder (Zen-On
"Bressan", Aulos "Haka" or Yamaha "Rottenburgh") will have better response
and tuning than an inexpensive wooden instrument of any make, and most
recorders currently in production will have a sound that is more in line
with current tastes than recorders made 20 years ago.
In the end, though, you have to decide for yourself what sound you find
most attractive. If possible, I would suggest that you try to compare at
least one of the better plastic recorders with the Hoehner before you make
your decision. Side by side, you will see the differences and hopefully
make an informed choice.
--
_____________________________________________________
Nikolaus von Huene Tel. (617) 277-8690
von Huene Workshop, Inc. Fax (617) 277-7217
65 Boylston Street email: vonh...@world.std.com
Brookline, MA 02146
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