In late 2019 we released our recording of Quantz Flute Concertos. It was very well received.
I was so pleased with the result that I planned to record a follow up CD in Oct/Nov 2020 of concertos by the three greatest flute players in the 18th century: Michel Blavet, Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin and Johann Joachim Quantz. The musicians and venue were booked. I was practising a lot.
Then the lockdowns started and we had to cancel.
During the lockdowns in 2020 I spent a lot of time playing the works for solo flute by Telemann (12 Fantasias), CPE Bach (Sonata in A minor) and JS Bach (Partita in A minor): ideal lockdown music. They are excellent pieces, full of musical and technical challenges, and are rightfully considered the most significant works for unaccompanied flute from before the 20th century.
With so much uncertainty about when the ensemble might be able to start playing together again, I decided that now was the time for me to record these solo flute works. I have been working on them on and off since the 1970s and feel I now know something about how to play them.
This recording will be something positive to come out of the Covid-19 crisis. My magnum opus. It will only involve me and Tom Grubb (recording engineer extraordinaire): perfect for these uncertain times.
In January I started practising in St Paul’s Anglican Church East Kew, not far from where I live. It’s a small, modern, octagonal church and I really like the acoustics.
Tom and I made a start on 21 April 2021. We spent half a day doing test recordings to work out where best place the microphones.
The acoustics in St Paul’s suit the intimate nature of this music very well.
And here we are in October 2021 with restrictions finally starting to be eased. It looks like the worst is over in Melbourne, so the recording project is off the back burner.
I hope to get back to recording again soon, but I think I'll have a break down at Jan Juc first.
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If you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions, you can contact me directly at dikmans@hey.com
