Over the past few years I have moved away from strictly 'historical' copies towards modern types of recorder which, whilst maintaining many of the characteristics which make the recorder special have also maximised the projection, tonal strength and flexibility necessary for today's concert and recording environments.
The English maker Michael Dawson has constructed a range of instruments in both regular and non-conventional keys - the latter necessary for the transcriptions and romantic works which form a large part of my concert repertoire. The external profiles are along 'baroque' lines but the bores are wider and the voicing very open.
To date these include:
Sopraninos in F, E and Eb
Descants in D , C and B
Trebles in A, Ab, G, F, E and Eb
Tenors in D and C
(all at A-440 Hz)
I have also begun working in earnest with the 'Modern Alto' designed by Nicolaj Tarasov and produced by the German firm of Mollenhauer. These revolutionary recorders have immensely powerful low notes and an extended upper range, chromatically to high C without the need for stopping the end-hole. Unlike other similar attempts at modernising the recorder these instruments really do retain the recorder's essence - as well as the standard fingering system over the first two octaves. The sound, by the way, can be altered and to my ear improved with a slight adjustment to the bevel on the block: please e-mail me if you would like information.
In my opinion, there is no better bass recorder on the market than the top-range 'knick' bass made by Andreas Kung - a wonderfully throbbing sound.
Piers Adams March 2003
Photos to follow...
Click here for an article about Piers Adams' recorders written by the Australian recorder player Barnaby Ralph, published in the Queensland Early Music Journal