Laoise O' Brien has spent the last twenty-five years championing the recorder - a much maligned musical instrument which is often considered to be an instrument of torture.
In For the Record on The Lyric Feature on Sunday, 17th December (6pm, RTÉ lyric fm) she attempts to set the record straight as she guides the listener through the one thousand year journey of the "sweet flute" and traces its role in music from the hunt, to the village green and to the courts of kings and queens.
Laoise introduces For the Record below.
I love the recorder. I love the immediacy of it. There is no reed or mouthpiece or embouchure - you blow, and a sound comes out. Simple! It’s a lot like singing really, though whether it’s a pleasant sound or not very much depends on the individual, and there are definitely those of us who should stick to singing in the shower! Sadly, most people’s first thought when you mention the recorder is the often-unmelodious sound of a group of young children in a classroom. My experience of playing the recorder was a very different one.
the reality is that recorders come in all shapes and sizes and
have a history going back a millennium.'
I had my first recorder lesson at the age of five, and it became obvious to the people around me that I had a natural inclination towards music. I was incredibly fortunate to have had brilliant teachers, particularly Jenny Robinson who opened the world of music to me. When I was twelve, I took up the flute and after a few years began studying with the wonderful mentor, William Halpin at the College of Music in Dublin. This led to me pursuing an undergraduate degree in music performance, but all the while I was longing to play the early music that I had grown up playing.
After college, a series of fortunate events brought me to Amsterdam where I found myself studying recorder at the Conservatoire. After six years in the Netherlands, I returned to Ireland and have spent the last couple of decades championing the recorder through performing, teaching, broadcasting and recording.
obvious to the people around me that I had a natural inclination towards music.'
The recording bug really bit, however, and after recording a couple of my own albums, I became interested in production. For the last number of years, I have been working with colleagues all over Ireland, recording a huge variety of music, and now I divide my time between my work as a producer and my performance career.
In For the Record which airs on the Lyric Feature this Sunday, I explore the history of the recorder in the context of my own experience as a player. While most of us think of the recorder as being a small type of flute, the reality is that recorders come in all shapes and sizes and have a history going back a millennium. Join me as I share stories of kings and angels, birds and beasts, and where the name recorder came from in the first place.
The Lyric Feature: For the Record, RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday, 17th December at 6 pm - listen to more from The Lyric Feature here.
