Recorder31 Day 24 | Flanders Recorder Duo: The Dolmetsch 1930s Legacy Project

This weekend we are delighted to be sharing a new video from the Flanders Recorder Duo's Tom Beets, as part of their Dolmetsch 1930s Legacy Project. Specially created for Recorder31, Tom introduces listeners to some instruments from the Dolmetsch workshop and talks us through some of the modernisation that took place in the 1930s.

We enjoy hearing customers reminisce about playing Dolmetsch recorders, and many readers will remember playing them in schools, where they were commonplace for many years. For decades these instruments were at the heart of the recorder's educational dominance, as well as the professional performance revival – owing to the Dolmetsch workshop's advancements in recorder-making knowledge and skills.

Today's video is the third episode of the Flanders Recorder Duo's Dolmetsch 1930s Legacy Project, in which Tom talks about the background of the project and why these instruments are of such interest to modern players.

Watch now:

About the Dolmetsch Legacy Project:

The Flanders Recorder Duo (FR2) present the Dolmetsch 1930s Legacy Project aims to showcase some of the best surviving instruments from that forgotten golden era, allowing listeners today to hear for themselves how well they behave. They are making a series of short videos featuring Dolmetschs exclusively, where possible recorded in venues that date from the same 1930s decade.

Research informing the project, much of it undertaken by Andrew Pinnock of the University of Southampton with whom we are collaborating, is accessible free of charge (no paywall) via the website of The Galpin Society Journal: GSJ-76a Pinnock.pdf (galpinsociety.org) For more on the Dolmetsch story, see the Dolmetsch Online website. 

Click here to discover more and catch up with Episodes 1 and 2!

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The Sound of Recorder Music!

While new Dolmetsch recorders are no longer available, there's plenty to explore in our Sopranos & Smaller collection. Modelled after Bressan instruments, the Zen-On PG3 Soprano in Boxwood is created in partnership with Takeyama, and has a strong sound with rich overtones. Listen to the clips below or follow this link to find out more about this instrument.

Sammartini Allegro:

Van Eyck Nightingale:

Scale: