Recorder31 Day 31 | A Look Back at Recorder31 2026

We've reached the end of another Recorder31 – thank you to everyone who has contributed to this year's features, followed along on social media, entered our competitions and of course purchased a new instrument from The Early Music Shop. We've had a wonderful month and today we're reliving some of the highlights, alongside a very special prize draw.

The Recorder31 Finale Prize Draw!

To celebrate the end of this year's Recorder31 we have some special prizes up for grabs. Each prize will be drawn at random (we're aware that a couple of prizes are UK-specific so we will try to allocate accordingly when the names are drawn).

LIFEM TICKETS PRIZE 1 – Two tickets to Erik Bosgraaf's closing performance with the Baltic Baroque Orchestra, 'Bach: Orchestral Suites', at the London International Festival of Early Music in Blackheath, UK, on 14 November 2026.

THE EARLY MUSIC SHOP MERCH BUNDLE – A bundle of recorder-related merchandise including a tote bag, our Recorder Yearbook & Maintenance Guide 2026, our tutor book 'Recorder for Beginners: The Tudor Way', and a pair of our coveted recorder socks!

LIFEM TICKETS PRIZE 2 – Two tickets to Eun Sol Lee's lunchtime recital, 'Bamsæ–Overnight', at the London International Festival of Early Music in Blackheath, UK, on 13 November 2026.

SIGNED CD BUNDLE – A bundle of CDs featuring brilliant recorder music, including signed copies of the recent albums by Heidi Fardell and Finn Collinson, as well as the Live from LIFEM highlights CD.

How to enter

To be in with a chance of winning one of these great prizes, simply follow the below steps (or head to our social media to enter there!):

1. Ensure you are signed up to our mailing list. (If you aren't already, sign up here!)
2. Comment on this blog post telling us your highlight of this year's Recorder31.

Enter by 23:59PT on Sunday 06 September 2026 to be in with a chance of winning. The winners will be chosen at random from all eligible entries. For full T&Cs please see the bottom of this webpage.

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A Look Back at Recorder31 2026

What a brilliant range of recorder-related excitement in the space of just a few weeks! Here's a few of our highlights...

Competitions

A huge thank you to everyone who has entered one of our Recorder31 competitions – our Dowland Minus One challenge, our Beginners' Competition, the ever-popular Ensembles Competition, or the Van Eyck 'O Zoete Slaep' challenge with guest judge Erik Bosgraaf.

We have received a record number of entries so it will take us a little while to give them all the time they deserve. We aim to contact the winners in mid-September and we will announce the winners of all competitions and giveaways on our website and social media once they have been confirmed. We LOVE hearing you all play and thank you so much for sharing your music with us during Recorder31.

A huge thank you to our competition sponsors, Moeck, Mollenhauer & Kunath for generously continuing their support of Recorder31.

Side-By-Side Interviews

Returning for their third year, we welcomed ten brilliant interviewees with amazing and fascinating connections to the recorder for a series of candid conversations on topics ranging from international collaborations, to recorder education, composing new music for recorder, and even the process of crafting the instruments themselves. 

All the interviews are available to listen again on Soundcloud, along with older episodes from previous editions of Recorder31. This year's interviewees were Erik Bosgraaf & Tom de Vries, Heidi Fardell & Chris Orton, Barbara Law & Daniel Swani, Meng-Heng Chen & Maurice Steger, and Hester Groenleer & Sören Sieg.

60-Second Lessons

Our top tips in brief have covered a range of invaluable techniques and suggestions from a brilliant collection of star players: Alana Blackburn, Ian Wilson, Mathis Wolfer, Meng-Heng Chen, Rebecca Austen-Brown, Sarah Jeffery, Heidi Fardell, Matija Chlupacek and Daniel Swani.

Click here to relive all of this year's 60-Second Lessons.

Features and Exclusive Videos

The features in this year's Recorder31 once again offered insightful and illuminating takes on the recorder from all angles. Patrick von Huene was our Featured Maker and his interview touched on the important recorder legacy in his family along with today's Von Huene workshop and shop in Boston, Massachusetts. We also heard some brilliant new music from Erik Bosgraaf in collaboration with Italian ensemble filoBarocco, whose innovative new disc Folk Baroque was our Featured Album this month.

Meanwhile, Sarah Jeffery shared her thoughts on the new Moeck Rottenburgh instruments in Amaranth wood – the 'Purpleheart' recorders – while Lou Bradbury offered heartfelt advice for educators in her Top Tips for Recorder Teachers. Master maker Tom de Vries also took us on a tour of his workshop in The Netherlands.

In our Player Profile, James Risdon shared an in-depth view of his work and career to date, while Eun Sol Lee looked forward to her recital at the London International Festival of Early Music in November, where she will perform the Winner's Recital of the Moeck/SRP Solo Competition.

Events & Staff Picks

At the start of the month, we launched tickets for the Saltaire Recorder Weekend 2027 – the latest edition of our weekend festival of musical discovery hosted in beautiful West Yorkshire. With more tutors to be announced shortly, please click here to find out more about the festival (set to be held on 4-6 June 2027).

We were delighted to host two live performances at our Snape Maltings showroom from The Delightful Recorder Companions and Loom – demonstrating the true range of musical styles within the recorder's capability.

Our Staff Picks collection included some of the current favourites and highlights from our range, as chosen by our small team of specialist staff. We also shone a light on some recent additions to our CD catalogue, and launched a new range of gemshorns from Svart Vaeren (a relative of the recorder with several transferrable techniques!).

Tied into our Beginners' Competition, we shared our ten top tips for new recorder players. Perhaps Recorder31 has inspired you to take up the recorder, or pick it back up after some time away?

Recorder31 Playlists

Our four Recorder31 Spotify playlists – The Recorder in Dowland, New Releases, Beyond Classical and Recorder31 Featured Artists 2026 – showcase a thrilling cross-section of the recorder scene from top players across the world. Why not treat your ears and use the playlists to discover your new favourite recorder music?!

Thank you again for all your kind comments and engagement with Recorder31 and our huge appreciation again to everyone who has contributed to this year's content.

We'll see you at the next events in The Early Music Shop's calendar!

The Recorder31 Team

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For the final day of Recorder31 we have something truly extraordinary: a matched Renaissance Consort by master maker Adrian Brown, modelled after original 16th-century instruments by Bassano. Pitched at historic high pitch (a=460Hz), this rare set includes an Alto in G, Tenor in C, and Basset in F.

Crafted for perfect acoustic balance, it comes to us in pristine condition having previously belonged to a high-profile professional player.

This consort is one of our Star Buys during our Big Recorder31 Finale!

Listen to these recorders! 

Alto in G – Van Eyck Nightingale:

Alto in G – Saltarello:

Tenor in C – Dowland Flow My Tears:

Tenor in C – Dowland Frog Galliard:

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Prize Draw Terms & Conditions