Early Music Festival 1

I was up abominably early to get to the London International Early Music Festival. I was sorry to miss the opening concert last night but, even though I've been practising time travel, I can't be at two concerts at the same time.

My mum and I went to hear children from the Junior Royal Academy of Music playing mammoth boxy recorders which, as the announcer said, look a bit like an IKEA flatpack assembly gone wrong. A very far squeak from my primary school Dolmetsch descant.

Then the winner of the 2023 Solo Recorder Competition, Jiyeon Bang. She's a very accomplished player, but 60+ minutes of recorder with harpsichord was a bit too samey for me. I'm afraid I'd rather have heard the violin sonatas that had been rearranged for recorder on the original violin. But a friend there who taught recorder for many years was very impressed, so it's probably my lack of knowledge that means I lose attention.

I ought to have enjoyed this evening's concert but from where we were sitting Robert Smith's viola da gamba drowned Nicolas Achten's lute (which, when I heard it, was lovely) and I was not keen on Achten's mannered voice. I'm listening to a recording as I write this and am enjoying it much more. An odd way round.