When I first decided to try the recorder, I did what most people do. I bought a plastic soprano. It wasn't a dollar store version. In fact, it was a blue Yamaha student model. But it didn't take long for me to outgrow it and I soon found myself back at Long & McQuade looking at a wooden one. My Silvetta soprano was a great improvement but it soon got forgotten as I got busier with other instruments.

Fast forward to 2020 and I was itching to play the recorder again. As people moved online, I found myself connected to various classes, musicians, and groups. I feel so fortunate to have been a part of the North American Virtual Recorder Society (NAVRS) from the beginning as I've been able to learn about so much different music. Once again though, I felt like something was missing.

There's a joke in ukulele circles about a condition called UAS which stands for Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome. As it turns out, there's also a Recorder Acquisition Syndrome! I was playing enough that I wanted something that was the next level up so, I started looking at various makers online and I found something I liked.

Mollenhauer is a 200 year old instrument maker based in Germany. I knew of them in part from hearing other recorder players discussing them but I also saw many ads for their instruments in the American Recorder Society (ARS) magazine. I looked at their website a few times but knew that their instruments were out of my budget. When that RAS itch came though, I dug deeper into Mollenhaur's website and found Adri's Dream series. 

The Adri's Dream recorders run from soprano to bass recorder. These Renaissance instruments have a wider bore that allows them to be a bit louder making them perfect for playing in ensembles. And the particular model that I chose also came in blue like two of my ukuleles. Yeah, I think I might have a theme going!

I am absolutely loving my little blue beastie! It has such a gorgeous sound but it was difficult to get the hang of playing. When moving from one sax to another or one ukulele to another, there may be some small differences in feel and action that you have to get used to but nothing serious enough to affect your playing for a long period of time. But this was a whole different world. Larger fingering holes definitely make keeping a consistent level of tuning very achievable but it was a shock since it also requires a high level of accuracy in where you place your fingers to fully cover the holes. I admit that I'm still fumbling with it somewhat but overall, I'm super happy with my purchase.

Also in the recorder relm, I ordered a signed copy Sarah Jeffery's book of recorder arrangements and it finally arrived last month. It's a great book but a wee bit past my proficiency level which is, of course, a good thing since it gives me plenty to work on. I'm close to the first part of her arrangement of van Eyck's 'Doen Daphne d'over schoone Maeght' but I decided to record an easier version for the video below. What do you think about the sound?