Who Was Richard Haka?

I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats wondering just that so I'll put  you out of your misery. Richard Haka was born in England in 1645 but moved with his parents to Amsterdam as a child. He went on to become a renowned maker of recorders and other woodwind instruments. Which leads me to this ...

Aulos 709 BW 'Haka' Alto Recorder

... my new recorder. This is a plastic Alto or Treble recorder, inspired by one of Haka's designs and I love it. It has a lovely tone and the matt finish makes it less slippery to hold. It also clogs up less than my old recorder (one of the less refined aspects of recorder playing).

I bought my recorder in Leamington Spa from Presto Classical, a wonderful music shop that I've only just discovered. The staff are all musicians which is great and, as well as instruments, they also have a huge stock of sheet music and CDs. After choosing my recorder, I had a lovely time looking through their music - they actually stock recorder repertoire as well as tutors which is unusual. These are the two books I bought.

I love baroque music so the first one, Baroque Recorder Anthology Volume 3, was an obvious choice. The other book, English Folk Tunes for Recorder, is for my other recorder which you might say is the new one's big brother.

Alto and Tenor Recorders

My tenor is a Yamaha and was a birthday present from my Mum some years ago. I struggle a bit with the stretch on this one but tenors have a lovely deep sound. If you're not familiar with the recorder as a serious instrument, I can recommend The Flautadors. Here they are, playing a medley of the tracks on their CD Cynthia's Revels - more lovely baroque music.