MUSICIANS AND CRAFTSMEN

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 739, 11 September 1953, Page 7

MUSICIANS AND CRAFTSMEN

ONE ore better known than the Dolmetsch family for their interest in bringing back to life the music and musical instruments of the past. The article below, in which RAYMOND HEWETT tells the story of this famous family, is of special interest at present, because a trio headed by Carl Dolmetsch is to be heard in recitals throughout the country during the next six weeks. With Carl Dolmetsch in the trio are Joseph Saxby, who is associated with the work of the Dolmetsch family at Haslemere, and Layton Ring, of Auckland, who played with them during a recent visit to England. Details of the tour, which will take in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, as well as many smaller North Island centres, have been arranged by the Adult Education Centre at Auckland, with the help and support of the British Council. Broadcasts by the>trio will include the second half of a public recital at Auckland, to be heard from all YC stations at 9.0 p.m. this Saturday (September 12). The same stations will broadcast the first half of public recitals at Wellington on October 13, and at Auckland on October 22. Both these broadcasts will be at 8.0 p.m.

N few places in the world are the skills of musicianship and craftsmanship more closely or more happily allied than at the Dolmetsch Workshops, a unique institution set amid the wooded Surrey hills at Haslemere, in England, that has become the focal point of the modern revival otf interest in ancient instruments. The founder of the workshops and pioneer of research into the construction and playing of these instruments was Arnold Dolmetsch, violinist, composer, and teacher. Coming from a noted family of Swiss musicians and musical instrument makers, Arnold studied the violin under Viouxtemps et the Brussels Conversatoire, and he completed his formal musica] education at the Royal College of Music in London. He obtained his first post as yiolin master at Dulwich College, on the outskirts. of London, and seemed set for a promising career as a professional musician, performer, teacher, conductor and composer. But the chance discovery in the British Museum of some gems of

English instrumental music of the 16th and 17th Centuries changed the whole course of his life. Gave Up Career Although it meant giving up his career, Arnold Dolmetsch felt, that this English music of the "Golden Aze" must be heard again. He soon realised that it could only make its proper effect if it were played on the instruments for which it was written, So he assembled a collection of rare old instrumentsviols, lutes, virginals and clavichordsand tried to get them restored by violin and piano makers. But he quickly discovered that the restorers’ chief object was to make them as much like modern instruments as possible, thus destroying Aheir characteristic charm. It was then that his own early training as -a craftsman in his father’s and grandfather’s piano and organ builders’ workshops stood him in good stead. He turned the attic of his home into his first . workshop and undertook the restoration himself. Encouraged by such men as William Morris, Bernard Shaw, and W. B. Yeats,

Dolmetsch treated the subject of early music as a living art, removed old instruments from the sphere of the antiquarian, and brought to life the great music of the past. It was in 1917 that he and his family, after spending some years in the United States and France, moved to Haslemere, where the greatest period of the Dolmetsch work began and has continued ever since. Deciphered Old Notations By prolonged study of old musical works in four languages and with something of athe practising musician’s intuitive faculty, Arnold Dolmetsch taught himself how to play these ancient instruments; he deciphered the old notations, and established the vita] principles governing the correct ornamentation, phrasing, rhythm, and expression of their music. At first musical enthusiasts came to learn from him and later on he taught his children who, with his Scottish wife, Mabel,. formed the ensemble known as the Dolmetsch Family As his children grew up he delegated the various branches of his work to them. Rudolph, who was killed in action in 1942, specialised in the harpsichord and keyboard instruments, and his younger son, Carl, was entrusted with the recorder, the English flute. While they both achieved absolute mastery of the instruments in which they specialised, they were expected to be versatile. They and their sisters, Cecile and Nathalie, learnt to play at least another six instruments each. Believing that a series of consecutive concerts was the best way to present the music of a more serene age and he instruments for which it was written, Arnold Dolmetsch in 1925 founded the Haslemere Festival, which has been held annually ever since, Now, under the direction of Carl, it attracts visitors from all over the world. When Arnold Dolmetsch died in 1940, at the age of 82, ‘his work had received a large measure of recognition and its influence had been assimilated ‘by the musical world. He died with. the knowledge that his family and disciples would continue »

to develop the work to which he had so earnestly devoted his life. Today the Dolmetsch Workshops, presided over by Carl, produce for the world the instruments for + which the early masters, Bach, Purcell,.Couperin, Byrd, composed. All the craftsmen at Haslemere can play ‘the ‘instruments they make, and this happy alliance between musicianship and craftsmanship endows the Dolmetsch establishment and its products with a unique character and distinction. Recorders are owned by tens of thousands of amateur musicians throughout the «world, and it is well to remember that the revival of this beautiful instrument, with its rich, pure tone, was due entirely to Arnold: Dolmetsch. Its immense musical resources have been revealed by Carl in the many solo recitals he has given in several countries. The restoration of lutes, harps, and viols, together with string-making, is in charge of George Carley. who-has saved and given a new lease of life to many a fine instrument, while Leslie Ward is in charge of the keyboard department, where lutes, viols, and bows are also made. The most important part of the’ department’s work is the making of harpsichords of various sizes from the big concert harpsichord with two manuals, four sets of strings, and eight . pedals, to the small instrument with single keyboard. one set of strings, and two pedals. Clavichords, spinets, and virginals are also made and antique keyboard instruments restored to playing order. Other unusual instruments which have been made at Haslemere include rebees-true ancestors* of the violin; three-holed pipes (galonbees); Spanish vihuelas; Shawms; Dsalteries; and tabors. "A musical instrument that is to produce beautiful sounds will ifievitably be beautiful in appearance,’ "was one of Arnold Dolmetsch’s axioms,’ afd anyone who visits the workshops Can* see that this dictum is ever present‘in the minds of those who are so actively pursuing the work of this great pioneer who brought back to life the’ glorious music of the past,