Recorders... and Makers 3

The trade

"Recorder-making requires meticulous precision : the bore (inside the recorder) of the head, the body and the foot calls for a 1/100th of a millimeter accuracy.

It takes four to five years from the rough cutting of the recorder in the boxwood trunk to the final touch.

I find some necessary tools in stores, but I create most of them myself. I get inspiration from old books such as the instruments makers plates in the Diderot encyclopedia.

For the design of a model, I first create numerous prototypes and specific tools. This takes months of work. A recorder worthy of this name requires years of research, trial and errors. It will then be customized for the musician it is destined. The dialogue with the flutist is very important in order to adapt the sound and the tuning to his or her taste.

I love to play the recorder with friends or to test the sound of it. My pasttime is mostly spent with a Parisian choir, the Cori Spezzati. We sing baroque pieces from the 17th and 18th C... the golden age of the recorder.