Our colleagues at the Kelischek Workshop have announced a number of new and renewed woodwind instrument models for 2008. Their inexpensive plastic crumhorns and Kelhorns are once again available after an absence of many years and are equipped with newly-designed and substantially improved double reeds. A new plastic soprano gemshorn is also now available. Finally, the rosewood miniature ocarinas in C discontinued some years ago are once again available, and new models in G and F have been developed as well. All of these instruments, as custom serviced in our workshop, provide excellent service at a very attractive price.
01/18/2008.
A number of new editions are available from the Susato Press division of the Kelischek Workshop as well. Greatly welcome are a number of new publications of ensemble music where each of the individual parts fits within the range of a ninth, making them highly suitable for such instruments as ocarinas, gemshorns, renaissance windcap instruments, and also for beginning recorder players.
Huber Model II alto and tenor recorders, which have been available for the past year with curved, more highly conical windways at no additional charge, are once again being made only with straight windways. However, the new straight windway models have the same conicity, sound quality, and resistance as the previous curved ones. The curved windway models are now available as Model III instruments and at appreciably higher prices.
Thanks to a change in suppliers, we have been able to obtain appreciably lower pricing on all models of Yamaha plastic and wooden recorders and are passing those savings along to our customers. Prices on our custom-tuned Yamaha plastic recorders have been rolled back effective immediately to the lower prices that were in effect prior to July of 2005. After a lapse of two years, we are once again stocking the entire series of Yamaha wooden recorders. Please note that the older Yamaha 80 series baroque alto recorder models have been replaced by a newer 800 series, and two new models of sopranino recorders are in that series as well. To celebrate this welcome turn of events, we are offering for a limited time only a substantial discount of 30% from Yamaha's suggested list prices on all of their wooden recorder models, making them excellent bargains as well. These sale prices will be in effect only as long as our current inventory permits; we suggest that our customers act quickly to obtain these fine instruments at our special sale prices.
The Swiss workshop of Gerhard Huber has announced modest price increases for 2007 on their Model II and Model III recorders, except for their superb bass recorders, which remain at the 2006 prices. The Model III soprano and alto recorders are now also available in European boxwood; in addition, the pearwood models, which were discontinued several years ago, have been reinstated in the Model III series. The number of wood choices for the Model III sopranino has been reduced to just bubinga and palisander. The olivewood and violetwood models have been discontinued, and availability is limited to the few remaining instruments that we presently have in stock. The grenadilla model is also discontinued, we have sold out of our last instruments, and it is regrettably no longer available.
News from the Mollenhauer workshop for 2007 is unfortunately rather disappointing: the only new instrument announced for this year is a revision of the Kynsecker renaissance greatbass recorder; the Denner bass recorder in boxwood has been once again discontinued, leaving only the pearwood model. The long-awaited revision of the Ganassi alto and a much-needed budget greatbass for the Canta series are still not forthcoming.
Although not totally unexpected, Mollenhauer has also posted substantial price increases on virtually all models effective as of April 1st. After several years of substantial design improvements and very modest price increases, which made Mollenhauer instruments extremely attractive in relation to those from other makers, they have announced price increments ranging from about 5% to over 20%. We urge all customers anticipating the purchase of Mollenhauer instruments to do so during the remainder of March at the old 2006 prices.
A new and innovative series of play-along sheet music plus CD publications from Dowani International offers a significant advance for recorder players wanting to practice and perform with the guidance of recordings. Each album features four performances: three practice performances at slow, medium, and final tempos feature the keyboard or orchestral accompaniment with the solo part played quietly in the background for guidance, and a finished performance with solo recorder and keyboard or orchestral accompaniment.
There are presently seventeen titles available for recorder players: two albums of easy pieces for beginners, featuring mostly renaissance and baroque dance tunes; complete concertos by Sammartini and Vivaldi for solo recorder and string orchestra; a dozen well-chosen baroque solo sonatas by German, French, and Italian composers for either soprano or alto recorder and keyboard; and a Telemann trio sonata for two alto recorders and continuo. These publications provide an easy and enjoyable way to learn and perform major solo works from the recorder's vast solo and ensemble repertoire.
The electronics industry has finally come up with the ultimate tuner for early music performers. The new Korg OT-120 electronic tuner is the long-awaited successor to the long-since discontinued, useful, but bulky and pricy Korg MT-1200 multi-temperament tuner. It offers astonishing functionality and flexibility and a host of useful features: eight different mediæval, renaissance, and baroque temperaments as well as equal temperament, a wide tuning range of a'=349 to 499 in 1 Hz. increments, three selectable response speeds, an eight-octave sensing range and five-octave matching pitch generation range using proprietary Sound Back™ technology, and a rated battery life of 100 hours on two AAA cells, all in an extremely compact package which costs a mere fraction of its predecessor. This is the tuner for which we have all been waiting for years. No serious early music player should be without one of these highly affordable devices.
We have posted a new price list for the outstanding historical percussion instruments made by Leberecht Fischer in Germany; some prices have increased, others decreased, and many are the same as before. There has been a number of new instruments added to their catalogue: the three original sizes (10"/13"/16") of single-headed side drums have been supplemented by three additional models in 12", 14", and 18" sizes. The original small hand tabor (4.5" x 12") now has a new companion larger tabor in 10" x 10" size. Their baroque timpani are available on special order in five different sizes and pitch ranges, each with a choice of six different heads in a variety of materials.
The Conrad Mollenhauer workshop has announced two new additions to their catalogue for 2006: first, an innovative and extremely inexpensive wooden soprano recorder for entry-level players, named the Ninjo and made of oiled pearwood, which will provide all of the tonal advantages of a wooden instrument at a price that is very little more than that of a good quality plastic instrument. Second, a reproduction baroque alto recorder at low pitch, designed after the celebrated Copenhagen Denner instrument by the late Australian recorder maker Fred Morgan. Whereas the modern pitch version of this instrument, originally designed by Morgan for Michala Petri, has been available for several years in a choice of either Zapatero or European boxwood, the new Denner low pitch instrument will be available only in European boxwood and at the same price as the modern pitch version.
New from Schott is an excellent two-volume recorder method Advanced Recorder Technique - The Art of Playing the Recorder, written by German recorder teacher Gudrun Heyens and published in an excellent English translation by Peter Bowman. This publication is recommended only to those players who aspire to the highest technical and musical levels of achievement. The demanding technical studies in the first volume enable the player to achieve a virtuoso level of proficiency on the instrument, and the second volume explores the interface between the physical aspects of breathing and tone production and the musical issues of phrasing, vibrato, and interpretation.
We have just added a superb new library of recorder music from Editio Musica Budapest to our sheet music catalogue. These are for the most part editions of baroque music for one or two recorders, with and without continuo, the majority of which have never before been available in modern performing editions. The sturdy and handsome covers, paper, printing, editing, and performance notes are of outstandingly high quality and set a new standard to which all other publishers should aspire. Of particular interest is A Baroque Ornamentation Tutor by János Bali, the preeminent Hungarian recorder player, teacher, and scholar. This important work is a singularly invaluable aid for intermediate and advanced recorder players wishing a concise yet thorough introduction to 17th and 18th century performance practice; it should be in the library of every serious recorder player.
At long last the Duschenes Method for Recorder, Vol. 1, for alto recorder is now alternatively available with a companion CD recording, such as has been available for several years for the soprano volume. The order number is DER1001CD and the price is $17.95. We don't wish to seem ungrateful, but if only we could persuade the publisher to bring out a recording for the first volume of the Orr Basic Recorder Technique for alto recorder similar to that already provided for the soprano volume, we would be even more overjoyed.
The Mollenhauer workshop is adding two new instruments to their offerings for 2005, both of which address the long-expressed wishes of our customers. First, a bentneck Dream Bass Recorder will be available in the Dream series of wide bore neo-renaissance recorders, making possible a complete SATB quartet of instruments. Second, a Modern Soprano Recorder will be produced to complement the original alto recorder which has been available for a number of years. The soprano will have a triple key mechanism, similar to the one on the triple-keyed version of the alto released last year. The soprano will have a low range down an additional halftone to b', and will have the same extended high range as the alto of over two and a half octaves. These instruments will be available for delivery in the next six to eight weeks, and we are now accepting preorders for them.
In recent years, we have offered to our customers several models of intelligently-designed, well-made desktop and floor-standing music stands from König & Meyer in Germany. We are now adding several further accessories for the floor stands, including a felt-lined small instrument/accessory tray and a battery-operated stand light with AC adapter and nylon carrying case. We also now offer two ingenious pocket-sized stands for soprano and alto recorders, as well as a unique modular folding recorder stand system designed to our specifications that offers one- and four-instrument bases plus seven different pegs that will accommodate all recorder sizes from piccolo to greatbass. These stands fulfill to perfection a recorder player's need for stands that are lightweight, compact, stable, and will hold instruments upright and within easy reach during rehearsals and performances.
For over thirty years we have diligently educated our customers to the danger of damage to their valuable hardwood recorders and other historical instruments by low ambient humidity conditions. In fact, we have for years provided without charge a small case humidifier to alleviate low humidity conditions and avoid dehydration damage. Until now, however, we have had no easy way of helping our customers monitor accurately the humidity levels in their instrument cases and music rooms. Hygrometers able to provide accurate information were both expensive and too bulky to be useful in most situations.
We are therefore thrilled to announce that, thanks to recent progress in electronics miniaturization, we have found an excellent German-designed Digital Hygrometer-Thermometer that is small (2.5" x 1.6" x .5"), light in weight (1 oz.), easy to read, and extremely accurate. In addition to displaying current temperature and relative humidity levels, it has a memory function that stores the highest and lowest temperature and humidity readings. Effective immediately, we are including one of these meters without charge with the purchase of a Jakob Winter deluxe fitted quadruple or quintuple recorder case. They are also available separately and, at the bargain price of $19.95, they should be acquired and used by all customers concerned about the possibility of dehydration damage to their valuable musical instruments.
We have just learned, quite unexpectedly, that the Mollenhauer Denner series soprano and alto recorders in tulipwood are once again available after a two-year lapse due to lack of availability of this unusually beautiful wood from the Dalbergia rosewood family. We are even furthermore delighted to see that Mollenhauer has adopted the practice of our four Swiss suppliers in making these, as well as all of their other exotic hardwood instruments, from one continuous piece of wood, insuring uniformity of color, grain pattern, and tonal properties.
Antique Sound Workshop has been selected as the sole American agent for the all-new MARSYAS recorders from Switzerland. We are proud to be able to offer these wholly unique, premium quality recorders to our customers for the first time. These instruments are being made in the four standard sizes, soprano through bass; each size is available in a choice of up to seven different woods. Since production is relatively limited because of the large amount of handwork, it will take some time before we will have sufficient quantities of all models and woods in stock. We can fill orders more quickly if customers will specify a second and third choice of wood, in case their first preference is not currently available. However, we are always happy to accept backorders for instruments not in stock.
We have been able to achieve modest price reductions on all H. C. Fehr Model III and IV tenor recorders effective immediately. This is due to the fact that, previously, Fehr charged us additionally for the soft cases for their tenor recorders, although the cases were included in the price of their soprano and alto instruments. By including tenor cases with the instruments at no additional charge, our total cost has been reduced; we are happy to pass this saving along to our customers.
After last year's many interesting product introductions from the Conrad Mollenhauer workshop, the only new items for 2004 are a plastic version of the Dream Soprano Recorder and a three-keyed version of the Modern Alto Recorder which extends the range a half step lower to e'. The pearwood Modern Alto models will in future be provided with hard cases such as have been delivered for the past several years with the palisander and ebony models; this should help to avoid damage to the keywork mechanism, which has been an on-going problem with these instruments. Discontinued instruments for 2004 are the Denner soprano and alto recorders in tulipwood and the Denner bass recorder in boxwood; remaining qualities of these instruments are listed in Carlton's Clearance Corner. We are able to offer new, somewhat lower prices on the entire series of Kynsecker Renaissance Recorders and their excellent Grenser Baroque Flutes.
The Adler-Heinrich workshop has introduced as its major innovation for 2004 a new series of Gahn Baroque Recorders which are a further development and outgrowth of the J. B. Gahn Reproduction Baroque Recorders introduced last year. These new baroque recorders, which feature curved windways and undercut toneholes, have a handsome exterior form hand-turned by master craftsmen. They produce a complex, sweet, overtone-rich baroque sound quality but are fuller in volume and appreciably easier to play than the original reproduction instruments. They are intended as authentic baroque solo instruments for upper intermediate and advanced players and will be available in soprano and alto sizes, each in a choice of five different domestic and exotic tropical woods. We are now accepting advance orders for delivery in the coming months. The prices of the original reproduction models have also been substantially reduced from last year.
Those recorder players who have enjoyed our Music Minus One series of sheet music plus CD recording catalogue will be pleased to hear that we have just added a similar series of ten titles for solo soprano/tenor or alto recorder published by Holzschuh. Each edition includes the solo sheet music part plus a CD recording containing both the solo part and the keyboard accompaniment. The music is largely late baroque solo repertoire, including music of Corelli, Fischer, and the well-known sonatas of Handel, and Telemann, but music of early 17th century Italian composers such as Frescobaldi and Cima are also represented, as is the music of contemporary German composer Hans Poser.
We now have in stock the superb Faber edition of the complete Handel Recorder Sonatas as edited by David Lasocki and Walter Bergman. This is the most authentic and authoritative edition available of these staple works of the late baroque solo recorder repertoire. The keyboard realization of the continuo part is extremely well written, and a separate book of parts for a bass instrument is included as well. An exhaustive critical report and list of concordances as well as alternative versions are included. At the bargain price of $23.95, every recorder player should have this item in his or her library. Order number is 0-571-50566-X.
For decades, one of the staples of recorder literature for intermediate and advanced players has been the Anthony Rowland-Jones book Recorder Technique, which was first published in 1959 by Oxford University Press as one of a series of books on wind instrument technique. Although a valuable resource for over forty years, some of the information had become increasingly dated as a result of improvements in instrument design and production, the understanding of historical performance practice, recorder pedagogy, and the general level of playing ability.
We are therefore happy to announce that a new, extensively revised third edition of Recorder Technique has just been released by Peacock Press. It is closely integrated with the companion book by AR-J Practice Book for the Treble Recorder, the new second edition of which is also now available. Recorder Technique is available for $28.00 under the order number ARJ0001-01, the Practice Book for $18.00 under order number ARJ0001-02, and a package of both volumes is offered at a reduced price of $42.00 as order number ARJ0001. Both of these valuable books should be in the library of every serious recorder player.
The newest instrument from the Adler-Heinrich workshop is their first baroque reproduction recorder, a copy of an original 18th century instrument by J. B. Gahn. Unlike some so-called "reproduction" instruments from other makers which have been heavily modernized in their voicing, the Gahn copy is a true baroque recorder with a quiet, gentle, yet overtone-rich tone quality. The slim exterior profile reflects both the interior bore proportions and the tonal quality. It is available either as a G alto at 415 Hz., as per the original instrument, or as an F alto at 440 Hz., both of these being available in a choice of pearwood or boxwood.
London Pro Musica has just released a new edition of the complete pieces for solo recorder Der Fluyten Lust-hof by the early 17th century Dutch composer Jacob van Eyck. This authoritative edition includes a total of 134 pieces and is published in three volumes plus a companion commentary volume. The latter also includes harmonized settings of some of the van Eyck pieces taken from other period sources. Each of the four volumes is available for $12.00 each, but the entire set is offered at a bargain price of $29.50. The order number is DOL0125. For those who do not need the entire edition, twenty of the most popular pieces are available under the number DOL0506 for $9.00.
After several years of only minor changes to their model offerings, the Mollenhauer workshop has announced a substantial number of additions, deletions, and modifications for 2003. In the hybrid plastic/wood PRIMA series, the alto is available with a beige plastic headjoint in addition to the original teal color. In the Canta student series, the keyless and keyed tenor instruments are now available as bentneck models in addition to the original straight models; the bentneck tenors, unlike the rest of this series, are equipped with fitted hard cases at no additional cost. In the Dream series of neo-renaissance recorders, the alto is now being made in ebony as well as pearwood, and a long-awaited keyed-tenor model in pearwood is also now available. All of the foregoing instruments are now in stock for immediate delivery.
And now for the bad news: in the Mollenhauer mid-priced Denner series, the popular soprano and alto instruments in tulipwood have unfortunately been discontinued; we are sold out of the altos but still have a few sopranos available. The wonderful and relatively inexpensive Denner TD baroque recorders have been regrettably discontinued and are apparently being replaced by a more expensive "Morgan Edition" baroque alto in stained Zapatero boxwood with thread-lapped joints and bushed thumbhole, based on a scaling to a'=440 Hz. modern pitch of the Copenhagen museum Denner alto by the late Australian maker Fred Morgan. Lastly, the one-piece model of the Ganassi alto in g' has been discontinued; only the two-piece model will be available in the future. We have only a very limited number of Denner TD and one-piece Ganassi altos left in stock.
London Pro Musica has just released a new edition of the complete original sonatas for recorder by Georg Philipp Telemann. This authoritative edition, handsomely printed, includes a total of nine works, including those from Der getreue Musikmeister, Essercizii Musici, and manuscript sources, and is published as a keyboard score, two part books, and a commentary volume under the order number DOL0124. At the extremely low price of $27.75, this edition belongs in the library of every serious recorder player.
The extremely popular Johannes Adler Filius series of student recorders, previously available only in soprano, alto, and tenor models, has been expanded for 2003 both upwards and downwards. There is now a matching sopranino recorder, the least expensive wooden sopranino from any maker by far, and also a bent-neck bass recorder as well. We fully expect that these new models will be every bit as popular as the middle sizes among entry-level players seeking an inexpensive, yet serviceable set of wooden recorders.
We are thrilled to announce that the H. C. Fehr workshop has acceded to our long-standing wishes and agreed to produce a limited number of hardwood soprano and alto recorders to the original Fehr designs which were discontinued about ten years ago. The classic Fehr Model II and III Recorders had a plainer, clearer, solid tone quality and a fuller middle and low register than the newer Fehr Model III and Fehr Model IV instruments, which are more complex but less robust in tone. Many customers have expressed a preference for the playing qualities of the original instruments, and we are pleased to be able to offer them once again after a lapse of ten years. We will have a few Model III sopranos in boxwood and palisander as well as Model III altos in boxwood and tulipwood available for sale shortly.
Further welcome news from the H. C. Fehr workshop: the Fehr Model IV alto recorder in palisander is once again available after a lapse of more than two years. The reason for the hiatus of this particular model, as Herr Masucci explained to me on the occasion of my last visit, was quite simply that they could not obtain palisander rosewood of sufficient quality to meet their very high standards; they elected not to make this model until such time as they could once again obtain suitable palisander. That speaks volumes about the exacting standards of this outstanding Swiss maker.
The Adler-Heinrich workshop in Germany has, in accordance with our suggestions and the expressed wishes of our customers, expanded their extremely successful series of Chalumeaux with a number of new models for 2003. First, a new, inexpensive, one-piece non-overblowing model is available in maple (keyless), and in cocuswood or ebony (two keys); second, their highly popular two-belled, two keyed soprano chalumeau is now available in an alternate model with one bell and three keys. Last and most certainly not least, a three-keyed alto chalumeau is making its debut in a choice of pearwood, boxwood, or grenadilla.
We are happy to announce that, for the first time in more than a year, we actually have a few of the limited-production Gerhard Huber Bass Recorders in stock for immediate delivery. These superb instruments, the finest basses currently being made, are extremely difficult to obtain; we almost always have to back-order them for our customers. We expect that our present modest stock will be quickly exhausted and we will be back-ordered again for future delivery.
The only new instrument for 2003 from the Küng Workshop in Switzerland is their long-awaited Model III Superio Greatbass Recorder, a splendid addition to the best-selling soprano through bass instruments in that series. This unique, innovative recorder, the only direct-blow greatbass currently available from any maker, is an impressive floor-standing instrument; it is made of dark-stained maple, has extensive keywork, and an undulating exterior headjoint design reminiscent of the Kynsecker instruments in the Nürnberg museum collection. It has an extremely robust, overtone-rich sound, and an extraordinarily wide range as well. The first instruments will be delivered in April of 2003, and we are now accepting advance orders for future delivery. We fully expect that the initial demand will be substantial, as many customers have already expressed an interest in such an instrument; we do not expect to have them available from stock for some time to come. We advise our customers to get their orders in as soon as possible in order to secure a place on the waiting list All orders will be filled in the order they are received.
At long last, we are thrilled to relate that the Canadian publisher of the Orr recorder method has responded to our wishes. The first volume of the Hugh Orr "Basic Recorder Technique" for soprano recorder is now available with a companion CD recording, similar to that released for the Duschenes method several years ago. The cost of the Orr Vol. 1 for soprano method book remains $9.95, the cost of the method plus CD is only $14.95, and the cost of the CD alone is $11.95. Buying the CD along with the method affords a saving of $6.95.
We are closing out at wholesale cost the few remaining recorders that we have left in stock from the former Heinz Rössler workshop in Germany. We have sold these instruments since 1976 and regret greatly that they will no longer be available to our customers. If a model is not listed, we no longer have it. We cannot hold these sale instruments or accept layaways on these items. All instruments are custom-serviced in our workshop and carry the same ASW lifetime warranty as full-priced instruments. Please act quickly, as quantities are extremely limited.
After having been regrettably out of print for many years, Edgar Hunt's charming and informative book The Recorder and Its Music has been reprinted in a paperback edition. There have been a few very modest additions to the text and photographs by the author, who at this date is in his mid-nineties, but the substance of this book remains largely that of the second edition published in 1976. While some of the information, particularly that regarding 20th century recorders and recorder makers, is extremely dated and must be regarded as historical at this point in time, the book remains one of the most useful ever written on its subject and preserves the opinions and experiences of one of the most noted English amateur recorder performers and teachers of the mid-twentieth century.
We have just been advised that the Küng Workshop in Switzerland will produce a very limited number of their Model III soprano and alto recorders in tulipwood and olivewood and tenor recorders in olivewood in a special one-time series. They will be available for only a brief period of time. We are obtaining as many of these instruments as possible, as we anticipate that the demand for them will be very great and the available supply quickly sold out. They will never again be available in these two extremely handsome and rare woods. We will fill all orders strictly as they are received.
We have posted new 2002 prices for the Swiss-made recorders from the Huber workshop. We regret that, due to a earlier misunderstanding with Huber in regard to pricing, we have had to post moderate price increases on most models, with the exception of their bass recorders, which remain available at the prices posted last summer. There have been only two additions for 2002: the Model III tenor recorder is now also available in bubinga, in addition to the previously available cherrywood, palisander, and rio-palisander; and the Model IV baroque alto is once again available in a low pitch model, but in plumwood. The Egyptian recorders are no longer available in 4,500 year-old oak, as the original limited supply of this extremely rare wood has been exhausted. These unique instruments are still available in both soprano and alto sizes in plumwood, however.
We have just introduced new 2002 price lists for instruments from the Adler-Heinrich workshop. In taking into account price changes from the maker as well as the improvement in the exchange rate, we find that some models, mostly the maple and pearwood instruments, are slightly less expensive than last year, whereas the boxwood and palisander instruments are appreciably more expensive. We have been able to achieve considerable price reductions on their student series instruments, including the extremely popular Filius instruments, which offer reduced stretch for smaller hands. Two series have been completely discontinued: the Adler Barockmeister instruments in maple, and the Adler-Heinrich Arte instruments in maple. All single-keyed tenors in the Adler Barockmeister, Heinrich Meister, and Adler-Heinrich Arte series have also been discontinued; these tenor models are now available only with double c'-c#' keys. All of the remaining instruments we have in stock of these discontinued models have been listed at closeout prices in Carlton's Clearance Corner.
New 2002 prices for Küng recorders went into effect on February 1. When combined with the substantial improvement in the dollar vs. Swiss franc exchange rate and increased price concessions for our customers granted by this maker, the end results were highly surprising. While modest price reductions were achieved on many models, there were also drastic reductions on others and, unfortunately, substantial increases on a few other models. For example, the excellent baroque reproduction sopranino and alto recorders in their Model IV series as well as the Model II bass and contrabass recorders are now appreciably less expensive, whereas the Model II greatbasses have increased substantially in price.
02/01/02.
The only new Küng model for 2002 is a bent-neck version of their Model I keyless tenor recorder, which will be available only in pearwood at present. We are sorry to report this maker's continuing phaseout of their previously extensive Model II series, which are still greatly popular with many players. The piccolo and sopranino recorders in palisander and olivewood are no longer being made, nor are the tenors in maple or pearwood or the basses in iroko available any longer. The few remaining samples of these models that we have left in stock have been listed at closeout prices in Carlton's Clearance Corner. We strongly urge those players who treasure these vintage classical Küng models to get them while they are still available.
We have posted the new 2002 prices for Mollenhauer recorders. As expected, there were price increases across the board for most of their models, but this was more than compensated for by the substantial improvement in the dollar vs. Euro exchange rate. Therefore, we were able to achieve slight price reductions on most models. However, we were able to post substantial price reductions on their Modern alto recorder series, the Canta bent-neck bass recorder, and their Grenser copy baroque flutes. The only new item being offered by Mollenhauer for 2002 is the long-awaited Dream alto recorder, which supplements the previously-released soprano recorder in this new series of inexpensive neo-renaissance recorders. The venerable Chorus series has been discontinued, and the few remaining items we have in stock at listed at closeout prices in Carlton's Clearance Corner.
The long-awaited delivery of the newly-redesigned Alexander Heinrich Meister Recorders is now finally taking place. Delivery of these instruments has been delayed since last summer because Adler-Heinrich's supplier was unable to provide the cases for them. We expect to receive the first of these instruments in early December. Since we have a large number of backorders for these instruments, it will take a week or so to get all of the backlog serviced and shipped. We thank our customers for their patience and trust that they will find these instruments, which provide great value at a very low price, well worth the wait.
We are sorry to report that the delivery time for our hand-crafted Dotzauer professional rotary valve trumpets has become quite protracted during the past year, due to both the increased demand from our customers and the fact that these instruments are made to order by only two craftsmen in the Dotzauer workshop. Previously, we kept only the Bb and C trumpets and flügelhorns regularly in stock and obtained the less common instruments, such as piccolo trumpets, low F orchestral trumpets, and bass trumpets, on special order. However, in order to avoid the long waiting time for such custom items, we are now stocking these less-common instruments as well for immediate delivery. However, it is always advisable to check with us for current availability, as we are occasionally sold out of specific models.
As of July 1, 2001, Gerhard Huber and his wife Hélène have officially retired, although they will continue to be "of counsel" and work on special projects. The day-to-day operation of the Huber workshop has been taken over by their son Markus, who has worked there for over six years. All prices have been recalculated and, as per our negotations with the Hubers last March and thanks also to an improvement in the exchange rate, we have been able to achieve substantial price reductions across the board. Several models have been discontinued, including the Model III sopranino, soprano, and alto recorders in pearwood and in tulipwood. Availability of these instruments is therefore limited to those instruments currently in stock. The new limited edition Egyptian recorders represent a wholly different direction in recorder-making and have a fascinating provenance from ancient history.
Effective July 1, 2001, is a new pricelist for Karl Hoffer violas da gamba and J. Dvorak baroque string instruments. Please note that some models have increased slightly in price, whereas others have actually decreased. In particular, prices for the standard tenor gamba are now higher and those for the deluxe tenor gamba are substantially lower. Prices for a trio consort of the deluxe models are also now much lower than in the previous year. New Dvorak student quality baroque violas and cellos have been added to the baroque violin already in our catalogue.
The newest instrument from the Adler-Heinrich workshop is a charming wooden pennywhistle or flageolette, which offers excellent performance at a very reasonable price. In addition, there has been a substantial price realignment within the entire Adler-Heinrich catalogue: some models have increased in price, others have decreased, and a number of models have been discontinued.
We have just added the latest models of Suzuki Digital Keyboard Instruments to our catalogue. The new Keyman portable digital piano, which also has excellent sampled harpsichord and pipe organ voices, is the perfect solution for the peripatetic early music performer needing an easily moved, stable and trouble-free portable keyboard instrument for renaissance and baroque music.
The long-awaited Huber Model III soprano and alto recorders in plumwood and tenor recorders in cherrywood are finally available and are every bit as wonderful as we had expected. They have a sweet, warm, refined, and complex tone quality that lends itself equally well to solo or ensemble playing. They are perfectly complemented by the Huber Model III bass in cherrywood that has been available for several years. We are filling the numerous preorders for these instruments as quickly as possible.
Five new publications featuring outstanding arrangements of traditional and popular Christmas music have been released by Arcadian Press well in advance of the upcoming holiday season.
We are pleased to announce the availability of the all-new ASW Student Soprano Recorder, a new collaborative effort between ASW and the Adler-Heinrich workshop. This outstanding but extremely inexpensive instrument offers excellent intonation and response with far better tone quality and resistance to clogging than the best of the plastic recorders currently available.
The newest instrument from the Mollenhauer Workshop in Germany is the Dream Recorder, a student-quality wide bore neo-renaissance soprano recorder with large single tone holes, available in a choice of natural maple with dark-brown rings, or brilliant red or blue with gold rings.
The highly successful Music Minus One series of sheet music and CD accompaniment recordings has just been expanded by the long-awaited release of several new recordings of medieval, renaissance, and baroque ensemble music to complement their previous releases of baroque solo and chamber music for recorder.
Fans of the magnificent music of Giovanni Gabrieli will be thrilled to learn that London Pro Musica has just released its long-awaited editions of the twenty-one ensemble canzonas and sonatas from his Symphoniæ Sacræ II, published posthumously in 1615. These works, in six to twenty-two parts and one to three choirs, represent the maturest compositions of this great Venetian master and the acme of the Venetian polychoral style.
After a long search for a quality maker of reasonably-priced violas da gamba, we are extremely pleased to announce the addition to our catalogue of the fine quality instruments made by Karl Hoffer in the Czech Republic. These instruments are available either alone or with a high quality bow and case, and we are also able to offer special prices for a consort of three instruments purchased together.
The newest additions to our catalogue of historical woodwind instruments are the superb series of reproduction baroque, classical, and romantic clarinets made by Schwenk & Seggelke in Germany. They represent the current state of the art in historical clarinet design and we highly recommend them to the professional clarinettists among our customers.
We now have the new Mollenhauer Canta Alto Recorder in stock. This remarkable new entry-level instrument, a companion to the Canta soprano released last year, shows once again this leading German maker's ability to produce innovative, highly competitive instruments at an extremely affordable price.
New arrangements of classical and popular music for recorder ensemble from Arcadian Press have just been released.
The Küng Model I Folklora soprano recorders in bb are also now in stock in both pearwood and palisander rosewood. These instruments are extremely rewarding to play, combining as they do the positive qualities of both C soprano and F alto recorders in a single instrument. While intended by the maker for use by folk and popular musicians, they also enable the performance of the French and English solo baroque repertoire for the fourth flute.
We have just received our first shipment of the all-new Küng Model I keyless tenor recorders. They are simply superb instruments in every respect, and the price is extremely attractive as well. We expect them to become one of our best-selling tenors.
We once again have all four models of John Hanchet Spanish Shawms in stock for immediate delivery. Our original inventory of last spring was quickly depleted, but the maker has labored all summer to provide us with a substantial number of these instruments, as well as a more modest number of his superb mediæval and renaissance shawms. All sizes of his mediæval and early renaissance recorders are also once more in stock for immediate delivery.
The Küng Workshop has discontinued a number of hardwood models, single-keyed tenors and basses, and reproduction baroque instruments. These are listed at closeout prices in Carlton's Clearance Corner. Additional Küng Model II Recorders will be discontinued after the 1999-2000 model year; these "endangered" models are indicated with the † symbol on our regular price lists for Küng Recorders.
In response to customer requests, we have added desktop and floor music stands made by König & Meyer to our catalogue. These are designed to fit in the Jakob Winter deluxe NSAT and NSATB multiple recorder cases also available from ASW.
The completely-redesigned Alexander Heinrich Meister series sopranino and soprano recorders are now in stock. These instruments, available in a choice of three exotic hardwoods as well as pearwood, offer excellent performance at bargain prices.
The highly successful and unique Adler-Heinrich Bell Recorders have just been substantially reduced in price for 1999.
An innovative family of three new Adler-Heinrich Chalumeaux make available an inexpensive new single reed tonal resource for performers of medieval, folk, traditional, and contemporary music. Now also available in a choice of hardwoods.