I attended this event and am pleased to report it was very stimulating and enjoyable.
The event was very well attended and kicked off with a roundtable discussion chaired by Nick Kenyon, and featuring Deborah Roberts, who studied with Munrow at Leicester University, Andrew Van Der Beek, who was a member of Munrow's EMCL, and Sally Dunkley of The Sixteen. There were plenty of reminiscences and much insight into what made Munrow so revered. A brief clip was shown of Munrow performing some 14th Century Italian music on his Chinese sona shawm. The sheer energy and effort displayed by Munrow alone was literally breathtaking!
During the interval the reed instruments episode of Early Musical Instruments was shown.
The main event, as it were, was a concert by a 12-piece ensemble led by talented multi instrumentalist David Hatcher, featuring many pieces from Munrow's landmark recordings, including Susato and Praetorious dances. There were a few faces from the old guard such as Philip Thorby, Belinda Sykes and Theresa Caudle, but most were from the current generation of versatile professionals. It was a great chance to hear something close to the 'big band' sound that Munrow made so memorable, and there was some very tidy playing, and nifty segues between pieces.
Of course, one couldn't help feel that what the concert lacked was a virtuosic showman to really knock it into shape and make it an occasion to remember...
