The works of Joseph Ernst Krähmer show us a previously undiscovered side to the recorder’s nature – that of a virtuoso romantic instrument. Krähmer was highly regarded in his time as the world’s leading player of the csakan a form of keyed recorder in A flat, which had its origins in the folk music of Hungary. The csakan was first introduced to Vienna by Anton Heberle (who claimed to be the inventor of the instrument), but it is in the hands of Krähmer that the instrument achieved wide recognition and developed its own distinctive repertoire.
The present edition is particularly useful in providing us with original material for the sadly underused combination of recorder and guitar (often used as an alternative to the piano in the 19th century). The Introduction and Variations on an Original Theme, published in 1832 by Diabelli of Vienna, is an entertaining work, impressive-sounding yet not excessively difficult to play.
(Piers Adams – May 1990)
