On Hans Maria Kneihs
This story dates back fifty years. A “masterclass” given by the recorder player Hans Maria Kneihs was held in Sapporo. A colleague of mine brought Hotteterre’s Suite in E minor to the session. He began playing the first movement, but Kneihs suddenly stopped him. He then asked the performer a question: “Why are you playing this piece in E minor?” The performer was at a loss for an answer. Kneihs continued, “When arranging flute works for the recorder, Hotteterre specifies in his instruction book that the key should be raised by a minor third. If one follows that rule, this piece must be played in E-flat minor, not E minor”. Everyone present was stunned into silence; no one could offer a rebuttal. After all, the reason recorder players favored this piece was precisely because E minor is an easy key to play in. Who would willingly choose to play in E-flat minor, a key with six flats? That is surely what everyone was thinking. Years after that masterclass, I happened to see a complete collection of Hotteterre’s suites for recorder at a local sheet music shop. It was edited by none other than Hans Maria Kneihs. I immediately looked for the piece in question—and found it. The score indeed bore a key signature of six flats. Now, has anyone ever heard a recording of this piece played in E-flat minor? I, for one, have never heard of Kneihs himself playing it that way. #baroque #hotteterre #suites #recorder #kneihs #片山俊幸
