CORNO NOT CORONA
The ongoing pandemic has had serious implications for musicians worldwide. With the necessary closure of concert halls and the ban on massed gatherings, musicians are struggling to work and earn a living.
Faced with this loss of work musicians have to find ways to keep their physical performance strength up. As a result of no longer playing in hours of rehearsals and high pressured concerts - stamina and other performance skills can be effected badly. Daily practice, often the opportunity to refine and finesse ones playing, is hard to commit to given there is nothing to be practicing for and many musicians have found self motivation challenging.
Many musicians and other artists have turned to the online world in order to connect. Reaching out and building wider and more diverse audiences, investing time and energy in developing stronger connections with existing and new followers.
Since March 2020, the point in time in which concerts began to be cancelled and social distancing came into force Anneke has undertaken several #CornoNotCorona confinement music making projects all with the aim of not only keeping her creative and fit as a performer but has used this as an opportunity to help nurture and develop her global audience through her deep knowledge of the music she performs and its associated histories and performance practices.
On this page you can learn more about her main projects since March 2020 and here you can find out more about how she wishes to build upon these projects with her exciting proposal to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the UK’s most notable horn player, Dennis Brain.
#CornoNotCorona Daily Bach Chorales 191 daily Bach chorales between 17th March - September 24th, 2020.
#CornoNotCorona Caprices twelve weekly performances of the Gallay Caprices between 2nd April - June 14th, 2020.
#CornoNotCorona Historic Horn Videos ongoing fortnightly performances plus commentary on the instruments, composers and sources of inspiration. Seventeen episodes and counting! June 28th 2020 - latest episode February 21st 2021.
#CornoNotCorona Collaborations Throughout the pandemic Anneke has collaborated with a large number of UK and international musicians, ensembles and education institutions contributing performances and insight to online content being created by her colleagues.
#CornoNotCorona The next chapter - where could Corno Not Corona go next?
Corno not Corona Chorales
A Chorale A Day: For the first Corno not Corona project Anneke is recording a daily Bach chorale on her corno da tirarsi. This is an instrument with a fascinating history. Whilst we know that the instrument existed in Bach’s Leipzig no instrument is though to have survived. Anneke’s corno da tirarsi is made by the Swiss firm Egger and is based on the research of her colleague Olivier Picon. You can read more on the instrument here in Olivier’s masters thesis. Anneke is working through the liturgical year and you can see all the videos on her youtube channel here or view the whole collection here.
Following on from the marathon “Corno Not Corona” project which saw Anneke record 191 Bach chorales, one per day throughout lockdown and beyond Anneke is thrilled to announce a “virtual” collaboration with organist Benedict Preece. The pair have just, remotely, completed an EP recording of Bach compositions re-imagined for organ and corno da tirarsi. The disc was released in December 2021 and can be ordered here. You can read more about the disc here.
The #CornoNotCorona chorales came to international attention with the French classical music broadcasting company France Musique covering her work and invitations to write about the ongoing project for various music publications. The sound of the instrument, plus the story behind the project inspired young composer Freddie Meyers to write a work for solo corno da tirarsi which Anneke hopes to record in the forthcoming year.
Corno not Corona Caprices
The second Corno not Corona project saw Anneke return to the Gallay Grands Caprices, repertoire she recorded on her first Resonus Classics CD “Jacques-François Gallay: Préludes, Caprices & Fantaisies” back in 2012. These are wonderfully virtuosic and operatic compositions for solo horn and some of the most dramatic music written for the instrument. Each week Anneke recorded a live version of the Caprices and, again, you can see all the videos on her youtube channel here or view the whole collection here.
Fortnightly “historical horn” videos
Raiding her collection of instruments Anneke has been producing a series of fortnightly videos in which she selects a piece of repertoire and an instrument to perform it on, often incorporating other sources, such as early recordings or information from old texts, as inspiration. This series is now up to its seventeenth “episode” - each edition includes a performance of a piece of music (with Anneke on horn and piano) plus an accompanying video in which she talks about the context of her performance and her choices in instrument and performance style.
Episode 1 (28/06/2020) Oscar Franz, his transcription of Mozart’s clarinet concerto and Bohland & Füchs.
Episode 2 (12/07/2020) François Brémond, his transcription of Beethoven’s Sonate Pathétique and M.A.Raoux
Episode 3 (26/07/2020) Jacques-François Gallay, his transcription of Bellini and Claudia Muzio
Episode 4 (9/8/2020) Friedrich Gumpert, his transcription of Bach and Kruspe.
Episode 5
Corno not Corona CHRISTMAS CAROLS
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Corno Not Corona collaborations
In the last year Anneke has collaborated with a large number of UK and international musicians, ensembles and education institutions. Here is a selection of videos and podcasts and more from the last year.
