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Article originally published in Dutch by blokfluitist jaargang 3,nr. 3 (september 2011) and reprinted by permission.

Arcangelo Corelli La Follia

Have recorders will travel!

In December of 1998 I was asked to do a series of concerts andmaster classes in Israel. On the morning of my first performance Imet for the first time with harpsichordist, Evgeny Lisogursky,who was to accompany me thoughout my stay in Israel.

The only language we had in common was our music; we had

time for only the briefest of rehearsals before arriving at the hall just before the concert without having been able to read throughall of the pieces on the program that included not only Corellis

La Follia , but also Handels B minor sonata (HWV 367b),Telemanns B flat major Triosonata (TWV 42:B4) and a BachSonata. La Follia was one of the pieces that we hadnt been ableto read all the way through before the performance but Evgenyand I played together as if we had been friends and colleagues for

years.After the recital I was approached by a gentleman who introducedhimself as the French ambassador to Israel who, aftercomplimenting me, started wagging his finger and, withincreasing heat, told me that hed known Dr. Carl Dolmetsch(1911-1997) personally and that he had heard him play Corellis

Follia and that I should be very careful as he felt that I hadcopied Dr. Carls interpretation of La Follia . I smilinglythanked him for his keen observation and told him that I found hiswords very interesting in that, although Id never heard Dr. Carl

play Corellis Follia , that I did have a possible explanation for hiscomment in that the basis for my interpretation of La Follia wasfrom my lessons with [French harpsichordist/Early Music guru]Antoine Geoffroy-Dechaume (1905-2000) who, like Dr. CarlDolmetsch, was a student of Dr. Carls father, Arnold Dolmetsch(1858-1940).

When I listen to colleagues or to students play La Follia I alwaystry to keep an open mind as there are many different possibleways of phrasing. I personally prefer the building block model

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for this piece. You know the childs toy that has a small box thatfits in a bigger box that fits in a bigger box again? I find that mostof Corellis variations fit this model perfectly if you consider eachbox as a paired subgroup, a yin and yang , if you wish. Measure1 is yin to measure 2s y ang ; measures 1 and 2 together arethemselves a yin to measures 3 and 4s yang ; similarly measures1-4 and 5-8, measures 1-8 and 9-16. Some of the variations arealso written in pairs. The deviations from this symmetry are ofcourse as important as the symmetry itself and contribute to thefact that each time I teach or practice this piece I find somethingnew in it.

Of all of the Baroque compositions for recorder, La Follia is

certainly one of the most taxing for instrument and performeralike. It requires an instrument that is strong in the lower register but agile in the upper register, a balance that recorder builders and players are constantly searching for. La Follia also represents thelongest uninterrupted playing there is in our Baroque repertoire,something that can easily cause problems with condensation in

both the windway and the thumbhole. Another risk that I amalways careful to point out to my students is a too frequent use of

over-tonguing because of the pieces remarkable technicaldemands in high notes and leaps. My motto for them in this caseis less is more and more is less.

While writing this article I listened to as many recordings of La Follia as I could find and, of all of them, the one that convincedme the most was by fellow [ blokfluitist ] contributor, Pieter-JanBelder, whose recording brings to light and corrects severalinaccuracies of the 1702 edition including the two repeat marks

that are lacking at the end of the third- and fourth-to-lastvariations. This corresponds, respectively, to measures 305 and313, both in the excellent edition by Andrea Bornstein that can befound at www.gardane.info/flautodolce and in the Hans-MartinLinde Schott edition that most recorder players of my generationgrew up with.

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I feel extremely fortunate that I have been able to make a livingwith the recorder. My professional life has been punctuated by aseries of wonderful experiences and coincidences, I have travelledto many parts of the world, encountered many extraordinary

people and musicians and Corellis La Follia has accompaniedme to most of them. I recall performances of La Follia inAustralia, England, Israel, Italy, France, Russia, Switzerland andthe USA. Have recorders will travel!

David BellugiFlorence, Italy - June 20, 2011

David Bellugi has performed extensively as soloist and asconductor/soloist with orchestras over several continents and has

premiered various works written for and specifically dedicated to him by a wide range of contemporary composers. He has recorded filmmusic for Italian composer Ennio Morricone and American composerMichael Galasso. Bellugi's discography includes his innovative CD

Landscapes , a virtual orchestra of recorders, described as atechnological and musical tour de force, many recordings made withthe Berry Hayward Consort (Paris, France) as well as other innovativeand spirited CDs with Italian accordionist Ivano Battiston. Davidteaches recorder and is chairman of the Early Music Department at the

Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence, Italy.