Pamela Thorby is considered to be one of the most versatile and stylish recorder players on the international music scene. Her virtuoso playing can be heard on numerous CDs of music ranging from the medieval period to the present day. Pamela is perhaps best known for her baroque playing with her own chamber quartet, the Palladian Ensemble (with whom she has recorded nine acclaimed albums for Linn Records), but also as a soloist with the English Concert, Sonnerie, New London Consort and many other eminent period and modern instrument ensembles and orchestras. Her 'Baroque Recorder Concertos' disc (CKD217) featuring concertos by Vivaldi, Sammartini and Telemann) for Linn Records received outstanding reviews in 2003 – "a world-class performer" (Gramophone).
As well as her 'classical' playing, Pamela's ability to assimilate many styles of music and her skills as an improviser have led to her work with groups such as the modern jazz quartet the Perfect Houseplants. She features on their 'New Folk Songs' album (Linn CKD 130). Pamela is a featured soloist on all of Karl Jenkins crossover 'Adiemus' albums and on 'Imagined Oceans', which was written especially for her. Her appearances on these million-selling crossover albums make her one of the most listened to recorder players in the world.
As a soloist and chamber musician Pamela has performed throughout the UK including London's Albert Hall, the South Bank Centre and Wigmore Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and she has toured extensively in Europe (including such prestigious venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konserthus Stockholm, Konzerthaus Wien, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Cologne Philharmonie and Lyon Opera), USA, South America, the Middle and Far East. She has also featured on many film soundtracks and recordings for BBC radio and television.
Pamela was a prize-winning student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and returned to teach the recorder as a principal instrument within a few years of graduating. She has given classes in Urbino, Italy, Dartington Summer School and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Why wait until now to release a solo album?
In fact, a few years ago I was signed to a label and we made the first disc – a folk/jazz -inspired album of instrumental pieces that I had co-written with percussionist Chris Wells. But the label went under and my album was never released. It may yet see the light of day, you never know. Anyway, in the early 90's groups were recording CDs ten to the dozen and I had been recording the Palladians discs and lots of other bits and pieces. So I was happy to wait for the right moment to come along.
Those 'bits and pieces' included her playing as principal recorder for the New London Consort on Decca, Musicians of the Globe on Phillips and many other CD's of the major period instrument and modern orchestras and ensembles.
You have chosen to play Telemann's A Minor Suite, Sammartini's Concerto in F, Vivaldi's C Minor Concerto, and two of his flautino concertos (RV 443 and 444) on this disc. Why not, say, a 'complete Vivaldi' disc?
The pieces on the album are my favourites. I've played them in concert with Sonnerie, the English Concert, Fiori Musicali and the Palladian Ensemble. and the best circumstance in which to committ something to disc is when you've been playing a piece for some time and in concert. I had strong ideas about how I wanted things to be played. There are plenty of one composer discs around. With this one you get all the goodies in one go! Philip Hobbs at LINN produced all the eight Palladian Ensemble discs and now, this concerto album with Sonnerie. He knows what I want to achieve and I trust him to do a great job. Also Julia Thomas, the person responsible for finding takes that really worked well, was present at the recording sessions which gave her a great feel for which takes really 'fizzed along' at the time. They've produced an honest reflection of what occurred in the studio – not edited to oblivion – we really did play all the notes! Monica Huggett and Sonnerie were on top form and everyone was committed to making a good result.
You studied at the GSMD and at the Sweelinck Conservatory. How interested are you in the teaching side of things?
I take my responsibilites as a teacher very seriously. I teach at the GSMD in London and at Birmingham University. My aims are to provide guidance and a secure, enriching envoironment for my students, so that they can thrive and develop. I want to engender a spirit of discovery and delight in music-making. Resourcefulness, enterprise, an inquiring mind, good social skills are things I hope to foster in my students. I'm very proud of the graduates that are coming though. They are making their way as players, teachers, researchers, administrators, facilitators in the music profession. I am learning all the time. Sometimes it is a struggle to make myself find out about the latest development or new fashion, but there is no standing still in being a good teacher. My taste in music is very catholic and although I don't discriminate against those students who want to specialise in one particular type of music, I hope that they develop open minds and ears while studying. The Erasmus scheme of swapping pupils for a term with those in for instance, the Hague or Leipzig has worked well at the GSMD. There is a plethora of young talent coming through in this country and plenty of well trained teachers emerging to help them on their way. I'm very hopeful for the future of the recorder playing in this country. The Malvern Weekend is a wonderful initiative and the Early Music Shop does a sterling job.
Who's playing do you admire?
Recorder players? In no particular order: Pedro Memelsdorff, Kees Boeke, Sebastian Marq, Robert Ehrlich, Loecki Stardust Quartet, Marion Verbruggen, Anneke Boeke, Giovanni Antonini, Michaela Petri, Walter van Hauwe. You want more? Dan Laurin, Piers Adams. Catherine Latham. Isn't the CD a wonderful thing? There a plenty more players out there that I haven't even opened the cellophane on! Am I allowed to mention my own students? Leo Chadburn has a great love and empathy for contemporary music and a wonderful technique. Ian Wilson is a born organiser and possesses a lovely, innate sense of phrasing and real charm in his playing – the boy will go far!
You've played all over the world. Which musical experiences have you most enjoyed?
Making chamber music with my friends in the Palladian Ensemble is the best thing. Playing with wind players of the calibre of Wilbert Hazelzet, Lisa Beznoziuk, Alfredo Bernadini, Katy Bircher, Alberto Grazzi. Being part of the Adiemus projects – vast stadium gigs where I wear a radio mike and play Karl Jenkins incredibly popular music. Playing jazz with a group as good as the Perfect Houseplants. Hearing students excel themselves is always thrilling and I get quite teary when they do good things. I would never let them see . . . I'm hoping that my launch concert on 29th May at the Wigmore Hall will be a memorable evening.
Plans for the future? I would like set up some weekend courses in York where I now live. If any readers are interested in knowing about these, they can write to me c/- Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Silk Street, London EC2Y 3LT or email me.
Handel Recorder Sonatas, Linn Records CKD 223 (released 2004).
The follow-up to Pamela Thorby's Baroque Concertos disc of 2003 sees this wonderful artist at her very best: relaxed, stylish, unpredictable and distinctive of tone throughout Handel's six delicious sonatas. Thorby establishes a clear character to each work, from the balmy simplicity of the B flat Sonata to the operatic fire of the A minor, thus squashing any worries about lack of variety. In this she is aided, if not outshone, by her accompanist Richard Egarr: a compelling musician on harpsichord and organ, who can make the spread of a single chord as eloquent as dance.
– Anna Picard, Independent on Sunday, 2 May 2004Finally, a superb recital of Handel recorder sonatas by Pamela Thorby seems set to become a benchmark. Thorby's plaintively expressive tone is underpinned by Richard Egarr's boisterous handling of the harpsichord or organ parts. In addition to the six recorder sonatas, Egarr throws in Handel's E major solo harpsichord suite with its once-ubiquitous "Harmonious Blacksmith" theme-with-variations finale.
– Rob Cowan, The Independent, Monday 19 April (2004)Two of the hottest properties in early music performance join forces in this sublime programme of works by Handel. Pamela Thorby's sensual recorder playing, complete with improvised flourishes and infinitely flexible dynamic shadings, is out of the top drawer. Likewise, Richard Egarr's contributions as harpsichord accompanist in Handel's six recorder sonatas and soloist in the composer's Suite in E major lift this Linn release to the highest level of artistry.
– Andrew Stewart, Music Week, Tuesday 13 April 2004Musical partners since their Guildhall student days, Pamela Thorby and Richard Egarr are now pre-eminent on their respective instruments. So this is a partnership made in heaven - as are Handel's six suites for recorder, generally considered the finest in the baroque repertory. Thorby realises all their melodic subtlety and charm, with Egarr throwing in a harpsichord suite (in E major, HWV 430) on top of the most sympathetic accompaniment. Written in 1724-26, when Handel was at the height of his fame, these delightful pieces should have you all blowing the dust off your recorders.
– Anthony Holden, The Observer, Sunday 18 April 2004
Details of other CDs featuring Pamela Thorby are available here.
© Copyright 2004, Pamela Thorby
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