Adler-Heinrich Instruments

This former East German maker during the past decade and a half made great strides in improving their instruments and escaping the poor reputation of their rather checkered past. During the post WWII years of the German Democratic Republic, the formerly independent recorder workshops of Johannes Adler and Alexander Heinrich were taken over by the communist government and became a department within the stated-owned music instrument producer VEB Musima, although the Adler and Heinrich brand names and models were maintained. Having no competition in the East bloc countries which were their primary market and therefore no incentive to innovate and improve their instruments, they continued to produce poor primitive instruments to pre-war designs for four and a half decades.

Some of the older Johannes Adler and Alexander Heinrich models, such as the long-discontinued Standard and Superbal series as well as the older Barockmeister and Meister models made in the 1960s and 1970s, are still being sold in some commercial music channels. They are no longer representative of the more recent quality from this maker and are most definitely not recommended.

Musima was privatized shortly after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and reunification of East and West Germany in 1989. Three years later, the recorder-making department was spun off as a completely separate private enterprise under the name Adler-Heinrich GmbH and acquired by a West German businessman, engineer, and entrepreneur Dietrich Hahl, who took drastic steps to revitalize the firm. Production techniques and equipment were modernized, older models of recorders were either discontinued or else brought up to date and improved, and innovative new models produced in collaboration with outside designers were introduced. Instruments were produced using both traditional hand craftsmanship and the latest technology, such as CNC lathes. The dramatic turn-around of this firm was one of the most striking and noteworthy success stories of German reunification in the music instrument business.

Unfortunately, the Adler-Heinrich workshop was forced by economic circumstances to close its doors in late November of 2006. Fortunately, we were able to obtain a large number of instruments before they closed and still have a good supply of their instruments on hand, but some models are already sold out (indicated below as NLA) and others are in very short supply. We suggest that our customers act quickly to obtain their choice of our remaining instruments while they are still available.

Johannes Adler Filius Recorders

The new Filius model recorders, available originally in soprano, alto, and tenor sizes, and more recently in sopranino and bass sizes as well, are the among the most recent and innovative instruments from this former East German firm. They represent the first attempt by any recorder maker to produce an entire family of recorders designed specifically for players with smaller hands. These are small bore instruments which produce a warm, full, blending tone quality with good high register response. They are shorter than most other instruments, slimmer in overall shape, lighter in weight, and the tone holes are smaller in diameter and closer together. They have proven to be extremely popular with younger students and manually-challenged adult players.

The two-piece soprano recorder is unusually slim and easy to finger. The three-piece alto is equally slim, and is available in both a standard keyless version and a model fitted with a low F key, which further reduces the stretch for the right little finger. The tenor is available in three different versions: an instrument with a single c' key for the right little finger, an instrument with a double c'-c^#' key, and a third model with both the double c'-c^#' key and two additional middle keys for the left ring and right index fingers. The latter instrument is by far and away the easiest fingering tenor recorder currently available from any maker.

Johannes Adler Barockmeister Recorders

The Barockmeister recorders were for many decades the flagship model series for the original Johannes Adler workshop. In recent years, these models have been substantially redesigned and are a great improvement over the older instruments that bore this name in the past. The new Barockmeister instruments, available in pearwood, boxwood, and mostly recently now in palisander as well, have an open, clear, well-focused sound and offer good intonation and high register response as well. Unlike the premium instruments from other makers which are completely made by machine, the external forms of the Barockmeister models are handturned on woodworking lathes by master craftsmen in a traditional of handwork that goes back centuries.

The Adler Barockmeister instruments were in recent decades identical in acoustical design to the Alexander Heinrich Meister instruments, differing only in external profile and choice of wood. The previous maple Barockmeister models have recently been discontinued and replaced by the new pearwood instruments transplanted from the now-discontinued Heinrich Meister series.

We are now able to recommend these instruments to our customers for the first time. They offer a decent quality of performance at prices much lower than equivalent models from West German makers, although the designs are also less sophisticated as well. The boxwood and palisander models are in fact the least expensive available from any maker and can be a good choice for players on a limited budget who want a hardwood instrument.

Adler-Heinrich Arte Recorders

This recently introduced series of instruments from Adler-Heinrich offers excellent performance at a very reasonable price. The external profile of these instruments is unusually graceful and slender, neo-renaissance in appearance, with metal rings, very similar to the now discontinued Moeck Tuju series. In comparison, they have a warmer and more diffuse sound than the Adler Barockmeister and Heinrich Meister models, making them ideal for consort use. Sopranino through tenor models are provided with fitted boxes; the bass is in a soft carrying bag. This series has regrettably been discontinued by the maker; availability is limited to the remaining instruments we have in stock.

Adler-Heinrich Bell Recorders

These unusual new, wholly unique and innovative instruments are essentially wide-bore medieval/renaissance-style recorders with large single tone holes, double holes for the lowest two fingers, and very wide flared exponential bells. They are extremely full in tone with great carrying power, suitable for use with a wide variety of louder historical instruments and modern instruments, in larger indoor venues or outdoors. In order to reduce prices, the professional quality hard cases previously included with the soprano instrument are now available as an option; otherwise, the sopranos are delivered in cardboard cartons. The altos are available only with fitted hard cases, in order to protect their metal bells. Both soprano and alto models have been discontinued by the maker. Availability is limited to just the few remaining instruments we have in stock.

Adler-Heinrich Chalumeaux

These recent innovations from the Adler-Heinrich workshop are simple large cylindrical bore instruments, played with a single reed clarinet-type mouthpiece which uses standard modern B^bclarinet reeds. These extremely inexpensive instruments provide a new tonal resource for performers of early music, traditional and folk music, as well as modern music, popular music, and jazz. The various models, although basically similar, are actually quite different in design and intended use.

The pocket chalumeau is a small, simple, bell-less instrument with a range of a ninth (keyless model in maple or boxwood) or two octaves and a third (two-key models in cocuswood or ebony). The folk chalumeau, which has a removeable cylindrical bell of greater bore diameter than the body of the instrument, is optimized for music in the "sharp" keys, has two keys, and a range extended below the D keynote to b and c^#and overblowing in the second register to e'''.

The soprano chalumeau, made in boxwood or grenadilla, overblows at the twelfth and is available either with two keys and two interchangeable exponential bells (the shorter of which provides b and f^#'' and the longer of which provides b^band f'') or with three keys and one exponential bell (similar to the baroque chalumeau and clarinet). Production of a matching alto chalumeau has been halted pending a redesign.

Please note: the folk model chalumeaux have been discontinued by the maker. Availability is limited to the few remaining instruments that we presently have in stock.

Adler-Heinrich Pennywhistle

The latest instrument from the Adler-Heinrich workshop is an exquisite little wooden pennywhistle or flageolette. This diminutive instrument, pitched in d", has a range of two octaves; it is ideal for performing a wide range of early music as well as folk and traditional music from many countries.

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Copyright, Antique Sound Workshop, Ltd., 2006. All rights reserved.