My goodness – half a century since we started on this big adventure of AAM!
What a lucky break I had as a newly wed 26-year-old to join this exciting project – Chris Hogwood’s inspired dream. Having been involved almost exclusively in medieval, renaissance and early baroque music in the early 70s, it felt quite a step to be taking part in a much bigger ensemble for those first recording sessions.
I had known Chris Hogwood for a few years and had played sonatas with him so was aware of our natural rapport and mutual attitude towards making music, which was more collegiate than dictatorial. Chris was a marvellous continuo player and he continued to direct from the harpsichord in those early recordings. A standing, arm-waving director was not his style, so everyone in the band directed themselves up to a point and we relied on Peter Wadland (Decca producer) to spot the messy bits. Peter, Chris and I would gather in the Decca listening studio to hear the first edits a few weeks later and weed out the blips and bloops, not to mention aircraft that frequently flew over the church we recorded in which, astonishingly, was only a few miles southeast of Heathrow!
AAM consisted of extremely talented and gifted players right from the start. These players often had other commitments and in one recording of Muffat works I realised that almost all the violinists were leaders of the other ensembles that had sprung up. In that project we commissioned short French-style bows to be held in a French manner with thumb under the hair. The result was surprisingly effective, but the bows were abandoned shortly after. I wonder if any of them are lurking somewhere.
After a few years I started teaching at the Royal College of Music and in summer courses around the world. At the Barbican on 18 October 2023 (the opening concert of AAM’s 50th Anniversary season) I was looking down on the orchestra with such pleasure seeing some great players including Laurence Cummings and Bojan Cicic, who I coached as students.
I shall always have a special connection with AAM. It was my home – not to mention my livelihood – for 15 amazing years when the Early Music profession emerged and took its place firmly on the map. Long may it continue!
Catherine Mackintosh, December 2023
Catherine Mackintosh with Monica Huggett in a recording session of Purcell theatre music, c.1974
