"It was the most entertaining concert you could imagine, leaving the audience with a smile on their face. This is extremely rare." -- Göttinger Tageblatt
About me
Just a few words about where I came from and where I'm headed...
Brian was raised in the small town of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, on Canada's east coast; he has lived and worked in Germany for over twenty years. He was born into a musical family: his mother was a music teacher and organist, his father was an enthusiastic amateur choral singer.
After humble beginnings, joining the the band at the local paper mill at age twelve, he has become one of the most sought after specialists on historical flutes in the current early music scene in Germany.
After completing his Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance at the University of Victoria, Canada and a Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance Practice at Stanford University in California, he studied baroque flute with Wilbert Hazelzet at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands, completing the "Certificaat Oude Muziek".
Brian appears throughout Europe and on numerous radio and CD recordings with such notable ensembles as The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Barockorchester Stuttgart, Concerto Köln and the FestspielOrchesterGöttingen (FOG) of the International Handel Festival Göttingen founded by Nicolas McGegan, then led by Laurence Cummings and now by Georges Petrou.
With his ensemble La Ricordanza, of whom he is a founding member, he has recorded 5 critically acclaimed CDs. His solo recording, "Crossing the Border", and the concert programme of the same name, are a must-see for aficionados of stylistically adventurous and creative flute playing. His solo CD, "Almost Home", explores his Nova Scotian roots: Together with guitarist Cornelius Bode he presents a programme of traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as music from Cape Breton on Canada's east coast. In his newest CD "Echoes of Edinburgh" the fusion of baroque and traditional styles goes deeper, with baroque strings and harpsichord teaming up with guitar and bodhrán to explore the roots of Scottish 18th century music.
Since 2006 he is principal flute of the period-instrument orchestra The Hannoversche Hofkapelle and can be heard as soloist regularly in their annual (and sold out!) New Year's Eve concert. Brian was a faculty member of the music school in Salzgitter, Germany for over ten years, teaching flute and conducting the youth orchestra, with whom he has won numerous prizes.
Brian can also occasionally be seen playing folk sessions in the Irish pubs of Hanover, but nowhere nearly as often as he would like...
Discography
Echoes of Edinburgh
Echoes of Edinburgh
About the CD
It all started with a trip to Edinburgh. In the spring of 2022 I used a grant to re-visit that beautiful city with the official purpose of researching the overlap between traditional and baroque music in Scotland, and with the unofficial purpose of meeting as many trad players and playing as many sessions as possible. Thanks to the warm welcome from both the National Library of Scotland and also numerous music-filled pubs in town the trip was a resounding success, the fruits of which are embodied in this CD which combines musicians from seemingly disparate worlds into one production.
The presumed divide between „folk“ and „cultivated“ music becomes ever more porous and meaningless as you travel back through music history. Scotland‘s musical scene in the eighteenth century appears to make no clear distinction between the two: Their traditional musicians were often literate and held positions in local orchestras; violinists would happily moonlight with fiddle music played at the most prominent houses of the nobility. Manuscript collections of dance tunes would on occasion also include a sonata by Corelli or other composers, with no written commentary to suggest that this was an unusual or exotic inclusion. Music was divided more by function than by style, and composers of sonatas and composers of dance tunes moved in similar circles, enjoyed each other‘s company and in the case of Robert Mackintosh (c. 1745-1807), were one in the same person.
Content
1. Robert Mackintosh: “Lady Charlotte Set”: Lady Catherine Stewart Strathspey; Lady Charlotte Goold’s Reel; Miss Mary Garden of Troup’s Reel; Lady Charlotte Lennox Reel,
2. James Oswald: Airs for the Summer, Book 2: “The Flos Adonis”: Allegro con brio; Aria. amoroso; Giga. Vivace
3. James Scott Skinner: “Tullochgorum Set”: Rinn m'eudail mo mhealladh (“My love has deceived me”), Patrick MacDonald Collection, Variation (Brian Berryman); Tullochgorum with Variations
4. Francesco Barsanti: Overtura prima, Op. 4: (Overture), Allegro (Richmond Ball), Adagio; Andantino
5. Mackintosh: “Wat Ye Set”: Wat ye who met the streen (Slow); The Reel; Lord Chief Baron’s Favourite; Honourable Mrs. Maules’ Reel; Miss E. Macleod’s Reel
6. Barsanti: Overtura Seconda, Op. 4: Largo, Allegro, andante; Paesana. Allegro con spirito
7. Oswald: Airs for the Summer, Book 2: “The Thistle”: Pastorale. Andantino; Brilliante; Amoroso. Andante; Brilliante Da Capo
8. Mackintosh: “Wet & Cold Set”: Wet & Cold Are My People (Patrick MacDonald Collection); The Calledonian Hunt’s delight; Kiss the Lass you like best, The Lads of Dunce; Lady Mary Montague‘s Reel; There is no luck about the House
9. Barsanti: Overtura Sesta, Op. 4: Larghetto, Allegro moderato (To You fair Ladyes), Adagio; Menuet
10. Oswald: Airs for the Summer, Book 1: “The Batchelor’s Button”: Aria. Allegro moderato; Andante; Gavotta. Allegro
11. James Scott Skinner: “The Skinner Set”: The Haughs O’ Cromdale. Strathspey; Highland Whisky (strathspey); Talisker (strathspey), Angus Campbell. Reel; The De’il Amang the Tailors (variations: James Scott Skinner)
12. Oswald: Airs for the Autumn: “The Marvel of Peru”: Moderato. Scortese; Comic. Allegro ma non Presto; Musette. Allegro moderato
13. Barsanti: Ouvertura nona, Op. 4: Larghetto e staccato, Allegro (Countrey Bumpkin); Andantino e cantabile; Allegro
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Almost Home
Almost Home: Traditional Music From Ireland, Scotland And Nova Scotia
About the CD
What happens when a classically trained flutist from Nova Scotia, living in Germany, gets homesick? This CD is an attempt to answer that question. If you have ever arrived in a place for the first time and yet felt instantly at home, you will understand something of what playing traditional music means to me: Growing up in Nova Scotia means you're never far away from the sounds of Celtic music; after some years in Germany I decided to realize a long-held dream and began playing Irish flute. It became instantly clear to me that this was no mere hobby, nor was it just a sideline to the orchestral playing which forms the backbone of my career. After almost two decades of sessions and concerts I am only still dipping into the well; I have reconciled myself to having classical accents in my playing, just as I will never sound completely German despite years of trying! No matter: This traditional music welcomes those who approach it with admiration and respect, rewarding the player and listener alike. Traditional music players speak of their tunes as objects, heirlooms to be treasured and passed on as gifts. Not: "Where did you learn that?", but rather: "Who gave that one to you?". "I got this from my father" is a common reply. So when I'm playing a traditional tune, it is all mine for the moment, in that moment when I breathe life into it. Later I will pass it on to another player and it becomes his or hers, and so on. I like to hope that the Beethoven symphonies and Bach cantatas I play have gained something of this relationship; if music isn't personal why bother? And so even though I came from elsewhere I still have a strong sense of belonging; I'll never be a native, but neither am I a casual visitor. I feel welcomed; it is a great privilege and good fortune to be "almost home".
Content
King George Medley: King George IV (strathspey) / The Old
King's Reel / King's Reel / Miss Lyall's Reel / Bridge of Bamore Blue
Bonnet Set: Blue Bonnets Over the Border (air) / Garrett Barry's (jig) /
Dusty Windowsills (jig) / The Hag at the Churn (jig) The Hills of
Lorne: Hills of Lorne (air) / Sir Archibald Dunbar (strathspey) / Trad.
Strathspey / Scourdiness (reel)/ Catching Rabbits (reel) / Margaree Reel
The Blarney Pilgrim: The Blarney Pilgrim (jig) / The Lilting Banshee
(jig) / Stan Chapman's (jig) / Frank's Reel Christmas Eve: Christmas Eve
(air & reel) / Far From Home (reel) / Father Kelly's (reel)
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| CD Almost Home |
Fiery and Sublime
About the CD
"Consistent, fiery and sublime": These were the words used to describe the flute playing of Quantz in his obituary. Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) was in many ways ahead of his time: In an era of constant wars and territorial feuds between rival duchies he was an apologist for an international musical style. In a time when musicians were seen as lackeys and servants he enjoyed a salary and status of which many of his contemporaries could only dream. Although he is known today primarily as "Frederick the Great's flute teacher", his musical education and development was more or less complete, when he took on his official duties in 1740 at the Berlin court (he was already over 40 years old). He gained his formative musical experiences at the court in Dresden and above all during his three-year journey from 1724-1727 through Italy, France, England and the Netherlands. This recording brings together two emblematic works of his with works of some of the composers that he met on his Grand Tour.
The furious and fiery Italian musical style was often contrasted with the pleasant and sentimental French music; Quantz felt that German music was particularly well positioned to profit from both styles, in order to develop its own "mixed taste". In the afterword to his Versuch he summed up his hopes for the future of music: "For a music, which is not native to only one province or one nation, but rather is accepted and enjoyed by many peoples, can only be seen as good when it is based on reason and healthy feelings."
Content
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Konzert à 5 QV 5:45 in D-Dur für Traversflöte, Streicher und Basso Continuo
Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Sonate en Trio Op. 2 Nr. 8 für Blockflöte, Viola und Basso Continuo
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Triosonate Wq. 146 in A-Dur für Traversflöte, Violine und Basso Continuo
Johann Gottlieb Graun (1702-1771)
Konzert in F-Dur für Blockflöte, 2 Violinen und Basso Continuo
Johann Joachim Quantz
Triosonate in C-Dur für Blockflöte, Traversflöte und Basso Continuo
Michel Blavet (1700-1768)
Konzert in a-Moll für Traversflöte, 2 Violinen und Basso Continuo
Available directly from me for 18€ plus shipping, via PayPal. Please send me an email including the number of copies and your mailing address. Many thanks!
Crossing the Border: Traditional and Baroque Flute Music of the British IslesBrian Berryman, flutes; Axel Wolf, lute, guitar; Eckhart Kuper, harpsichord, 2002
About the CD
The styles of baroque and traditional folk music often seem to be worlds apart, played by musicians who rarely cross the border into the other genre. Historically just the opposite situation was more common; the border between the two realms of baroque and folk music was a site of heavy traffic: Far from disdaining each other's style, violinist and fiddler often expressed mutual esteem for the other's music. Baroque composers made frequent use of folk melodies for their compositions; folk musicians in turn were influenced by the music of their colleagues at court. This CD selects some of the many baroque pieces which are variations on traditional melodies, interspersed with Irish and Scottish dance tunes from 18th-century sources or commonly heard in pub sessions today.
Content
Daniel Dow (1732-1783):
Ancient Scots Music (Strathspeys, Jig, Reels)
Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762):
3 Scotch Airs with Variations from A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Musick
Trad. Irish:
Banish Misfortune; The Maids in the Morning; The Banks of Lough Gowna; The Earl's Chair
Alexander Munro (18. Jh.):
Sonata "Fy Gar Rub Her": Allegro; Adagio; Corrente; Gavotta; Minuetto
Neil Gow (1727-1807):
Neil
Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife; Put the Gown upon the
Bishop; The Iron Man; Dunfermline Races; Blue Bonnets O'er the Border
Johann Christian Fischer (1733-1800):
Variations on Gramachree Molly
Capt. Simon Fraser (1773-1852):
Caledonia's Wail for Neil Gow Her favourite Minstrel (Variations: Brian Berryman)
Francesco Geminiani:
An English Tune, Variations
Trad. Irish:
Eleanor Plunkett; Willie Coleman's Jig; Dwyer's Hornpipe; The Sally Gardens; The Steam Packet
Foreign Insult
Foreign Insult - La Ricordanza, 2004
About the CD
To a musician in Europe during the eighteenth century, London must
have seemed like a city of limitless opportunities. The pieces on this
recording span almost a century, from 1685-1774, and give witness to the
powerful attraction of London on the continental composers of the
baroque period..
For the French, Italian and German musicians who flocked to the
British capital there were many and varied opportunities to be had as a
freelance musician.
The straitjacket of court employment in Germany or Italy, despite
the regular paycheque, was for many composers less attractive than the
precarious life of a freelancer in London. In the duchies of Germany and
Italy, musical tastes and activities were subject to the whims of more
or less enlightened rulers. In contrast, London's musical life was
subject to the laws of supply and demand. The paying public, hungry for
entertainment, welcomed enterprising and talented musicians whatever
their origins, thereby nourishing a musical landscape that for over 100
years was the most varied and dynamic in Europe.
Content
Georg Friedrich Händel
Concerto HWV 287 in g minor for Oboe, Strings and Basso continuo
Francesco Barsanti
from A collection of Old Scots tunes: Lochaber, Where Helen Lies, Clout the Cauldron, Corn Riggs are Bonny
Gottfried Finger
Sonata Op. 5 No. 10 in C Major for Recorder, Violoncello and Basso Continuo
Johann Christian Bach
Quintet Op. 11 No. 6in D Major for Traverso, Oboe, Violin, Viola and Basso Continuo
Nicola Mattheis
Ground after the Scotch Humour for Recorder, Violin and Basso Continuo
Georg Friedrich Händel
Trio sonata HWV 383 in F Major for Violin, Oboe and Basso Continuo
Carl Friedrich Abel
Concerto in e minor for Traverso, Strings and Basso Continuo
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Crossing the Border
Crossing the Border: Traditional and Baroque Flute Music of the British Isles
Brian Berryman, flutes; Axel Wolf, lute, guitar; Eckhart Kuper, harpsichord, 2002
About the CD
The styles of baroque and traditional folk music often seem to be worlds apart, played by musicians who rarely cross the border into the other genre. Historically just the opposite situation was more common; the border between the two realms of baroque and folk music was a site of heavy traffic: Far from disdaining each other's style, violinist and fiddler often expressed mutual esteem for the other's music. Baroque composers made frequent use of folk melodies for their compositions; folk musicians in turn were influenced by the music of their colleagues at court. This CD selects some of the many baroque pieces which are variations on traditional melodies, interspersed with Irish and Scottish dance tunes from 18th-century sources or commonly heard in pub sessions today.
Content
Daniel Dow (1732-1783):
Ancient Scots Music (Strathspeys, Jig, Reels)
Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762):
3 Scotch Airs with Variations from A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Musick
Trad. Irish:
Banish Misfortune; The Maids in the Morning; The Banks of Lough Gowna; The Earl's Chair
Alexander Munro (18. Jh.):
Sonata "Fy Gar Rub Her": Allegro; Adagio; Corrente; Gavotta; Minuetto
Neil Gow (1727-1807):
Neil
Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife; Put the Gown upon the
Bishop; The Iron Man; Dunfermline Races; Blue Bonnets O'er the Border
Johann Christian Fischer (1733-1800):
Variations on Gramachree Molly
Capt. Simon Fraser (1773-1852):
Caledonia's Wail for Neil Gow Her favourite Minstrel (Variations: Brian Berryman)
Francesco Geminiani:
An English Tune, Variations
Trad. Irish:
Eleanor Plunkett; Willie Coleman's Jig; Dwyer's Hornpipe; The Sally Gardens; The Steam Packet
La forza della virtu
About the CD
Reinhard Keiser was born on the 9th of January 1674 in Teuchern near Weissenfels and died on the 12th of September 1739 in Hamburg. He was the most important composer for German-language opera in the high baroque period. His career as an opera composer began after he completed his education at the Leipziger Thomasschule, when in 1693 one his his operas was performed at the court theatre in Braunschweig. In 1697 his opera "Der geliebte Adonis" was staged in the Hamburg Theater am Gänsemarkt. Keiser remained a key figure for the Hamburg opera for over 40 years, serving as its artistic director from 1702 to 1707.
The selected arias on this CD provide an overview of Reinhard Keisers early work in Hamburg: 1697 Adonis, 1700 La forza della virtu, 1703 Claudius and 1704 Nebucadnezar. The violin concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann was inserted into a later production of Nebucadnezar in 1728.
The well known music theoretician Johann Mattheson, a friend of Keiser's, was an important voice among the Hamburg opera audience. He repeatedly expressed his admiration for Keiser the composer in his writings , maintaining that Keiser's works showed "all the passions of which the human heart is subject to".
Content
Reinhard Keiser
Die verdammte Staat-Sucht, oder der verführte Claudius (Scenes)
Sonata à 3 Nr. 1 (1725) for Traverso, Viola d'amore and Basso Continuo
Der gestürzte und wieder erhöhte Nebucadnezar, König zu Babylon (Scenes)
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto für 2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello and Basso Continuo
Der geliebte Adonis (Scenes)
La forza della virtù; oder, Die Macht der Tugend (Scenes)
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CD La forza della virtu, plus shipping
Leidenschaftliche Unterhaltung
Leidenschaftliche Unterhaltung - La Ricordanza, 2000
About the CD
"...a well written concerto...resembles a passionate conversation between the soloist and the orchestra accompanying him; the soloist communicates his feelings to the ensemble; the ensemble applauds him with briefly inserted imitation, soon it confirms his expression; in the Allegro it tries to stoke the fire of his enthusiasm even further..."
The German lexicographer Heinrich Christoph Koch's definition of the concerto in his Musikalisches Lexikon of 1802 fits equally well to the four earlier incarnations of the high baroque concerto for wind soloist and orchestra on this recording.
Content
Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite No. 2 in b minor BWV 1067 for Traverso, Strings and Basso Continuo
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in d minor RV 454 for Oboe, Strings and Basso Continuo
Johann David Heinichen
Double concerto in g minor for Traverso, Oboe, Strings and Basso Continuo
Georg Philipp Telemann
Double concerto in e minor for Traverso, Recorder, Strings and Basso Continuo
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Das Janusgesicht des empfindsamen Stils
Das Janusgesicht des empfindsamen Stils - La Ricordanza, 1998
About the CD
In the second half of the eighteenth century music was Janus-faced: Like the ancient Roman god of doorways, beginnings and endings, music was focussed simultaneously on its baroque past and classical future. In attempting to depict stronger passions in music than was hitherdo deemed acceptable in public, composers strained the formal boundaries of music to their breaking point. Composers like Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Gottlob Janitsch experimented with unresolved dissonances and speechlike phrasing, in an effort to expand the possibilities of musical expression within prevailing convention.
At the same time there was a reaction against this highly emotionalised style, represented above all by composers who were still beholden to aristocratic patronage, as was the case with Johann Christian Bach, the "London" Bach. His courtly listeners rejected emotional excesses as much as they rejected the overly learned counterpoint of the high baroque, in favour of a more pleasant and refined musical style.
Content
Johann Christian Bach
Quintet Op.22 No.1 in D Major for Traverso, Oboe, Violin, Violoncello and obbligato Harpsichord
Johann Gottlob Janitsch
Quartet Op.1 No.1 in c minor for Traverso, Oboe, Viola and Basso Continuo
Johann Christian Bach
Quartet Op.19 No.2 in D Major for Traverso, Oboe, Viola and Violoncello
Johann Gottlob Janitsch
Quartet in D Major for Traverso, Oboe, Viola and Basso Continuo
Johann Christian Bach
Quartet in B Flat Major for Oboe, Violin, Viola and Violoncello
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YouTube
Clips from Brian's YouTube channel.
A set of traditional Scottish music beginning with "My Darling has Deceived Me" and finishing with J. Scott Skinner's "Tullochgorum Variations"
From my newest CD production "Echoes of Edinburgh", which brings together Scottish baroque and traditional music of the 18th and 19th centuries. I have assembled a set of tunes from Robert Mackintosh's 4th book of "New Strathspeys and Reels" and combined baroque instruments with guitar and bodhràn for some driving rhythms!
From my newest CD Echoes of Edinburgh, a gem of a sonata from one of Scotland's most celebrated and prolific composers, James Oswald (1710–1769).
My new CD Echoes of Edinburgh brings together Scottish baroque and traditional music. In his New Overtures Opus 4 Francesco Barsanti uses Scottish traditional music as the basis for the fugal movements, in this case "Richmond Ball"
There are further YouTube videos of CDs I have played on, posted by other YouTube members. Here are some links:
With La Ricordanza:
J. J. Quantz - Sonata for flute, recorder & continuo in C (QV 2: Anh. 3)