Baroque Alchemy: Turning the traditional Early Music recital on its head for the 21st century
ANCIENT meets modern in Baroque Alchemy’s fusion of recorder virtuoso Piers Adams and keyboardist Lyndy Mayle at the National Centre for Early Music, York, tomorrow.
Ever since the rise of synth-led bands and New Age music in the 1980s, Piers has nurtured a vision to combine the simple beauty of the recorder – and the drama of baroque music – with the expansive sound-world of the electronic era.
Now, after a 25-year international career as frontman of the acoustic baroque super-group Red Priest, his new project with Lyndy Mayle turns the traditional Early Music recital on its head for the 21st century.
“By replacing the familiar ‘continuo’ sound of the harpsichord with the universe of possibilities offered by modern-day synthesiser technology, we are able to expand upon the musical dreams of composers of the past,” says Piers, whose first Baroque Alchemy concert took place at the Lewes Baroquefest, in his home town, in July 2022.
“The scientific wizardry of the synth is balanced by the natural expressive power of the recorder, thereby creating a perfect blend of ancient and modern.”
Baroque Alchemy seek to introduce a new audience to music of the past, as well as taking traditional classical music lovers on a journey of discovery, undertaken by two musicians who travel with a keyboard, a quiver of recorders, a Macbook and a state-of-the-art Bose PA.
“I’ve played in York quite a few times, mostly with Red Priest,” says Piers. “The last time at the NCEM was a concert to nobody under Covid rules in 2021 – part of a series that Robert Hollingworth [from the University of York] put on – so that was a strange experience!
“I played with Red Priest at the university at the beginning of 2023 and once at the NCEM with The Dodo Street Band, the brainchild of violinist Adam Summerhayes, where we performed Celtic Gypsy Klezmermusic on violin, recorder, accordion, double bass and bodhran, which was fun.”
Piers and Lyndy got together in 2020/2021 after her long career as a piano teacher. “Back in the day, we were at different music colleges in London, when she was a harpsichord wizard at the Royal College of Music, and she later worked as a music therapist and taught piano. This project is her return to the concert platform,” says Piers.
“We’ve played 25-30 concerts since we started up and down the country, and in Spain and Germany, and it’s taken off well as it’s quite left field.”
Describing Baroque Alchemy’s music, Piers says: “It’s something very different from Early Music, the main difference being that we use a classic keyboard run through a Macbook.” Piano, guitar, harp, strings and voices all play their part through the wonder of electronics, in tandem with Piers’s recorders.
“For me, as a recorder player, to play with such a wide range is wonderful,” he says. “I have a small mixing desk, so I can tweak things, playing with this amazing technology to see how old music would sound with new electronic elements, so we have the contrast of the ‘artificial’ [the electronic] with the beauty of the recorder.”
Piers continues: “We’re still at the beginning of this journey into the sound-world. It’s been a fascinating journey where, the more we dig around the broad palette of sound we find what works for us. We cross lots of different styles, not just ‘old’ music, but contemporary music and world music too.
“There are a number of positives in playing this way. It gives you massive flexibility, particularly as a duo, working with this big sound palette, where we love opposites, the combination of different elements, the combination of male and female too, hence we chose the name Baroque Alchemy.
“We put together the penetrating recorder with the broader range of electronics; the ancient and the modern; the simple and the complex. Add the fact that we’re a couple as well, and the whole thing becomes a melting pot.”
Why should someone attend tomorrow’s concert, Piers? “The first thing to say is that I know people will enjoy it. The response we’ve had has been universally positive: whether they like Early Music, folk music, world music or electronic music; there’s something for everyone – but it’s also quite different!”
Baroque Alchemy, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tomorrow (14/3/2026), 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk
Baroque Alchemy duo Lyndy Mayle and Piers Adams
Baroque Alchemy: back story
BAROQUE Alchemy gave their debut concert at the Lewes Baroquefest in July 2022 and have since played festivals, music clubs and theatres throughout the UK.
In 2023, the duo travelled to Germany to perform the closing concert at the Blockflöten Festtage, the world’s premier recorder festival.
They launched their groundbreaking album Breaking Free at their London debut at the World Heart Beat Concert Hall in March 2024.
Piers Adams has recorded numerous CDs and given thousands of concerts and broadcasts across the world with Red Priest. His lifelong interest in alternative philosophies informed his recording Bach Side Of The Moon (charting at number five in the international New Age charts) and now Baroque Alchemy.
Lyndy Mayle was a multi-prize winning harpsichord student at the Royal College of Music before becoming a music director at the National Theatre, and subsequently working as a music therapist and piano teacher. Baroque Assembly marks her return to the concert stage.
Piers and Lyndy perform music from the baroque period, although they venture into medieval, world, contemporary and jazz music too.
Their repertoire includes Bach’s Goldberg Suite; Albinoni’s The Other Adagio; Forqueray’s La Sylva and La Boisson; Telemann’s Andante and Danse Rustique; Handel’s Aria Amorosa; Vivaldi’s The Goldfinch; Pandolfi’s La Biancuccia; Montalbano’s La Jelosa; Biber’s Sonata Representiva; Piazzolla’s Cafe 1930; Albeniz’s Asturias; Debussy’s Syrinx and Ian Clark’s Hypnosis.