Recorder

The ancestor of all modern wind instruments, the recorder comes in a variety of sizes from treble to bass. The common treble model has occasionally been maligned as either a children’s toy or a starter instrument. It has, however, a fascinating story that is integral to music history, as well as a bright future at the cutting edge of contemporary music. Generally made of hardwood and possessing eight finger holes, the recorder is a mainstay of Renaissance and Baroque music. Equally at home in court or church in these pre-Classical periods, it was championed by composers including Vivaldi and Telemann. More recently, contemporary composers such as Steven Stucky and Richard Harvey have embraced the instrument. Since the 1960s, more music has been written for the recorder than in the centuries before combined. During the Classical and Romantic eras, the recorder fell out of fashion with very little music composed for it. Its revival owes much to Arnold Dolmetsch, a French musician and instrument maker working in the UK, whose interest in historical instruments and practices led to a flourishing early music scene in and around London in the 20th century.