History of the Recorder

The Recorder is an olden woodwind instrument called the internal duct flute from the ancient family. In many European languages, the word for Recorder was the same as for the flute. It has been traced back through paintings to as early as the 1300s. There are two stories of the earliest existing recorders, one found in the moat of a castle in Dordrecht, Holland, and the other found in Gottingen, Germany, both dated to the early 14th Century.

14th - 16th Century

During the Renaissance, musical instruments were primarily used in dance music and as accompaniment for voices. They were played by kings, queens, country gentlemen, and the commoner. No king, it was said to be without their set of Recorders. King Henry VIII of England was said to own a considerable collection of recorders and he composed music for the instrument.

It was used by prominent composers of the day (such as Bach, Purcell, Telemann, Vivaldi and Handel) and featured in the plays of Shakespeare. It flourished, and it was common to have groups of Recorders of different sizes (known as consorts) to play together. These Renaissance Recorders had a limited ranged of 1 1/2 octaves but produced a big sound and blended well together.

17th Century

The Recorder reached a height in popularity during the 16th and 17th centuries when it became known as the ‘English Flute’. Several changes in the construction of the Recorder took place in the seventeenth century, resulting in the type of instrument generally referred to as the Baroque Recorder, which first appeared in France. It was narrower than the renaissance Recorder, with a greater musical range and a standardized pitch.

The Baroque Recorder was constructed in three parts called joints: the head, middle and foot. The middle section had seven finger holes, while the foot had only one. The innovations allowed Baroque Recorders to possess a tone regarded as "sweeter" than the earlier Renaissance instruments. This was achieved at the expense of a reduction in volume, particularly in the lowest notes, and a slightly reduced range.

18th Century

The flute was louder and had greater control over its pitch and tone, whilst the Recorder was perceived to have a limited range of musical expression. During this time, the orchestra grew more extensive, and the Recorder could not play loud enough to be heard. The Recorder’s popularity declined. By the late 1700s, the popularity of the Recorder declined, and many composers and instrumentalists began to favour the flute over the Recorder.

20th Century

The Recorder regained prominence during the turn of the 20th century through various musical styles ranging from the avant-garde and theatrical to minimalist and microtonal. This happened mainly in the UK and Germany. Instrument makers started to make Recorders again, and the technique for playing was rediscovered. It started being used to play medieval, renaissance and baroque music again. In Germany, the adoption of the Recorder by the Youth Movement as an instrument for playing folk tunes led to millions of Recorders made in the 1930s. Since then, there has been a steady increase in the number of quality Recorders available and people able to play them.

During the mid 1900s, the Recorder began to regain some popularity among classical composers, Jazz, pop and rock musicians. Artists including The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin all featured the sounds of the Recorder in live performances and on albums. New techniques were developed to allow additional sonic possibilities from the Recorder, making the instrument more popular among experimental composers.