The recorder has been known since ancient times. One of its oldest analogs is considered to be the quena, the traditional flute of the Andes, known to the Incas. This woodwind instrument is basically a direct descendant of the whistle, equipped with finger holes for changing the pitch.
In the 14thcentury, this instrument with its soft and sweet sound was popular among traveling musicians in present-day England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. They performed songs to the accompaniment of a recorder. During the Renaissance, the recorder continued to be used in folk music. This was also when the first sheet music for the recorder appeared.
During the Baroque period (16th–17thcenturies), the instrument was modified and became known as the Baroque recorder. Composers who wrote sonatas, operas, and oratorios for the recorder include Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Johann Sebastian Bach.
In the 18thcentury, the transverse flute overtook the recorder in popularity as an instrument with a richer sound and a wider range, and many pieces were rearranged for the flute. Only in the first half of the 20thcentury did the popularity of the ancient instrument begin to revive.
Although rarely heard in classical compositions, the recorder is still used quite widely. Music school students are taught to play the recorder, and the instrument is used in pop and rock music.
These instruments were traditionally made of boxwood, pear, and plum; the most affordable models were more often made of maple, while professional instruments were made of mahogany.
The displayed alto recorder, also known as a treble, allows the musician to play all the notes of the chromatic scale. It is distinguished by a rich sound and its basic scale is in F, ranging from F4 to G6.
In the 1980s, this recorder, as well as other
baroque-style instruments, was purchased by Barnaul Music College for both
teaching and performing purposes. It was played at concerts of the “Ars longa”
ensemble led by the flutist Vladimir Anisimov.
