Talking about Early Music Revival, one cannot put aside the revival of so-called ‘old’ instruments, such as viols, Baroque strings, recorders, and traverso flutes. As one of the enthusiasts in the recorder community, which is relatively small when comparing to other mainstream instruments nowadays, I would say that the revival of the recorder is often endowed with ‘sacredness’ since without its revival, we would not even have the chance to play such a beautiful instrument. Recorder players like explaining some of the instrument’s history to outsiders; I am not an exception. To look into the revival, I will try to introduce you to some of the chronicles of the instrument in a nutshell to give you a general picture.
I did not know why the instrument is called the recorder and I have been fairly curious about it. Thanks to Sarah Jeffery’s video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJwCxX6L6UM), I can quote some of her explanations. Well, it is apparent that it comes from the verb, to record, which can mean to learn by heart. The recorder was used by noblemen to teach their beautiful caged songbirds to sing! It is surprising, isn’t it? (Not really for a recorder player because we can make cool bird-like effects LOLs)
As seen on old paintings and with proof of excavated recorders (the oldest is called The Dordrecht recorder, which dates back to the 14th century), the recorder is sometimes deemed a common instrument in the Medieval period (500 A.D.-1400). Centuries later, in the Renaissance period, the recorder was further developed by famous makers and instrument theorists such as Sebastian Virdung (1465 — ?) into various styles and designs.
Those recorders were mainly cylindrical and were consort instruments that came in different sizes and were meant to be played together (some were made from a same tree!). I am rather fortunate to own a set of renaissance recorder after Hieronymus F. Kynseker (1636–1686) by Mollenhauer. It is enjoyable to play those instruments together with my friends as an ensemble to reproduce the music in the renaissance era. Because they are built to be played as a family, their warm, full, and broad sounds blend perfectly.
Until the Baroque period, the design of the recorder was modified to make the instrument soloistic by making the bore conical and thus making the sound sweeter and extending the range. The Baroque recorder, particularly the alto (treble), acted as a solo instrument in the Baroque. Famous composers like A.L. Vivaldi (1678–1741), G.P. Telemann (1681–1767), G.F. Handel (1685 -1759), and J.S. Bach (1685 -1750) had composed sonatas, concertos, etc. for the recorder. With exceptional instruments made by famous makers, more and more professional players, and extensive repertoire, the recorder flourished. The Renaissance and the Baroque period were the heydays of the instrument.
Desperately sadly, the recorder was given up by composers in the Classical period owing to its small volume and tessitura. Many think that the recorder was put into museums and vanished for centuries. But that is actually a misunderstanding. The recorder did not die out, in fact, it became an instrument for amateur players instead of noblemen. It also evolved into different duct flutes with keys, according to Nikolaj Tarasov (1882 -1910).
Not until the 1920s, a prestigious instrument builder, A. Dolmetsch (1858–1940), inspired by the Early Music Revival, started to reproduce old instruments, including the recorder, to bring them back to life. The replicas he produced were fairly popular at the time. His family further developed the business and helped promote early instruments.
Now, a lot of people know that the recorder takes part in the universal music education. In Hong Kong, learning the recorder (the soprano, to be specific) is compulsory in music lessons in most elementary schools and even secondary schools. It is because (1) companies have successfully produced recorders out of plastic, minimising the cost, and (2) playing the recorder does not require an embouchure, making recorder playing seemingly easier than playing other woodwinds (attention: it is only ‘seemingly’ easy). It could be a fantastic opportunity for more people to enjoy the beauty of this instrument. The lack of teachers’ specialism in recorder playing has, however, led to students’ generally low-standard recorder playing. Thus, the recorder has been infamous for its poor sound quality and tone, and the instrument has gone down considerably in people’s estimation.
Nevertheless, recorder enthusiasts and recorder makers are making our best efforts to rebuild the recorder’s past image. We try to make good music out of the recorder (this can be achieved by proper training!). Recorder makers are not only making beautiful recorders from expensive woods, i.e. European boxwood, grenadilla, etc., but also using the latest technology, e.g., 3D printing, and resin to produce economical and yet high-quality recorders. Hopefully, our efforts help change people’s stereotypes of the recorder. We are really looking forward to the genuine ‘revival’ of the recorder. Let’s make the recorder great again! (So political LOLs)
If you want to know more about the recorder, https://www.recorderhomepage.net/ is a great site to visit!
Please do favour and enlighten me with your opinions!
