Scan 289
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1910
8 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 201. See the scan on archive.org.
1The recorder appeared in two families, one being larger than the other. The smaller instruments were pitched, as bass in F, tenor in B flat, alto in F, treble in B flat, and high treble in F. The larger were contrabass in D, bass in C, tenor in G, alto in C, treble in G, high treble in C.
3Some of the instruments were furnished with a fipple mouthpiece. The fipple was a block of wood inserted within the end of the pipe, at once narrowing the bore of the tube to the dimensions proper for the entrance of the current of air from the performer's lips, and directing the air in a flat form against the sharp edge of the tube through a slit in the block. This was a later invention and overcame the difficulty of blowing directly against the open end of the tube, the fipple being an imitation of the lips of the player. The mouthpiece was sometimes taken immediately into the mouth and at others was enclosed in a cap which in some instances contained a sponge for gathering the moisture from the breath. Other recorders were furnished with an extra hole, which was covered with a vibrating membrane which imparted an undertone when the instrument was blown.
5The recorder enjoyed great popularity especially in England, this fact creating the impression that the instrument was of English extraction. Notwithstanding its popularity the compositions for it were, for a very long time, of a very mediocre quality, as the composer was generally a performer upon some other instrument and did not understand the recorder. Henry VIII. favored the recorder, and had a variety of them in all sizes and made of many materials. During the Seventeenth Century, composers began to treat the instrument more carefully and there exist from that period numerous selections for the recorder and the violin.
7Two famous books of instruction for the recorder are The Genteel Companion, issued by Humphrey Salter, of London, in 1683, and The Delightful Companion, issued by John Playford and John Carr, also of London, in 1686.
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