The Cambridge Companion to the Recorder by John Mansfield Thomson

By the mid-18th century, however, the recorder was replaced by the transverse flute as the preferred solo and orchestral instrument of the flute family. In the 17th and early 18th centuries, the recorder was respected as a virtuosic solo instrument and featured in sonatas, concertos, and opera orchestrations. In the Renaissance era, the recorder was one of the most popular wind instruments and was often played in consorts in both domestic and professional settings. Though flutes and pipes as a general class are some of the oldest musical instruments, the earliest extant recorders date from the 14th century, as does iconographical evidence of the instrument’s use.

The recorder has been referred to by many names in various languages, including Blockflöte (German), flauto dolce (Italian), flûte à bec (French), and flauta de pico (Spanish). Though pitched at different levels, recorders are not transposing instruments like most woodwinds, so different fingerings are learned for F and C instruments.

The most common are the descant (soprano), treble (alto), tenor, and bass, spaced at intervals of a fourth or fifth apart. The recorder is a member of the woodwind family distinguished by its seven fingerholes on the front, a thumbhole on the back, and an end-blown mouthpiece with an inserted block that creates a channel for sound production.

The Cambridge Companion to the Recorder by John Mansfield Thomson