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Soprano recorder

Three-part soprano recorder in castello or zapatero "boxwood"
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	421.221.12 (Flute with internal duct and finger holes)
Playing range

The soprano recorder in C, also known as the descant, is the third-smallest instrument of the modern recorder family and is usually played as the highest voice in four-part ensembles (SATB = soprano, alto, tenor, bass). Since its finger spacing is relatively small, it is often used in music education for children first learning to play an instrument.

Voice

The soprano recorder is an octave above the level of the human soprano voice. Its lowest note is C₅, and the normal range is C₅–D₇, but expert players achieve notes up to G₇. Compositions for soprano recorder are usually notated an octave lower than they sound. The timbre is similar to the sound of the flue pipes of an organ, which is why some organ stops sound similar to a recorder. These registers are called then block-flute or forest-flute.

Fingerings

In addition to the traditional "Baroque" (or "English") fingering, which was created in Haslemere in 1919 by Arnold Dolmetsch, soprano recorders have been made that make use of "German" fingering, which was introduced by Peter Harlan around 1926. In German fingering the note f is playable with a simpler fingering than the Baroque technique's forked (or cross-) fingering. However, German fingering has been described as a "step backwards ... made on the false assumption that the instrument would be easier for schoolchildren". The disadvantage is that other, unavoidable cross-fingerings become more difficult.

Material

Recorders with a plastic head joint or made completely of plastic are widely used. Soprano recorders are made from various woods such as maple, pear, boxwood, rosewood, olive, African blackwood, "rosewood", or ebony.

Repertoire

Notably, the soprano recorder has the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history, Der Fluyten Lust-hof composed by Jacob van Eyck.

References

1. Blood 2000–2013.
2. Wollitz 1982, xxii.
3. Wind 1984, 178.

Sources

• Blood, Brian. 2000–2013. Recorder Fingerings. Dolmetsch online (accessed 24 April 2024).
• Wollitz, Kenneth. 1982. The Recorder Book. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-47973-4.
• Wind, Thiemo. 1984. "Der Fluyten Lust-hof: Erste vollstandig kommentierte Gesamtausgabe, herausgegeben von Winfried Michel und Hermien Teske (Winterthur, Amadeus Verlag, 1984)". Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis 34, No. 2:178–83 doi:10.2307/939015 JSTOR 939015 ISSN 0042-3874

Further reading

• Baines, Anthony C. 1967. Woodwind Instruments and Their History, 3rd edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult. London: Faber and Faber. Reprinted with corrections, 1977. This edition reissued, Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1991, and reprinted again in 2012. ISBN 978-0-486-26885-9.
• Lasocki, David (2001). "Recorder". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.23022. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription required)
• Praetorius, Michael. 1619a. Syntagmatis Musici Michaelis Praetorii C. Tomus Secundus De Organographia. Wolfenbüttel: Elias Holwein, in Verlegung des Autoris.
• Praetorius, Michael. 1619b. Syntagmatis Musici Michaelis Praetorii C. Tomus Tertius. Wolfenbüttel: Elias Holwein.
• Sachs, Curt. 1913. Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamte Instrumentengebiet. Berlin: Julius Bard.

External links

• "How to play all the notes on the recorder" by Sarah Jeffery on YouTube

• Baroque instruments
• Early musical instruments
• Internal fipple flutes
• Recorders (musical instruments)