Editing Recorder (musical instrument) (section)

===== Surviving instruments =====
Far more recorders survive from the Renaissance than from the Middle Ages. Most of the surviving instruments from the period have a wide, cylindrical bore from the blockline to the uppermost fingerhole, an inverted conical portion down to around the lowest finger hole (the "choke"), then a slight flare to the bell. Externally, they have a curved shape similar to the bore, with a profile like a stretched hourglass. Their sound is warm, rich in harmonics, and somewhat introverted.<ref name=":7" /> Surviving consorts of this type, identified by their makers marks, include those marked "HIER S•" or "HIE•S" found in Vienna, Sibiu and Verona; and those marked with variations on a rabbit's footprint, designated "!!" by Adrian Brown, which are dispersed among various museums. The pitch of these recorders is often generally grouped around A&nbsp;=&nbsp;466&nbsp;Hz, however little pitch standardisation existed in the period. This type of recorder is described by Praetorius in ''De Organographia'' (1619). A surviving consort by "!!" follows the exact size configuration suggested by Praetorius: stacked fifths up from the basset in F<sub>3</sub>, and down a fifth then a fourth to bass in B{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub> and great bass in F<sub>2</sub>. Instruments marked "HIER S•" or "HIE•S" are in stacked fifths from great bass in F<sub>2</sub> to soprano in E<sub>5</sub>.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Renaissance recorder makers|url = http://www.adrianbrown.org/recorder_types/rrm.html|website = www.adrianbrown.org|access-date = 10 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161008004008/http://www.adrianbrown.org/recorder_types/rrm.html|archive-date = 8 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of these instruments are pitched around A&nbsp;=&nbsp;440&nbsp;Hz or A&nbsp;=&nbsp;466&nbsp;Hz, although pitch varied regionally and between consorts.

The range of this type is normally an octave plus a minor 7th, but as remarked by Praetorius (1619) and demonstrated in the fingering tables of Ganassi's ''Fontegara'' (1535),<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego|Sylvestro di Ganassi dal Fontego]], ''Opera Intitula Fontegara, Laquale isegna a sonare di flauto cho tutta l'arte opportuna a esso istrumento massime il diminuire ilquale sara utile ad ogni istrumeno di fiato et chorde et anchora a chi si dileta di canto'' (Impressum Venetiis: per syluestro di ganassi dal fontego Sonator dalla illustrissima signoria di Venetia hautor pprio., 1535). Facsimile reprint, Collezione di trattati e musiche antiche edite in fac-simile ([Milan]: Bollettino bibliografico musicale, 1934). Facsimile reprint of the 1542 edition, Bibliotheca musica Bononiensis 2:18 (Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1969; reprinted 1980 and 2002). Facsimile reprint, edited by Luca de Paolis, Prattica di musica, Serie A 3 (Rome: Società italiana del flauto dolce: Hortus Musicus, 1991).{{Page needed|date=March 2014}}<!--In particular, a page reference is needed for the claim that Ganassi says (without qualification) that the recorder in his day had a range of two octaves and a sixth.--></ref> experienced players on particular instruments were capable of playing up to a fourth or even a seventh higher (see [[#Documentary evidence: treatises]]). Their range is more suitable for the performance of vocal music, rather than purely instrumental music. This type is the recorder typically referred to as the "normal" Renaissance recorder, however this modern appellation does not fully capture the heterogeneity of instruments of the sixteenth century.

Another surviving Renaissance type has a narrow cylindrical bore and cylindrical profile like the medieval exemplars but a choke at the last hole. The earliest surviving recorders of this type were made by the Rafi family, instrument makers active in Lyons in Southern France in the early sixteenth century. Two recorders marked "C.RAFI" were acquired by the Accademia Filarmonica, Bologna in 1546, where they remain today. A consort of recorders or similar make, marked "P.GRE/C/E", was donated to the Accademia in 1675, expanding the pair marked "C.RAFI". Other recorders by the Rafi family survive in Northern Europe, notably a pair in Brussels. It is possible that Grece worked in the Rafi workshop, or was a member of the Rafi family. The pitch of the Rafi/Grece instruments is around A&nbsp;=&nbsp;440&nbsp;Hz. They have a relatively quiet sound with good pitch stability favouring dynamic expression.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Recorder Home Page Databases|url = http://www.recorderhomepage.net/databases/Historic_Makerslist.php?start=41|website = www.recorderhomepage.net|access-date = 10 February 2016|archive-date = 17 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160217013959/http://www.recorderhomepage.net/databases/Historic_Makerslist.php?start=41|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Recorder Home Page Databases|url = http://www.recorderhomepage.net/databases/Historic_Instrumentslist.php?x_Maker_Abbreviation=Rafi&z_Maker_Abbreviation=LIKE&cmd=search|website = www.recorderhomepage.net|access-date = 10 February 2016|archive-date = 17 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160217013738/http://www.recorderhomepage.net/databases/Historic_Instrumentslist.php?x_Maker_Abbreviation=Rafi&z_Maker_Abbreviation=LIKE&cmd=search|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Recorder Home Page Databases|url = http://www.recorderhomepage.net/databases/Historic_Makersview.php?showdetail=&Makers_Number=27|website = www.recorderhomepage.net|access-date = 10 February 2016|archive-date = 17 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160217030024/http://www.recorderhomepage.net/databases/Historic_Makersview.php?showdetail=&Makers_Number=27|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In 1556, French author [[Philibert Jambe de Fer]] gave a set of fingerings for hybrid instruments such as the Rafi and Grece instruments that give a range of two octaves. Here, the 15th was now produced, as on most later recorders, as a variant of the 14th instead of as the fourth harmonic of the tonic, as in Ganassi's tables.