Recorder

The History of the Recorder
The recorder is a member of the fipple flute family of instruments. Fipple flutes are wind instruments with a fipple, or block in the blowing end (hence its German name block flute). The block creates a narrow windway which channels a sharp stream of air into the bore and helps give the recorder its characteristic clear, reedy sound. Other members of the fipple flute family include the flageolet, whistle, and three holed tabor pipe.
Very Early Recorders
Whistle-type instruments have been made for thousands of years, as evidenced by an instrument made from a sheep bone, which was found in an Iron Age tomb in England. However, most of these early instruments were not recorders in the sense that we think of them (that is, an instrument with eight finger holes, seven at the front and one at the back). The date at which the first true recorders came into existence in Europe has been the subject of heated academic debate. It was probably in the mediaeval period about 600-700 years ago, but even that is open to conjecture, as no very early instruments survive intact. Many so-called "recorders" seen in paintings cannot be identified as such with 100% certainty, and even the most famous surviving example of an early recorder, which was found in a moat in Dordrecht, Holland in 1940, is sadly fragmented. The Dordrecht recorder has been dated to the early 15th century (the house where it was found was abandoned in 1418); however, in the absence of anything to compare it with, it is impossible to tell whether it was at all representative of other instruments made during this period.
Of course, this is all bad news for students of mediaeval music. While attempts have been made to make copies of so-called "mediaeval recorders" (including recorders with windcaps like crumhorns!), none of these instruments can truly be called authentic: there simply isn't any hard evidence as to what mediaeval recorders sounded like. The best we can say is that they were probably simple instruments with a strong tone and small range of notes. Renaissance Recorders The earliest recorders that we have hard evidence for -- i.e. intact surviving instruments -- date from the late Renaissance period (16th century). These instruments can be and are satisfactorily reconstructed.
Renaissance recorders often come as a bit of a shock to people who are accustomed to the softer, more refined sound of the usual Baroque instruments. Renaissance recorders are very much consort instruments, and have a much louder, more robust sound, especially in the lower register. They also sound somehow "woodier" than Baroque instruments. The payoff for the volume and the strength in the lower notes is a smaller range: most Renaissance recorders have a range of an octave and a sixth, as opposed to a bit over two octaves for a Baroque recorder. (In practical terms this is not usually a problem, as consort music of the Renaissance period, being written for the instruments then available, is unlikely to require a larger range.)
Renaissance recorders have a large bore, much bigger than that found in Baroque recorders. Often referred to as cylindrical, it is actually very slightly tapered. Renaissance instruments feature a much plainer profile than most people are used to, with almost no decorative carving. The original instruments were made in one piece, but modern copies are usually made in two pieces for convenience, often joined by a brass or wooden ring at the base of the head joint. Interestingly, there was no hard and fast rule in Renaissance times as to which hand went "on top": some surviving instruments have two bottom holes, one for left and the other for right handed musicians. The unused hole was filled with wax to seal it off according to the musician's preference.
Baroque Recorders
These are the recorders all of us are used to: the highly turned, sophisticated "flutes" of the Baroque period. In the 17th century the recorder underwent a period of transition: the bore became more sharply conical (tapering out from bottom to top), and makers started striving for a larger range and a more refined, flexible sound which would be suitable for playing solos. (Much of the great solo recorder repertoire dates from this period.) Recorders were also used in orchestral music at this time.
In the early 18th century, the transverse flute (traverso) started gaining in popularity. The biggest disadvantage of the recorder is the fact that it is a very soft instrument; transverse flutes were louder and had a bigger range, making them more suitable for the orchestral music then beginning to come into vogue. The recorder was gradually played less and less until it almost disappeared; by the 19th century it was played rarely, and then mostly as an historical curiosity. The art of making recorders virtually disappeared (and, as anyone who has ever tried to make one can attest, they are deceptively sophisticated instruments). The instrument did not come back into fashion until the early music revival of the late 19th and early 20th century, when Arnold Dolmetsch virtually had to reinvent the wheel.
Typical examples of Baroque style recorders made today are the Moeck Rottenburgh and the Mollenhauer Denner ranges.
The Recorder Today
In the late twentieth century, the recorder is more popular than at any other time of its existence. Millions of instruments are manufactured annually, and there is a large and imaginative modern repertoire. Recorders are made after historical models, and radical advances by makers are opening up new possibilities for the instrument.