Alto Recorder

Joseph Bradbury

ca. 1700 · Wood, ivory · Musical Instruments

Recorders were popular with both professional and aristocratic amateur players during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Baroque recorders, like the alto seen here, were constructed of three detachable joints and had a brighter and more colorful sound than the Renaissance instruments. When enthusiasm for consort playing faded, soprano and alto recorders flourished as solo instruments until the demand for greater volume and expressivity led to a decline in popularity at the end of the eighteenth century.

Artist

Joseph Bradbury

Date

ca. 1700

Medium

Wood, ivory

Culture

British

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Purchase, Funds from various donors and Rogers Fund, 1976