Tenor recorder

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With the revival of the recorder by Arnold Dolmetsch , another tenor recorder was constructed in C , which in its external shape and according to some construction criteria corresponded to baroque instruments. With the treble recorder in F, the bass recorder in F and the soprano recorder in C, it completes the recorder family. Its range is c 1 −d 3 (g 3 ).

The renaissance type

Regarding the Renaissance type, the tenor recorder is well documented by theorists ( Sebastian Virdung , Michael Praetorius ) and by preserved museum instruments ( Vienna Hofburg - Germanisches Nationalmuseum ). It is used in the recorder consort for the middle voices, but can also be used as a treble instrument in an 8-foot position.

The alto recorder in F, which has not been theoretically proven but can be used in early baroque music, appears as an alternative as a treble instrument for higher recorder parts in order not to overstrain the height of the instrument. The use of the tenor recorder in the Middle Ages is also not documented, but is considered likely.

The baroque type

In the Baroque age, higher instruments of the recorder family than solo and orchestral instruments were common, but tenor recorders were also built in Baroque form. The so-called “voice flute”, a tenor recorder in D, has the advantage that it can be used to play transverse flute literature in the original key, as its range is similar to the baroque transverse flute.

The tenor recorder as a solo instrument

Michael Praetorius describes recorders as four-legged instruments that sound an octave higher than notated. This statement is in need of interpretation and means that in connection with recorders, a standard sound of any kind is set only one octave higher. In terms of pitch, the result is a special sound that deviates from the norm. So if you replace an oboe with a tenor recorder, if possible, this not only becomes a treble instrument, but the timbre changes. Occasionally the tone of the tenor recorder is qualified as "somewhat dull", which the lovers of the instrument deny.

The tenor recorder is a little less agile than treble instruments of the same size. The same applies in particular to the smaller recorders, which is why the soprano and alto recorder have become a concert or solo instrument, while a solo tenor recorder is reserved for connoisseurs and players with large hands.

The modern tenor recorder

The tenor recorder forms the third part in the recorder choir or quartet. The recorder quartet cannot be derived from historical forms, rather from the timeless chorus of human voices. Recorder quartets in tone are becoming more and more popular, with the tenor recorder becoming a soprano. There are also bass, large bass and sub-bass recorders. There is no historical evidence for this either. Occasionally, quartets of the sizes alto, tenor, bass and great bass can be deduced from the scores. Here the tenor recorder takes over the second part.

In the 20th century, recorder makers were looking for new designs that would give the instrument more sonority, dynamism and a larger range. In the field of tenor recorders, first of all, the Dutch recorder maker Maarten Helder should be mentioned, who broke new ground with his purely overblowing tenor recorder. The instrument is constructed according to the principle of harmonic recorders with purely tuning overtones. This recorder is now sold, among others, by the companies Mollenhauer in Fulda and Moeck in Celle, also in old versions.

The French recorder maker Philippe Bolton made another attempt at developing the tenor recorder with the modern tenor recorder . It is a traditionally designed tenor recorder, which is provided with a base flap for the blow-out opening. This extends their tonal range into the third octave, especially in the treble, and promotes the generation of multiple sounds. A variant of this tenor recorder is the electroacoustic recorder , on the head of which a microphone is attached to a hole. This makes it possible to pick up the tone with a special strange sound. The usual miking in the room would sound much more natural, however. The sound is passed on via a controllable microphone preamplifier, for example to an amplifier. The result is a dynamically raised tone that blends in better with a mixed ensemble. It is possible that this opens up considerable potential for further electronic processing of the sound, which interpreters and composers can still discover.

Other recorder types

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erich Valentin: Handbuch der Musikinstrumentenkunde. Bosse, Regensburg 1980, ISBN 3-7649-2003-3 , p. 194.
  2. ^ The music in past and present , Bärenreiter, Kassel 1955, ISBN 3-7618-5913-9 , p. 339.