Pictured above are the various types of recorder that the HRS play. Listed from
left to right these are...
Tenor
Click on the picture of the instrument or select from the above list for more information for more detailed information.
The recorders pictured cover more than 5 octaves, and represent most of the
recorder family.
There is, incredibly, a recorder larger than the ContraBass - the elusive
Sub-ContraBass in C, these are a recent addition to the family, and as yet
music written or arranged for recorder orchestra does not typically come with a
sub-contrabass part, although any sub-contrabass wners are most welcome to join
our ranks!!!
Dolmetsch are planning to produce a
sub-sub-contrabass in F (also called an octo-contrabass) as part of their
millenium recorders project, such an instrument will have a pipe almost 12 feet
long and will have a lowest note with a frequency of 45Hz, just one semitone
above the lowest note on a double bass!
Recorders are also available in different pitches - either in a different key
(i.e. Basses and Trebles in Eb & G and Tenors and Descants in D) or tuned
to baroque pitch (instruments in C & F but tuned to A=415Hz instead of
A=440Hz.) Generally these variations are not used within recorder
orchestras.
Click Here to listen to samples of each member of the recorder family especially recorded for this website!
Click Here to see how the recorder orchestra's musical range compares to other orchestral instruments.
