Recorders have been made and played for hundreds of years. However it is only comparatively recently that we have been able to understand some of the details of how recorders work.
This book offers the most complete description so far of the physical processes which determine the recorder's sound. The formation of the jet in the windway, the shape of the bore, the placing of the fingerholes, the voicing, the sound generation mechanism and other contributing factors are considered in detail, together with their interactions. The results are supported by literature references, new measurements and mathematical models.
An important part of the book takes the results of the physical investigations and shows their importance in understanding the historical development of the recorder and various aspects of its design and performance technique.
In addition, the book seeks to offer a plausible solution to one of the eighteenth century's musical puzzles: the identity of the "fiauti d'echo" in JS Bach's fourth Brandenburg concerto.
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