What is the difference between Renaissance and Baroque recorders, and why are they different?
“The difference in tonal qualities between the two styles of recorders is attributable to their differing characteristic bore and voicing designs….[‘Renaissance’ music] is predominantly …polyphonic choral music [which] requires the vocalist to control dynamics independently of tessitura (i.e., loud and soft passages can occur anywhere in the vocal range)….The Renaissance recorder works well within this context, since the low range of the instrument is roughly equal in strength to the high range….The primary feature in the transition from Renaissance to Baroque musical style is the change from independent polyphony to a new format: a soloist or small ensemble accompanied by a bass instrument and a chordal instrument playing together from a bass line…In keeping with this, the design of the Baroque recorder gives it an extended upper register with climactic high notes and less powerful low notes.” Read the full text of Philip Levin’s Q&A answer (Excerpted with permission from Am
