Alto Recorder

Joseph Bradbury British

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684

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.

Alto Recorder, Joseph Bradbury (Stapleford / Hertfordshire, England ca. 1670–early 18th century), Wood, ivory, British

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Alto Recorder, Joseph Bradbury (Stapleford / Hertfordshire, England ca. 1670–early 18th century), Wood, ivory, British
Alto Recorder, Joseph Bradbury (Stapleford / Hertfordshire, England ca. 1670–early 18th century), Wood, ivory, British

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