Publisher's Synopsis
In this unprecedented book, David Lasocki presents copious original material about the recorder and other members of the flute family from the Middle Ages to the early Classical period. The material is taken from previously unexplored or neglected sources: inventories of instrument collections, inventories and wills of musicians and instrument makers, records of purchases and sales, and newspaper advertisements. It shows the variety of people who were involved with the instruments over four and a half centuries; what types, sizes, and quantities of instruments people owned; what people were buying and selling; and what the instruments were called. A much fuller picture therefore emerges of the history of these instruments throughout Europe and beyond. The sources are presented in their original language and spelling, together with English translations of all foreign-language material.
