Malvern based recorder maker Tim Cranmore together with the Cranmore Consort present a tour of the history of the recorder with musical examples.

The recorder has a long history, going back to the 12th century when the first images appear, and the 13th century in archaeology, to the present day where it is firmly established as an educational and also a serious contemporary instrument. A little known area was during the 20th century when the recorder was used in Europe as a standard educational instrument during the 1930s, and was also re-discovered in the context of the music of the 17th to 18th century that was being extensively researched at the time. Nowadays, the recorder is played by probably as many people as sing in amateur choirs, and gives a lot of pleasure in the musical life of the world. We will be playing music from the mediaeval period to the 20th century, to show the greatest variety where the recorder can be used, especially in music not originally written for it.