Bass Recorder
Johann Schell German
Resting near the music book in La Hyre’s Allegory of Music is an instrument with a metal windpipe that would have been attached to a mouthpiece. It is either a double-reed instrument such as a shawm or a bass recorder like this example by Johann Schell. The recorder is a flute with a whistle mouthpiece and ranges in size from soprano to bass. Soprano recorders were used as solo instruments,while bass recorders were typically part of recorder ensembles.