The Baroque era.

During the first quarter of the seventeenth century, the style we know as "Baroque" evolved and the practice of consort playing died out and the recorder became a solo instrument. A new musical form, the sonata, developed at about the same time and provided a showcase for players' virtuosity.

Towards the end of the seventeenth century, major design changes were made to a number of woodwind instruments, including the recorder, by members of a French family of woodwind instrument makers, the Hotteterres. These changes, mainly to the bore and windway, resulted in an instrument better suited to solo performance than the old straight bore rennaissance style recorder. This was the instrument for which Bach, Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi, among others, wrote much fine music, including a large collection of sonatas.

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