I have to report that I was doing several tracks using another library's recorders, which were not bad, but when I switched to the new VSL recorders it blew me away.  Suddenly, the merely passable line was a fabulous espressivo musical sound.  The wonderful playing on this is truly inspiring, and I had to add more recorder parts as a result! 

The soprano has an amazing high register, the alto and tenor a warm rich sound, and the bass is a deep mysterious timbre I've never heard before, reminding me of the great VSL bass flute.  These can be used not only in baroque or medieval period sound, but also for really evocative film scoring.   And the crossfading from vibrato to non vibrato, which Herb suggested to me, is absolutely perfect and adds an expressive touch.  This is another great example of the artistic sound that VSL has created over and over again. 

You place a vibrato in one slot, a non-vibrato in the next one horizontally, enable the crossfade "X" then set in the control map area a controller for slot crossfade.  A perfect crossfade without phasing can be done on these instruments.  It adds a subtle but very natural expression.

Hi

Maybe the piccolo could be a replacement?

It also comes with lyric legatos...

Beat

Hallo Holgermeister

(Hoffe dein Beitrag sei nicht ganz so ernst gemeint...)

Yes, unfortunately it was and still is a "must" for thousands of children.

I also had to learn this instrument before my father decided that it's time for the violin when I was 12.

Later on I was happy that I played the Recorder once because I learnd to play the Saxophone.

It has nearly the same finger placing of a recorder...

Beside its name "Speuzchnebel" (= spit stick) in my language it can give an orchestra some freshness...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN-K2avGLgc  (hope you are able to see the youtube video within your country)

Beat

Holgmeister:

That post - considering the  inspiring musicality of the virtuosic performer who recorded these samples - is extremely irritating.

I'm surprised you didn't add  "Why oh why do we have to have these violins in the orchestra?  I can't stand the way those elementary students screech on them." That would make the same sense as your post. 

I'm sure 20 years of therapy will fix you right up!

Here is a piece for the VSL recorders -

I was traveling through a forest near Mount Shasta California, and wanted to compose something for it.  It was a beautiful tranquil place, with very old trees in vast, ancient woods that surrounded the road in all directions.  This place is very tranquil and quiet. So I thought of using the Mystic Spaces which is an incredibly beautiful reverb, and these wonderful recorders to try and get that feeling of the forest echoes and sounds of nature coming out of the distance.   

http://www.vsl.co.at/Player2.aspx?Lang=1&DemoID=5995

Thankfully the only positive aspect of the Greek musical education system is that it doesn't traumatize schoolchildren by excessive recorder practice. Actually there is no instrumental practice whatsoever.... So I had to buy a recorder for myself whne I was little, and tinker with it. I must say I got bored of it pretty quickly.

Be that as it may, in small doses it is a very welcome and evocative instrument - like in this track. I don't think I have ever encountered romantic, or 20th century-sequenza-like virtuosic writng for this instrument. Perhaps happily. It does seem however that the recorder is inextricably linked with, and shackled by Renaissance, or Renaissance-like aesthetics, probably due to its stubborn stereotypical use in such, as well as Medieval movies' soundtracks. It is a pity, since the instrument family seems to be able to carry melodies and emotions beyond what simple modal writing can offer.

I enjoyed this highly reverberated track, the recorder lending itself very aptly to William's favourite, sorrowful kind of melodic writing, and I most enjoyed the Herrmannesque harp writing towards the end.

Enjoyed that william as did guy's double concertino for flutes. Both very sensous and educational. ∞

Thanks Philippe, Dar, Errikos and Paul.   All fine members of various warring barbarian tribes.    Of course Errikos woud insist that the Franconian (Philippe), the Angle (Paul) and the Emorite (Dar) were the barbarians, gibbering "Bar-Bar-Bar-Bar.." incomprehensibly to his sarcastic apprehension.  But the debased Modernist-Spartan has to admit that he is just as warlike as any of his detested barbarian New-Horde-members.