Yamaha YRT-61 M Tenor Recorder

This hand-made tenor recorder is expensive, but is a thing of beauty and produces an amazingly mellow tone.

This tenor recorder is a professional instrument, made of stained maple and is irresistibly beautiful to behold. It is astonishingly light in the hand and is expertly constructed. It comes in three parts, which fit snugly together, and is provided with a hard case also containing some cork grease and a cleaning rod. You will need to supply your own absorbent cloth or recorder mop, and also recorder oil for periodic use.

This is a perfect instrument for the tenor voice in our recorder consort. The tone is mellow but clear and it blends extremely well with the other instruments. In use, you do have to play it positively, though. It is at modern concert pitch (440 Hz) but it needs reasonably politive breath pressure to achieve this. Consequently it's this instrument against which we tune the rest of the consort. Another thing to bear in mind is just how sensitive wooden recorders are to ambient temperature - if you play in an environment where the temperature is changing, these things change pitch rapidly. This can make outdoor playing particularly challenging.

The lowest notes are actuated via a split rocker key - one half produces low C#, and the other depresses both pads to produce low C. These are easily in reach and both notes are produced clearly. In use, the instrument is very responsive and its intonation clear but never harsh, even in the high register. The high notes are easily achieved and the thumb-pinch position is straightforward. The only thing that was tricky to start with was the position of the second hole from the bottom, well offset from the other finger holes, so right-hand positioning took a bit of getting used to, and positioning of the foot joint also needs some trial and error before you get comfortable.

This instrument is surprisingly light, but make sure you support it well. It will not take kindly to being dropped, and it's an expensive thing to repair or replace.

Overall, a beautiful and responsive instrument. If you're in the market for a professional tenor recorder pitched at modern concert pitch, you can't go wrong with this one.

Cet instrument est d'une finition parfaite, aucun défaut de fabrication. Le son est tout de suite puissant, riche, équilibré, juste à toutes les octaves jusqu'aux extrêmes aigus. Un timbre à la fois simple et coloré, sans souffle d'air. Requiert un minimum d'air pour sonner, mais de manière raisonnable. Deux défauts à note: l'absence de support de pouce, ce qui est dommageable, malgré la grande légèreté de l'instrument; le bruit des clés, qui est beaucoup trop fort et parasite le son. Mais une fois la solution trouvée (utilisation du support de pouce fourni avec mon autre ténor Yamaha plastique), on prend un immense plaisir à jouer cet instrument dans tous les répertoires. L'emballage est parfaitement sécuritaire, robuste, élégant et léger. Je recommande sans hésiter!