"WHY EVERY KID IN AMERICA LEARNS TO PLAY THE RECORDER"

"In modern musical culture, the recorder has two very distinct purposes: as a teaching aid and as a revival instrument. “The Baroque era was kind of the golden age of the recorder; Bach wrote many many pieces, Vivaldi, all the big guys,” says Burns. It was not a solo instrument, but usually used with many other recorders of varying sizes. Its heyday was short-lived, though. The transverse flute (which we would recognize today as the “normal flute”) arrived from Asia in the 14th century and steadily supplanted the recorder until it essentially replaced it by the mid-19th century. “You don't find it too much in a modern orchestra after 1850,” says Burns."

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-every-kid-in-america-learns-to-play-the-recorder