Tenor recorder

Because of its larger size, many tenors have keys to make it easier to play the lowest C and C♯, and occasionally D and D♯.

[1] In the Baroque there was a notable lack of the tenor recorder in C,[citation needed] which featured in consort music of the Renaissance, and which forms an important part of the modern recorder playing movement.

[citation needed] Instead there existed an alto recorder in D, or "Voiceflute", which was said to be the instrument closest in character to the human voice.

[citation needed] In the 18th century, in German-speaking countries, the tenor recorder was named Quartflöte (fourth flute), after the interval it forms below the ordinary recorder (alto) in F. Confusingly, the same name was used for the soprano recorder in C, apparently because it forms the same interval above the alto in G. At the same time, the English and French equivalents, "fourth flute" and "flute du quatre", meant a recorder a fourth higher than the alto in F—that is, an instrument with B♭ as its lowest note.

[citation needed] Additionally the tenor recorder has been included in many contemporary ensemble works, such as Hindemith: Abendkonzert aus Plöner Musiktag for SAT ensemble, and the "Music for Recorders" as edited by Benjamin Britten,[full citation needed] among other contemporary works.