I started my journey away from recorders with a foray into ocarinas, and how I got there is a bit of a story in itself.
I was in Bar Harbor, doing my annual post tourist season shopping back in 1998 or so, and went into a shop where I found a raku ceramic transverse flute that was GORGEOUS, and on sale for 60% off. I was able to get a tune out of it, so I merrily, delightedly, put it aside for purchase. However, another shopper, from quite a distance, RAVED over the flute and wanted one for her daughter in Colorado. The shopowner said that it was the last one, so I did one of those random acts of kindness and let HER buy the flute instead, figuring I’d get one the next year.
The next year rolled around, and the shopowner remembered me from the previous year, but told me that they were no longer selling that artisan’s flute! I was moderately saddened, but I was told there was an ocarina by the same artist. And I bought it, learned to play it, then got another ocarina a year later.
Anyway, the ocarina led back to transverse flutes, and the flutes led to whistles (I never did get proficient on flutes). And at the Christmas Crafts show in Hartford last weekend, I met the artisan himself. I did manage to talk myself out of buying a flute.
However, I got his website, and if you’re a collector of Beautiful Musical Instruments, you may want to take a look at these: