You're right about the "thousands of years", Bob. I once read a book called "Secrets of the Ice Age" that showed a simple whistle from a Neanderthal occupation layer in a cave.

As for the name recorder meaning an instrument to teach birds, that's misleading. The recorder is called a blockflute in German and a flute a bec in French. It was widely played.

As for Blackcatter's question, "Was a recorder a "people's" instrument? Would it be something played around the hearth in the average Irish home?" The answer is, probably not. But for music history purposes, we should be asking what musicians played, whether professional or amateur.

We should also investigate whether the instruments were made better in the days of yore.

Meanwhile, I have another question - do want to play the gig and bring joy to the listeners or not? And do you want to do it without having to worry that your instrument will let you down? Do you have limited practice time? If so, then you should probably not rely on   the whistle.