Story of the Flute
BY
PL MaCAULAY FiTZGlBBON,
M.A., SEN. MOD. (T.C.D.),
AUTHOR OF
'the early ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH POETS AND THEIR WORKS." |{f^
London
The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
IQ14
7 r
'■ ^-^ A
Preface.
This volume is the result of nearly forty years' loving study of the Flute and everything connected with it. In addition to the knowledge acquired by many years of orchestral and chamber music play- ing, hundreds of volumes have been consulted in the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris, the British Museum, the Bodleian, Dublin University, and other Public Libraries.
Whilst availing myself freely of the labours of my predecessors in the same field, I have verified their statements as far as possible. I desire to thank the various flautists, European and American, who have supplied me with much valuable information.
In conclusion, I pray my readers to excuse any slips I may have inadvertently made; wishing them (in the words of old Quarles) "as much pleasure in the reading as I had in the writing."
H. MACAULAY FITZGIBBON.
Greystones,
November^ iQij-
79362
Contents.
PAGE
Explanation of Signs used xii
Addenda and Corrigenda xii
List of Illustrations - - - - - - - xiii
List of Musical Examples xv
CHAPTER L
flutes of the ancients.
Antiquity of the flute — Classic legends — Egyptian origin — The Arab "Nay" — Development — The Fipple — Fingerhoies — Double flutes — Popularity amongst the ancients — Ancient players of note — Their position and costume - - - I
CHAPTER IL
flute-a-bec and recorder.
Beaked flutes — Recorders — Double and triple recorders — Popu- larity—Gradual decline — Flageolet and other early pipes - i6
CHAPTER UL transverse flute.
Section I. — Was it known to the Greeks and Romans? — The Chinese — India — Early representations and references — The Schweitzerpfeiff" — Virdung — Agricola — Prsetorius — Mer- senne's description — In England 23
Section II. — Flutes with keys — The D-J key — Hotteterre — The conical bore — Structure of early flutes — Tuning slides — Quantz's inventions — The low C keys — Further keys added — Tromlitz's inventions — Open keys — The eight-keyed flute — Capeller and Nolan's keys - - - - • '34
vii
Contents
PAGE
CHAPTER IV.
BOHM AND GORDON.
Biographical — Revolution in the flute — Gordon — His flutes — Bohm — His flutes of 1831, 1832, and 1847 — His publica- tions— As a player — His compositions — Bohm's centenary — The controversy — Priority of inventions — Coche's attack — Clinton's views — Revival of the controversy — Rockstro's attack — Summary - - 47
CHAPTER V.
FLUTE AFTER BOHM.
Various patentees — Coche and Buffet — Ward — The Dorus key — Siccama — Briccialdi's lever — Carte's flutes — Clinton — Pratten — Rockstro—Radclifl— Other minor "improvers" - - 65
CHAPTER VI.
MILITARY FIFE.
Early history, examjiles, and references — Arbeau's description — Introduced into the French army — Into the English army- Duties of military fifers — Their position — Temporary disuse — Re-instatement — The true fife— In opera - - - ■ 7^
CHAPTER VII.
PICCOLO: F FLUTE.
Piccolo — Orchestral use — Characteristics — Berlioz on its abuse — Its various registers — As used by great composers — Two piccolos —With cymbals, bells, etc. — As a solo instrument — Military varieties — The F flute 80
viii
Contents
PAGE
CHAPTER VIII.
ALTO AND BASS FLUTES.
The true bass flute — Early examples — Alto flutes — Modern ex- amples— The Flute d'Amour — Recent revival - - - 87
CHAPTER IX.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLUTE.
Popularity of the flute — Its tone — Various registers — Its agility — Harmonics — Double-tongueing — The glide — Vibrato effect — Shakes and turns — Tremolo — Best keys — Hygienic aspect - 92
CHAPTER X.
MUSIC FOR THE FLUTE.
Early composers — Loeillet — Mercy — Blavet — Quantz — Classical composers — F"lautist composers — Kuhlau — His successors — Good flute music — Taste of the public — Airs with variations — Doppler — Terschak — Modern school of flute composers — Flute and harp or guitar — Flute and voice - - - - 100
CHAPTER XI.
FLUTE IN THE ORCHESTRA.
Introduction of the flute into the orchestra — The flute and piccolo as used by the great composers — Bach — His obligatos — Handel — His flauto-piccolo — Flute and organ — Gluck — Haydn — The Creation — Symphonies — Mozart — Disliked the flute — Symphonies — Serenades — Operas — Concertos — Beet- hoven— His famous flute passages — Weber — Meyerbeer — Piccolo passages — Italian operatic composers — IVilliavi Tell overture — Mendelssohn — Midsuvinier Night's Dream — Symphonies — Oratorios — Schubert — Schumann — Use by modern composers — Berlioz — Flute and harp — Brahms — Dvorak — The Spectre's Bride — Cadenzas — Grieg — Bizet's
ix
Contents
Carmen — Sullivan — The Golden Legend — Coleridge-Taylor — Wagner — Tschaikowsky — R. Strauss — Passages of extreme difficulty - - - -H5
CHAPTER XII.
FLUTE IN CHAMBER MUSIC.
"The neglected wind" — Chamber pieces by great composers — Spohr's Nonett — Pieces for wind and pianoforte — For wind and strings — For wind alone — Larger combinations — For flutes alone 180
CHAPTER XIII.
FAMOUS FLAUTISTS.
Section I. — Foreign players — Quantz— Frederick the Great — Royal flautists — Early French players — Hugoi — Berbiguier — Tulou — Drouet — Furstenau — Doppler — Dorus — Demers- seman — Ciardi — Briccialdi — Ribas — Terschak — Altes — Taffanel 1S6
Slction II. — British players — F'arly performers — Ashe — Charles Nicholson — Richardson — Clinton — Pratten — B. Wells — Henry Nicholson — Svendsen — Principal living flautists - 206
CHAPTER XIV.
BRITISH AND FOREIGN STYLES COMPARED.
Statistics — Style of performance — English, French, Italian, Ger- man— Bbhm's opinion — Foreign players of note - - - 216
CHAPTER XV.
WOMAN AND THE FLUTE.
Suitability — Female players in classic times — More recent flautistes — English flautistes of to-day — American flautistes — P^emale composers for the flute 220
Contents
CHAPTER XVI.
FLUTE IN AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA.
Early notices and players — Later players of foreign origin — Ernst — Introduction of the Bohm flute — Native American players — Kyle — Lemmone 225
CHAPTER XVH.
FLUTE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE — POET FLAUTISTS.
Early English references — Chaucer — Flute and fife in Shake- speare— In the early dramatists — In the poets — Relerences to the qualities of the flute — Epithets applied to it — Cowper — Longfellow — Other poets — Prose references — In modern novelists — Dickens — A weird flute story — Flute in American authors — Sidney Lanier — Oiher literary flautists — Legends 230
CHAPTER XVHI.
CURIOSITIES OF THE FLUTE.
P"lutes of curious materials — Walking-stick flutes — Ornamented flutes — Bohm's crutch — Ward's terminator — Various other inventions — The Giorgi flute — Automaton players— Dulon, the blind flautist — Rebsomen, the one-armed flautist — Hallet, the youthful prodigy — How to silence a flautist - - - 252
CHAPTER XIX.
FLUTES OF ORIENTAL AND SAVAGE NATIONS.
Oriental flutes — Chinese — Japanese — Effect of the flute on animals — Indian flutes — Nose-flutes — South American flutes — The love flute — Ancient prejudices — The Fathers and the Puritans 262
Appendix I. — Early Instruction Books for Transverse Flute ■ 275
,, II. — Wooden and Metal Flutes 278
,, III. — Bibliography of the Flute 281
Index 28:;
EXPLANATION OF SIGNS USED.
O = an open hole; ^- = a closed hole.
The notes of the various octaves are expressed in the text thus: those of the first octave from the C below the treble stave to the B on the third line, inclusive, have one stroke thus — C; those of the second octave have two strokes — e.g.^ C"; and those of the third octave have three strokes — e.g.^ C".
ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA.
Page 2. — It has been suggested that the s^xh flute r or Hmiter preceded the noun, and that it represents a Low Latin flautlare = to sound the notes fa^ ut^ la; of this there is no evidence. (See Studies, September, 1913, p. 229.)
Page 34. — The passage cited from Bacon's Sylva Sylvarmn is from c. ii., s. 116.
Page 66.— For " Ribcock " read " Ribock." Page 78. — For "James I." read "James IL" Page 103, line 9. — Strike out the reference to Mozart's Concerto.
List of Illustrations,
"The Flute Player" {Meissouier) .... Fronti Egyptian Oblique Flute-player ....
The V-notch
Double Flute-player ......
Double Flute (from Boissard's Roman Antiquities)
Double Flutes, with several bulbs
Auletes (from the Freize of the Parthenon) .
Plagiaulos, or ringed flute with projecting mouthpiece
Capistrum and Bulbed Double Flute .
Fistula Tristoma and Scale (from Kircher's Mtisiirgia Universali
Fistula Ilexastoma and Scale ,, ,, ,,
Enclosed Key on Recorders .....
Portrait of German Flute-player (from The Music Master) Early Keyless Flutes : —
Virdung's Zwerchpfeifif
Agricola's Schweitzerpfeiff .
Praetorius' Bass Querflote
Mersenne's Fistula Germanica Early Flutes with Keys : —
Hotteterre's Flute
Quantz's Flute .
Tromlitz's Five-keyed Flute
me Eight-keyed Flute
PAGE
apiece 4 7 8
9
9
II
13 14
17 17
30 30 30
List of Illustrations
Portrait of Hott&terre
Nolan's Ring-key
Gordon's Flutes
Bohnvs Flutes of 1829, 1S31, and 1S3
Siccama's Flute ....
Bohm's Flute of 1S47
Carte and Bohm, 1867 Patent Flute
Briccialdi's Pl> Lever .
Portrait of J. Mathews and his Flute ,
Bass Flutes : —
Macgregor's Bass Flute Diderot's Bass Flute . Modern Bass Flute Picture of a Flute Quartett Party (from Pioh Portraits of Famous Flautists of the Past Portraits of Famous Flautists Portraits of Famous Flautists of To-day Bohm's Crutch .... Ward's Terminator and Indicator Signer Giorgi and his Flute Heckel's Cap .... Mollenhauer's Mouthpiece . Portrait of Count Rebsomen Chinese Dragon Flute Chinese Tsche, with central mouth-hole
h)
■AGF
45 51 51 68 68 68 69 72
89 S9 S9
[81
194, 195 204 214 255 255 256 257
257 260 263 263
XIV
List of Musical Examples.
"Air de Cour," from Mersenne's Harnicnie UniverteUe
Flute solo, with bass, by Hotteterre .
Fife music from Arbeau's Orchezograpkie
Bizet, Carmen^ march for two piccolos
Berlioz, Faust, "Evocation" for three piccolo^
Beethoven, canon on the nanve Kuhlau
Peri, Eurydice, air for three flutes
Luili, Prozerpine, air for three flutes .
Each, suite in B minor. Polonaise and Eadinerie
Handel, Aci: and Galaiea, " Oh, ruddier than the chenrj
Handel, Acts and Galatea, " Hush, ye pretty warbliag
Handel, Rinaldo, cadenza for piccolo
Gluck, Orpheo ....
Gluck, Armide ....
Hadyn, Creation, " On mighty pen;
Haydn, Creation, Part IH., opening
Haydn, Military Symphony
Haydn, Twelfth Symphony
Mozart, Magic Flute overtnre
Beethoven, Fifth Svmphory
Beethoven, Pastorale Symphony
Beethoven, overture to Egmont
Beethoven, overture to Leonora, No. 3
Weber, Der Freischutz
12
^. 145-
?AC2
33
37
75
S3
84
106
116
117
I, 122
124
125 126 130 131 133
134 134 137 139 140. 141 142
^43 146, 147
List of Musical Examples
Weber, Preciosa
Weber, Oberon .
Meyerbeer, Robert le Diabie
Meyerbeer, Les Huguenots
Rossini, overture, Semiramide
Rossini, overture, William Tell
Mendelssohn, Midsunwier NiqhCs D.
Mendelssohn, St. Paul
Mendelssohn, Hymn of Praise .
Schumann, Symphony No. I, cadenza
Brahms, Req^iiem
Dvorak, The Spectre s Bride
Grieg, Peer Gynt
Bizet, Carmen ....
Sullivan, The Golden Legend
Coleridge- Taylor, Hiawatha.
Wagner, Tristan and Isolde
Wagner, Gottcrdammerung
Wagner, Siegfried
Wagner, Meister singer
Tschaikowsky, Fourth Symphony
Tscha'ikowsky, Casse Noisette Suite
Tschaikowsky, Fourth Symphony, scherzo
R. Strauss, Til Eulenspiegcl
Quantz, Triplet passage
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XVI
The Story of the Flute.
CHAPTER I.
FLUTES OF THE ANCIENTS, ^
Antiquity of the flute— Classic legends— Egyptian origin — The Arab "Nay" — Development — The Fipple — Fingerholes— Double flutes — Popularity amongst the Ancients — Ancient players of note — Their position and costume.
It Is often asserted that the flute is the oldest of all musical instruments: in one sense this is true; in another it is not accurate. It would seem that all the world over a pipe of some sort was the earliest form of musical instrument (the Antiquity primitive drum can hardly be so termed), °
and preceded the invention of any kind of stringed instrument; but what we now call a flute — i.e., a tube held parallel to the lips and blown through a hole in the upper side — is in all probability of com- paratively modern origin. The term "flute" was
^ Save where otherwise stated, the "flutes" referred to in Chaps. I. and II. were vertical pipes, and not transverse or side-blown flutes in the modern sense.
I I
Story of the Flute
formerly applied to all Instruments of the pipe or whistle class, either with or without reeds. According to Hawkins and Grassineau, the name was derived from fluta, a lamprey or small Sicilian eel, which has seven breathing--holes on each side below the eyes, like the fing-er-holes on the primitive pipe or flute. Surely it is much more probable that the eel may have been called after the instrument ! Cotgrave, in his Dictionary (1632), says, "A lamprey is sometimes called a Fleute d'Aleman, by reason of the little holes which he hath on the upper part of his body." The true origin of the name is to be sought for in the Latin flatus^ a blowing or breathing.
The origin of the primitive pipe is lost in the mists of
antiquity, and its early history is extremely difficult to
trace. The legendary date of its invention
is given in the Parian Chronicle in the
Arundelian Marbles (now in Oxford) as
1506 B.C. It was probably suggested by the whistling
of the wind over the tops of the river reeds — "there's
music in the sighing of a reed" (Byron). The classical
legend relates how
" fair trembling Syrinz fled, Arcadiajn Pan, with such a fearful dread";
and how her prayer that she should be changed by the Naiads into reeds by the river bank was granted —
*' Poor nymph — poor Pan — how he did weep to find Nought but a lovely sighing of the wind Along the reedy stream ! a half-heard strain, Full of sweet desolation— balmy pain." — Keats. 2
Classical Legends
Thinking- that they were concealing- the nymph, Pan cut the reeds, and amorously sighing over them, they gave forth musical sounds, whereupon he fashioned them into pipes of various lengths and played upon them.
Ovid assigns the invention of the flute to Minerva, who, finding herself laughed at by Juno and Venus whenever she played it,
"Flung it aside, when she her face survej'ed Distorted in a fountain as she played. Th' unlucky Marsyas found it and his fate Was one to make the bravest hesitate."
—Longfellow.
Alcibiades abandoned the flute for a like reason, saying- that a man's most intimate friends would hardly recog- nise him when playing it. Henc^ Greek sculptors never represented a player actually blowing into the flute, and the ancient players often wore veils.
To return to Pan and Marsyas. The former chal- lenged Apollo to a contest between flute and lyre (Apollo's special instrument). Midas, King of Phrygia, who acted as judge, decided in favour of Pan and his flute, and was decorated with asses' ears in conse- quence. Apollo then challenged Marsyas, a famous flute-player, whom h-e defeated, because Apollo accom- panied his lyre with his voice. Marsyas complained that this was unfair at a trial of instruments only, to which the god rejoined that Marsyas also used both his fingers and his mouth. This puzzled the judges, and another trial was ordered, at which Marsyas was again
3
Story of the Flute
defeated. Apollo, irritated at this presumption on the part of a mortal, with his own hand flayed poor Marsyas alive. This is said by Pausanias to have been a condition of the contest. Plato and other early authorities allege that Marsyas was a real person, a native of Celsence in Phryg-ia, and son of King Hyagnis, to whom Apuleius attributes the invention of the double-flute.
Several ancient writers attribute the origin of the instrument to Osiris, the Egyptian Water-god. There
seems to be no doubt that Egypt, as Kircher Egyptian asserted, was the land of its birth. Primitive rigin o f^^^gs have been found in Eq^vptian tombs Flute , , .
dating centuries before the Christian era.
Early Egyptian wall paintings depict the flute more frequently than any other instrument; a long, thin, straight pipe (called Saib, or Sebi) held obliquely and blown across the open end, which was held at an angle. (Fig. I.) In addition to the finger- holes (closed with the second joint of the fingers, as is still done in Japan and parts of Spain and Italy), the left hand was often used to vary the notes
FIG. I, •'
EGYPTIAN OBLIQUE bv closlng or partW closinq^ the lower
FLUTE-PLAYER. ' <::> i. ^ o>
end of the tube — ^just as horn-players until quite recent times used to thrust the hand up the bell. In one of the tombs in the Gizeh Pyramid [c. 2000 B.C.) a band of seven players is depicted, performing on slanting flutes of various
4
Early Egyptian Flutes
leng-ths, accompanying a soloist who is standing, the rest being either on their knees or sitting. He is apparently a noted performer, as he alone is fully clothed; possibly he is a conductor. The other players all have their lower hand on the inner side of the pipe, but his is on the outer side. In these old designs it is always the hand away from the spectator that is stretched to the end of the flute ; but though the players are very frequently represented as being left-handed, we learn from Apuleius (Afet., lib. xi. 9) that the custom was (as now) to hold the tube to the right side : " Obliquis calamus ad aurem porrectum dextram." In the reproduction of this highly interesting picture given by Engel (Mtis. lusts. ^ 13) the flutes of the three players nearest to the soloist are not at their mouths, and he suggests that the division of the players into two groups may possibly represent firsts and seconds. The flutes are very long, the players' arms being extended to their full length in order to reach the furthest hole. Mr. Flinders Petrie discovered two ancient flutes of slender make in the tomb of the Lady Maket, dating about 1450 B.C. These probably had originally reed mouthpieces, now lost, or were blown across the open top. They were encased in larger reeds to preserve them. One has four oval holes and the other three, of unequal size, getting rather larger towards the bottom. They are both about 17J inches long, and are not absolutely cylindrical, tapering slightly towards the bottom end. These Maket pipes are very interesting as being *'the oldest evidence of the world's earliest music " (Herman
5
Story of the Flute
Smith). Juba, in his Theatrical History^ describes an Egyptian obHque flute called Photinx, or the crooked flute, owing- to its being in the shape of a bull's horn. Possibly it was originally nothing else, or perhaps a cow's horn may have been added to the straight pipe. M. Gevaert, however, thinks it was a side-blown flute like ours. It is mentioned by Apuleius as used in the mysteries of Isis, and the players were consecrated to Serapis.
The Nay played by the Arabs and other kindred nations to-day (readers will recollect the Arab Nay- player in Mr. Hitchen's Barbary Sheep, per- il kt 11 petually playing the same monotonous tune) greatly resembles these early Egyptian flutes ; similar primitive instruments have been found in China, North America, Mexico, Madagascar, and Africa. The Bulgarians still use an instrument of this type called the Kaval. A remarkable feature about these ancient flutes is their small diameter as compared with their length, which would tend to evidence a knowledge of harmonics.
The words auAos, or tibia, are used very indefinitely
by classical writers to signify various kinds of pipes.
The original form of the instrument was
Development: ^ ^\^-,^\^ vertical pipe blown across the
T-. < f* top, which was open. The first step in
ringcr-noles , , . ,- t r i j
advance was the cutting or a V-shapea
notch in the edge of the open top of the pipe;
this facilitated the production of sound. (Fig. 2.)
The inventor of this device is unknown. It is found
6
Development of the Fipple
in very ancient Chinese flutes^ and is still used by the natives in Bolivia, in Uganda and the Soudan, and elsewhere. I have in my possession a flute of this kind with a very small V-notch. It is comparatively modern, and has five finger- holes in front and a thumb-hole and a double- hole at the back for the little finger for either a left or right-handed player.
Next came the idea of partly filling up or plugging the open upper end of the tube and cutting an opening with a sharp edge a little lower down, as in the ordinary whistle. The breath is thus directed in a thin stream against this lower edge. The date of this innovation cannot be ascer- tained, but it is certainly of very early origin, and was known to the Greeks. It is also met with in ancient Hindu sculptures. Bruce mentions an Abyssinian flute, called *'kwetz," with this fipple mouthpiece as being quite common in that country and much used in war: ** Its tone is not loud, but is accompanied by a kind of jar, like a broken oboe, not owing to any accidental defect, but to construction and design, as it would not be esteemed without it." Certainly there is no account- ing for tastes !
The number of finger-holes was at first two, three, or four: they were afterwards increased to six and a thumb-hole at the back. Some specimens found at Pompeii, and now in the museum at Naples, have no less than fifteen holes. They are straight tubes of ivory, and were originally fitted with tight bands of
Story of the Flute
metal (probably silver), one for each hole. These bands were each pierced with a hole to correspond with a hole in the tube, and they could be turned round so as to open or close the hole (and thus fix the mode), for which purpose they were sometimes fitted with a hook-like
IG. 3. — DOUBLE FLUTE-ri,AVKK. (I'KOM AN ETKLSCAK MURAL PAINTING.)
projection. Flutes of this description were termed "bombux"; Pausanias attributes their invention to Pronomus.
The double flute was largely used by the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and it is
Double Flutes
exists in 1300 B.C.
more frequently depicted in their works of art than the single pipe. (Fig- 3) An Egyptian mural painting (of which a copy the British Museum), dating from before represents a woman playing a double flute 8
Double and Bulbed Flutes
at a festival in honour of the god Ptah. Double flutes are still used in Greece and by the boatmen on the N»ile, who call them '*Archool," or " Zimmerah." Mr. Herman Smith thinks that the double pipe, with three or four holes on each pipe, preceded the six- holed single pipe. By the Greeks it was termed Slo.vXos, and by the Romans Tibia Pares^ or Gemini^ when of equal length, and Impares when unequal. It consisted of two distinct pipes, sometimes united in one common mouthpiece. (Fig. 4.) As a rule the two pipes were not in unison; the longer and deeper pipe, called the Male (as represent- ing a man's voice), was generally on the right, and it (according to the taste of the age) played the melody. The shorter or Female pipe played the accompaniment, which was pitched higher than the melody. One pipe may have been sometimes used as a drone. When both were played together it was termed ya/z/jAtoi' avX^w. =
married
pipm;
Sometimes the
FIG. 4.
FIG. 5.
fig. 4. — double flute, (from boissard's "roman antiquitifs.")
fig. 5. — dourle flutes, with several bulbs.
instrument was played with re- versed hands, the right hand play- ing the left pipe and vice-versa. In Egypt the double flute would appear to have been played by women only. On Etruscan vases, dating about 400 B.C., we find double flutes depicted with one or more bulbs at each of the mouth-ends (which
9
Story of the Flute
were not connected). (Figs. 5 and 8.) This is called the Subulo, or Greco-Etruscan flute, and no specimen is extant. The bulbs may have been merely for orna- ment, but Herman Smith suggests that they were detachable pieces, which could be arranged by the player, and that they contained a concealed reed, which could be transferred from one bulb to another in order to alter the pitch. The Hebrews also had a double flute, the " Mashrokitha," and we find double flutes depicted on Indian monuments, such as the Sanchi Tope Gate, c. 100 a.d.
The flute was employed by the ancient Greeks and
Romans in almost every scene of life, public or private;
above all at the festivals of Artemis and
Popularity Djonysius. The sacrificial auletes at Athens
^, played a solemn air on the flute close to the
Flute c ^u • ^ ^ • ^u -c
ear oi the priest durmqf the sacrmce, m amongst , „ . . . .
^I^g order to keep on mattention or distraction.
Ancients (P^?* ^•) Flutes accompanied the chariot race in the Olympic games; the Etrurians boxed to the sound of flutes; Roman orators were wont to station flute-players behind them, so that when they raised their voices to too high a pitch the flute might sound a lower note (Caius Gracchus employed a slave named Liscinius for this purpose). They were played at death-beds (a custom found also among the Jews), hence the saying Jam licet ad tibicenes viittas: "Now you may send for the flute-players," when one was about to die. Tibi- cenes were also employed on vessels to cheer the
10
Ancient Flutes
rowers and to mark the time. Special names were given to each variety of flute-players and their instru- ments— Fetis mentions thirty-seven — according to their special employment. Thus players at funerals were called "Tumbauloi," "Paratretes," or "Siticenes," and in order to check extravagance it was found necessary
>.0^\
' life*
&
UuiMi
FIG. 6. — AULETES. (kROM THE FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON.)
to limit their number to ten. Those employed at weddings were termed " Hymeneemes "; the horse- keeper's laurel flute was called " Hippophoiboi " ; the sailor's flute was "Trierikos." Others again were named after the country whence they originated — the Lybian flute, the Berecythian or Phrygian flute, etc.
II
Story of the Flute
Although unfortunately none of the music played on
these ancient flutes has survived, the names of many
celebrated players have been preserved by
ncien classical authors. The Thebans were es-
r TVT X teemed the p^reatest performers, and when
of Note , . . , ^ , , . ' ^
their city was destroyed their chief anxiety
was to recover from the ruins a statue of Mercury with this inscription: "Greece has declared that Thebes wins the prize upon the flute." Olympus, a Phryg^ian poet and composer about the year 630 B.C., has been credited, by Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch, with the introduction of the instrument into Greece from Asia. He is referred to in The Knights of Aristophanes, " Let us weep and wail like two flutes breathing some air of Olympus." Pronomus, of Thebes {c. 440 B.C.), who taught Alcibiades, could play in three modes on his flute. Terpander [c. 680 B.C.) is said to have once quelled a tumult by his flute, and also to have invented notation. The flute of Telaphanes of Samos is said to have had equal power over man and brute. Philoxenes, another famous player, was a notorious glutton, and wished that he were all neck, so that he could enjoy his food more ! Pindar — himself a flute- player — has written an ode (the twelfth) in praise of Midas "the Glorious," a Sicilian, twice winner of the prize for flute-playing at the Phrygian games. Pliny says that Midas was the inventor of a flute called TrAaytavAo?^ or tibia obliqua or vasca, which had a small tube, almost at right angles to the main pipe, contain- ing a reed, through which the player blew, holding the
12
Ancient Players
instrument sideways, (Fig. 7.) Servius considers that this was the instrument mentioned by Virgil in the line " Aut, ubi curva chores indixit tibia" (^n. xi. 737), but more probably the Phrygian horn-flute was intended. Antigenidas, who increased the number of holes, so transported Alexander the Great by his playing of a martial air at a banquet that the monarch seized his weapons and almost attacked his guests. Epaminondas, the Theban general, when informed that the Athenians had sent troops into the Peloponnesus equipped with new arms, asked ''whether Antigenidas was disturbed when he saw new flutes in the hands of Tellis" (a bad
FIG. 7.— PLAGIAULOS, OR RINGED FLUTE, WITH PROJECTING MOUTHPJECF.
performer). Plutarch speaks of a flute-player named Dorion and mentions one Theodorus as a celebrated flute-maker.
Aristotle says that at first the flute was considered an ignoble instrument, only suitable for mean people, and not for freemen, but that after the defeat of the Persians it was much valued, and it became a disgrace to a gentleman not to be able to play it. The Tibicenes or professional flute-players were latterly highly honoured in Greece, statues were raised to them, they were paid very large sums, and were generally very well to do. Xenophon says that if a bad player on the flute wished
Position
and
Costume
of Players
Story of the Flute
to appear to be a good player, he must imitate their example and expend large sums on rich furniture and keep many servants. In fact, the expression "to live the life of a flute-player" became proverbial as typifying luxury. Good players were paid as much as ;^20o for a concert. In the year 309 B.C. the Roman flute-players who performed at the sacrifices were de- prived of the privilege of eating in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. They accordingly struck and retired to Tivoli. They were beguiled back by a stratagem: having been all made drunk at a feast (but this is denied by some as impossible!), they were carried in waggons back to Rome and given three days' holiday
in each year, and the right to eat in the Temple was restored to them. Profes- sional flute-players wore a dress peculiar to them- selves, generally of yellow FIG. 8.-CAHISTRUM AND BULBED ^^ saffron, with green or blue DOUBLE FLUTE. sHppers embroldered with
silver, and had a bandage of leathern thongs, called (jiopfSeia 7re pia-TOfXLov, or Capistrum^ across the mouth, with a small hole for the breath to pass through. (Fig. 8.) Its object was to keep the lips and cheeks firm and pre- vent, undue distension, and also perhaps to hold up the instrument so as to leave the hands free to turn the rings on the flute. Competitions in flute-playing were frequent among the Greeks, and their endeavour was to produce the highest and loudest notes. Heliodorus
14
Capi strum — Ismenias
(jrEthop. ii.) describes a flute-player with eyes inflamed and starting" out of their sockets, and Lucian tells how one Harmonides killed himself by his eff"orts. The instru- ments themselves fetched very high prices, often ;£400 or ;^5oo, and Lucian says that Ismenias of Thebes gave over;j^iooo of our money for a flute at Corinth. He, however, was considered rather extravagant. Atheas, King of the Scythians, said he preferred the flute-playing of Ismenias to the braying of an ass — a doubtful form of compliment, possibly an allusion to the story of Midas. Plutarch relates how on one occasion this per- former was engaged to play at a sacrifice. As no good omen appeared, the employer snatched the flute from Ismenias and began to play on it himself, whereupon a good omen at once appeared. "There," said he, ''to play acceptably to the gods is their own gift," where- upon the witty Ismenias replied that the gods were so delighted with his playing they deferred the omen, so that they might hear him longer, "but were glad to get rid of your noise at any price."
CHAPTER II,
FLUTE-A-BEC AND RECORDER.
Beaked Flutes — Recorders — Double and Triple Recorders— Popularity — Gradual decline — Flageolet and other early pipes.
With the extinction of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans there comes a gap in the history of the
flute. We hear nothing- of it for several p- centuries, till it appears in the form of the
flute-douce, or flute-^-bec, so called from the resemblance of the mouth-piece to the beak of a bird — the direct descendant of the ancient whistle-flute. The number of finger-holes varied from three upwards. (See Figs. 9 and 10.) There were many varieties of this instrument, the English one being called Recorder. This name, rendered familiar by the famous passage in Hamlet (iii. 2) — which, by the way, one learned com- mentator explains as referring to "the legal official of a city" (!), who in thieves' slang is known as "The Flute" — is derived from an obsolete use of the verb "to record" as applied to the singing of birds: "The nightingale records again What thou dost primely sing" (Browne's Shepherd' s Pipe^ ii. 75). Early writers have spoken of it as "the English flute" (a term still
16
Beaked Flutes
}l^ o
1. 2. 5.
1. • e o
2. • @ o
3. © o o
4. 5. 6. 7 8.
o <» • • •
o • ® o o
o • o • o
uf, re. mi. fa. ut re.
mi.
fa
FIG. Q. — FISTULA TRISTOMA AND PART OF SCALE OF FOURTEEN NOTES. (from KIRCHER's "MUSUKGIA UNIVERSALIS." 165O,
Lii;. VI., p. 4qS).
S
^^=^
I.
4
2.
4.
5.
^
^
"0"
^ ^
-O- -O-
FIG. 10. — FISTULA IIEXA.STO.M A AND PART OF SCALE OF FIFTEEN NOTES. (from KIRCHER's "mUSURGIA UNIVERSALIS.')
17 2
Story of the Flute
Recorders
applied to the tin whistle in France) in contradistinction to "the Helvetian [i.e., transverse] flute," but it cer- tainly was not an English invention, though it is depicted in a Psalter of the twelfth century preserved in the Library of Glasgow University. A Cornish miracle-play of the fourteenth century includes " re- cordys " among the instruments played by King David's minstrels.
The Recorder was an open pipe fitted with a fipple- head and mouthpiece like a whistle, having seven finger- holes, with a thumb-hole at the back.i The lowest hole was sometimes in duplicate for the use of left-handed players (hence the French called it " Flute k neuf trous ") ; the hole not required was stopped with wax. Later examples have an open key over this lowest hole, enclosed in a perforated wooden case and. fitted with double " cusps " or "touches." (See Fig. ii.) There were regular sets of recorders (called "chests," because they were all kept in one box) of different pitches and varying dimensions, ranging from sopranino to double bass, which last was over eight feet long, and was blown through a bent crook, somewhat like a bassoon, but coming out of the top. It sometimes had two pedal keys played by the feet of the performer, between which the end rested on the ground, the sound escaping through
^ For pictures of Recorders see English Mnsic, pp. 132, 136, 13S, and 485.
18
Recorder
a side hole. Praetorius (1620) says that a complete set consisted of eight instruments and that a full flute band numbered twenty-one players, and Burney (1773) mentions one of from thirty to forty. Two "chests" still exist — the Nuremburg set of eight, dating from the sixteenth century, and the Chester set of four — discant, alto, tenor and bass — dating tw^o centuries later.
There were also double and triple recorders. The double recorder consisted of two pipes, generally of unequal length and pitch, running into a common head- joint. The melody was played on one pipe, whilst the other furnished an accompaniment. The triple recorder had the third pipe standing out quite separately, but running into the side of the head-joint near the mouth- piece.
The recorder's tone was very soft and pleasing, but it was practically impossible to increase its volume or vary its quality. Little variety of expression was pos- sible, and the second octave was difficult to produce; moreover, it was defective in tune. Mersenne mentions the curious detail that some players could hum the bass to an air while they played it !
These instruments long enjoyed great popularity all
over Europe. The English excelled as performers, as
Giovanni B. Doni tells us in his De PrcEstantia
Musicce Veteris, 1647; it is frequently men- „ . . ^ , . , ,. , Popularity
tioned m our early literature, and numerous
tutors and much music was published for it. King
Henry VIII. played it daily. Recorder-players were
19
Story of the Flute
included in the royal band from the reign of Henry VII. down to that of Charles 11. One, named Nicholas Staggins, of bibulous tendencies — in 1695 he owed £,\20 for beer — accompanied King William to Holland. John Banister, leader of the Drury Lane band till 1720, was a famous performer. In 1695 the Royal Academy in Charles Street, Covent Garden, advertised in The Athenian Gazette that they gave lessons on the recorder. A typical fop of the period is depicted in a full-trimmed blue suit, with scarlet stockings rolled above his knees, a large white peruke, and playing on a recorder nearly an ell long. The instrument was frequently included in the scores of Handel and Bach, the last great composers to use it. It began to die out in France about 1750, but was played at a concert so late as 1800.^ In the end it was ousted by the new transverse or " German " flute (the recorder being then known as the "common" flute). It is now replaced
by the more perfect clarinet, which also "^^^ dealt a death-blow to the flageolet, a
Flageolet ^yhistle-pipe with a receptacle for holding and other ^ ^ . , , 1 c • t ■
early Pipes ^ sponge, mtroduced by Sieur Juvigny m
1581. John Hudgebut, in the preface to his Vade-nieciun for the lovers of Musick (1679), contrasts the two instruments thus: — " Though the Flagilet like Esau hath got the start, as being of a more Antient standing. The Rechorder like Jacob hath got the Birth- right, being much more in Esteem and Veneration with
1 " Le Repos" in Berlioz's Venfance du Christ was originally scored for flutes-douces.
20
Flageolet and other Pipes
the Nobilit}' and Gentry, whilst the Flagilet sinks down a servant to the Pages and Footmen."
Other primitive forms of pipe, such as the Syrinz or Pan-pipes (still used as an orchestral instrument in Roumania, but with us relegated to the Punch and Judy man), the straw flute, the Eunuch flute, and the Tabor and Pipe — a long whistle pipe with two holes in front and one behind — are outside the scope of the present work.
21
THE GERMAN FLUTE-PLAYER. ("tHE MODERN AIUSIC MASTER." T73T).
22
CHAPTER III,
THE TRANSVERSE FLUTE.
Sec. I. — Was it known to the Greeks and Romans? — The Chinese — India — Early representations and references — The Schweitzerpfeiff — Virdung — Agricola — Proetorius — Mersenne's description — In England.
Sec. II. — Flutes with keys— The D^ key — Hotteterre — The conical bore — Structure of early flutes— Tuning slides — Quantz's inven- tions— The low C keys — Further keys added — Tromlitz's inven- tions— Open keys — The eight-keyed flute — Capeller and Nolan's keys.
SECTION I. — KEYLESS FLUTES.
The origin of the transverse or side-blown flute Is involved in much obscurity. It was formerly thought to be comparatively modern, and Germany, Switzerland, and England have each been ^*^ ^*
termed its birthplace. But more recent dis- ^^own to coveries tend to prove that the transverse ^
flute — though not so usual as the vertical Romans? flute — was probably known in Europe early in the Christian era. Possibly it was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans; but if so, it is very re- markable that no clear allusion to it can be found in any of the writings of either nation. Care must be taken not to confuse it with the plagiaulos (see p. 13, a?ife) or with ancient pipes blown across the open
23
Story of the Flute
upper end and held sideways, which are never de- picted with a lateral mouth-hole, and never have the end of the tube protruding- beyond the mouth of the player.
Ward, in his Word on the Fhite^ citing- Hawkins, men- tions an engraving of a tesselated pavement in a temple of Fortuna Virilis at Rome, built by Sylla {c. 78 B-c), in which he says there is a representation of a player with a transverse pipe " exactly corresponding with the German flute"; and Montfaucon, in his L Antiqiiite Expliqtiee^ gives two copies of bas-reliefs of a similar kind. Kircher (1650) also represents transverse flutes as known to the Egyptians many centuries before Christ. But the correctness of these statements and the accuracy of the copyist are extremely doubtful. In the case of ancient statues (such as The Piping- Faun) the flute with a lateral mouth-hole is probably invariably a modern restoration. There is, however, in the British Museum a fragmentary flute found by Sir Charles Newton in a tomb at Halicarnassus, and c>':iQ. of the fragments has what certainly appears to be a side-blown mouth- hole cut in a wedge-like excrescence, beyond which the tube (of ivory) projects. But no undoubted and com- plete specimen of a real transverse side-blown flute, or absolutely authentic contemporary representation ot such an instrument, has ever been found among the numerous relics of the ancient Greeks, Romans, or Egyptians. If the transverse flute w^as known in pre- Christian Europe, it certainly disappeared completel}^ for many centuries.
24
Chinese Flutes
Transverse flutes were known to the Chinese and to
the Japanese from time immemorial, and Dr. Lea
Southgate considers that probably the
European transverse flute is derived from .
^, ^, , rr 1 y. ^ \ • • t*ic Chinese,
the Chmese isc/ie, but he ogives no evi-
' ^ . etc.
dence in support of this starthng theory.
In India also the instrument w^as certainly known at a very early period. Some carvings of the god Krishna (to whom the natives attribute the invention of the flute) on the eastern gateway of Sanchi Tope in Madras, and various ancient monuments in Buddist Temples in Central India, dating about 50 B.C., contain repre- sentations of transverse flutes. It is depicted on the Tope of Amaravati (now in the British Museum), which dates from the first century.
I can find no substantial evidence of the existence of transverse flutes in Europe till the tenth and eleventh centuries. Such instruments are portrayed on some ivory caskets of the tenth century Early
in the National Museum at Florence, also in European
some Greek MSS. of the same date in the f*^
_,., ,. - -kT • ,.!-.• 1 • scntations
Bibhotheque National in Pans, and in an ^^^
illuminated Byzantime MS. of the eleventh References
century in the British Museum. There is
in the oldest portion of the Cathedral of Kieff", in
Russia, a picture stated to have been painted early in
the eleventh century, which includes a transverse flute.
We find pictures of transverse flutes in Horhis Delici-
arum^ written in the twelfth century by Herrade de
Landsberg, Abbess of Hohenbourg, and in the Codex
2\
Story of the Flute
to the Cantigas de Santa Maria, an illustrated Spanish MS. of the thirteenth century, written by King- Don Alonzo of Sabio and preserved in the Escurial at Madrid. This last-mentioned picture has been repro- duced in Don F. Aznar's Ind^imentaria Espanola^ 1880, in Don Juan Riano's Notc^ on Early Spanish Music (App. Figf. 8, p. 118), London, 1887, and also in English Mtisic^ p. 139. It is to be noticed that the player is left-handed. Another early picture of a transverse flute occurs in The Roniarice of Alexander^ by Jehan de Guise, dated 1344, now in the Bodleian Library. There is in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford a china basin from Urbino, dating about 1600, depicting" a feast, which portrays a long- transverse flute, and beside the player lies a case for the instrument.
A Provencal poet, musician, and composer, named Guillaume de Machault, born c. 1300 (whose works were discovered in 1747), in his La Prise d'Alexandrie^ includes " flaiistes traverseinnes " in a long list of the instruments of his day. This would appear to be the earliest known mention of the transverse flute in litera- ture. It is also mentioned by Eustache Deschamps, another French poet of the fourteenth century. It certainly was well known in the time of Gallileo; and Rabelais, writing about 1533, describes Gargantua as playing on the Allman \i.e.^ German] flute with nine holes (Bk. I., ch. 23).
Though the earliest form of the transverse flute in mediEeval Europe is generally said to be of Swiss origin, and was called Schweitzerpfelff", the Germans
26
Virdung — Luscinius — Agricola
appear to have developed it more than any other nation (though the French were the first to produce great players), and our earliest information re- specting it is to be found chiefly in German References treatises. We find an engraving of the *" iiarly instrument (there called Zwerchpfeiff) in '^^^^**!^^
the Mnsica Getutscht und Ans5S!:ezos^en of ^r. j *
Virdung' Sebastian Virdung, published at Basle in
151 1. It will be noticed (Page 30, Fig. i) that the mouth-hole is very small, and is round; that the finger- holes are very far removed from it, being all equal distances apart and very close to each other; and that the tube is a long, slender cylinder. Certainly the flute here depicted does not look as if it was drawn accurately to scale from an actual instrument. Unfor- tunately, Virdung did not give any detailed description either of its construction or of the manner of playing it. The Musiirgia seu praxis Musicce (1536) of Ottomar Luscinius (or Nachtigall) is practically a translation of Virdung's work into Latin, with identical illustrations. He mentions five varieties of flutes: — The Chalamen and Bombardt (like the modern clarinet), the Helvetian (like the old English flute-a-bec), the Schwegel (or whistle), and the Zwerchpfeiff".
The next important notice of the flute is to be found in Musica Instrumentalis Dcndsch, first published by Georg Rhaw at Wittemburg in 1528 and en- larged in 1545, compiled by Martin Agricola ^"^° ^ (whose real name was Sohr, or Sore). It gives engravings of Schweitzerpfeiffs of different lengths—
27
Story of the Flute
discantus or soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. They are very similar to the instrument portrayed by Virdung-, even to the two h'ttle hnes drawn across the tube imme- diately above the mouth-hole. In this work we meet for the first time with a diag"ram (Pag"e 30, F'lg. 2) showing- the fingering- of the holes, and very curious it is. The D hole^ is to be covered b}^ the first finger of the left hand, and the G hole with the first finger of the right hand. According to the present English numbering of the fingers, this could only be done by crossing the hands palm to palm, a position in which it would be impossible to play. But possibly the early German numbering of the fingers began with the little finger as number one. Even so, it is hard to under- stand this diagram: what was to be done with the first finger of each hand ?
All these early illustrations (which appear to be copied from one another) represent the flute as a cylinder of
_ . equal diameter throughout, with very small
rraetorius „ , - j -^i ^ • • ^ -ru
nnger-holes and without any jomts. Ine
two lines above the mouth-hole are evidently only for ornament. The earliest illustration of a jointed flute is to be found in the Theatrmn Instrinncjitortnn seti Scia- graphia of Michaelis Praetorius {i.e.^ Schultheis, or Schultz), published at Wolfenbuttel in 1615-20, in illus- tration of the author's Syntagma Miisinnn. Praetorius introduces pictures of four flutes {oi which he gives the
^ We have no evidence as to the exact pitch of these early flutes; but I have, for sake of clearness, assumed throughout that the lowest note was D, as in the ordinary German flute of later years.
28
Praetorius — Mersenne
dimensions), and the largest of these (Page 30, Fig. 3) has apparently a head-joint separate from the body of the instrument, the diameter being larger at the joint. This, however, may be mere ornamentation. Another novelty is to be noticed — viz., the first three holes are separated from the second three by a considerably larger space. Possibly this division always existed in these early flutes, but if so, it was not shown in any of the earlier representations of the instrument.
Much the fullest description of the early flute, how- ever, is that given in Harmonic Ujiiverselle, the great illustrated work of Father Marin Mersenne, of the Order of Minorites, published in Paris ^ srsenne s ^ ^ T^TiTTT^ 1 Description
m 1636-37. In Vol. 11., Fart v., he treats
of the various kinds of flute at considerable length, terming the transverse flute " Fistula Germanica," or " Helvetica," whilst he calls the flute-a-bec *' Fistula Anglicis." He gives an illustration of *'one of the best flutes in the world " (Page 30, Fig. 4, which I reproduce from the copy of his book in the Library of Dublin University) — a transverse flute which is bent curiously towards the open end. He also gives full explanations, which are very interesting, as they are the earliest detailed account of the instrument and the method of playing it. The tube was 23.45 inches long and cylindrical throughout, with a cork in the head, the embouchure being 3.2 inches from the top end. The bore of the tube was slightly less than that used at present. It is apparently without joints, the six finger-holes, which are larger than those in
29
Story of the Flute
The 6 Holes.
1
Left Hand
Right Hand
k€l>
^O
Early Instruments
■g J
S
u
u
^p
/ ^
■J T
—LOW Cf^ KEY.
PHILLIBERT.
IPtOMLIT^ a, T TACET
3b|jEY
TACtT
LONG Ct| SHAKE KEY
TUNINC&LIDS
Quanta.
SCRE*0rTHECORK«TN HE/W).JOiNT ftUANTZ.
31
Story of the Flute
earlier pictures, being of various sizes (a new feature) and at various distances. It has some ornamenta- tion of the woodwork at either end. Mersenne also gives a table of the fingering of nineteen notes,
from low D gk^~^— H up to the top Aj] ^ Hi which
last note is produced by closing all the holes except the G hole. The only accidentals given are FJf (which is the same in all three octaves) and the C^ (all open in the first octave; the D and E holes closed in the second octave). It was therefore probably used solely as a diatonic instrument, and was very imperfect even as such; the holes, as in all these early flutes, being placed solely to suit the lie of the fingers, and therefore not in their proper acoustical positions. Mersenne suggested additional holes for other semitones, however. We learn from Salomon de Caus' Institution Harmoniqtie (Frankfort, 1615) that semitones were produced by partial opening or closing of the holes, an unsatis- factory system which prevailed at a very much later date. Mersenne also treats of music suitable for the various kinds of flutes, and gives a quartett for four transverse flutes of various pitches. This little piece is entitled an "Air de Cour," and was composed by Henry Le Jeune. A MS. dated 1562, in the Abbey of St. Gall, contains a picture of a quartett of transverse flutes played by angels. Father Athanasius Kircher's Musiir^ia Universalis (1650) is practically a copy of
32
Transverse Flute in England
Mersenne's work, from which he takes a picture (Plate ix., Fig. 4) of a transverse flute or fife, which he calls " Fistula Militaris," and mentions that it was used by the Swiss Guards of the Pope.
"Air de Cour " from Mersenne (as transcribed into modern notation ; in the original each flute has a separate stave.
The exact date at which the transverse flute was first used in England is not known ; but certainly the fife was in use in the time of Henry VIII. Trans- verse flutes are depicted in an engraving to ^^troduc-
Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar, dated 1579; *l°''/''*° • r-u- .» • . r , it/r . ^ England
m Cxhieraert s picture of the Marriage Feast
of Sir Henry Unton, painted about 1596, and now in the National Portrait Gallery— in both cases the player is left-handed — and in a contemporary picture of Sir Philip Sidney's funeral (now in the Heralds' College) ; and such instruments are mofntioned in an inventory of Hengrave Hall, Sussex, in 1602. The earliest English description of the transverse flute I have met with is in
33 3
Story of the Flute
Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum: having described the method of blowing" the recorder, he says, "Some kinds of in- struments are blown at a small hole in the side, . . . as is seen in flutes and fifes, which will not give sound by a blast at the end, as recorders do." This was written certainly before the end of 1626, as Bacon died in that year, and the book was published posthumously in the following year.
SECTION II. — FLUTES WITH KEYS.
Hitherto all flutes were made of wood (generally boxwood), with a round mouth-hole — the oval mouth- hole did not appear till about 1724 — with six finger- holes only, without any keys, and pitched in the major diatonic scale. The application of additional „ holes stopped by keys dates from about ^ tf 1660-70, when Lulli first introduced the flute into the orchestra. About that date some now unknown inventor, probably of French origin, introduced the D:J key, which is found on the Chevalier flute {c. 1670), and is shown in a picture dated 1690. Virdung, Agricola, Mersenne, Praetorius, and Bartho- linus (1677) all give representations of a bass flute- a-bec with a key enclosed in a perforated casing for a low note (see Fig. 11); but this device does not appear to have been applied to transverse flutes of the period. The invention of this D|,key was the first really important step in the improvement of the flute. The innovation was at once adopted by Philbert (who
34
The Dj Key — Hotteterre
is often credited with its invention), by Michel de La Barre, by Hotteterre, by Buffardin, and by Blavet — the earliest great players of whom we have any record. From the picture of a flute of the period (see p. 31, Fig. i) given in Hotteterre's Principes de la Flilte
traversiere. published in 1707, it is evident ^,
^u ^ ^u t /au c Hotteterre
that the key was supported by means of a
raised wooden ring- left round the tube. A groove cut in this ring admitted the key, which moved on an axle, and was kept closed by a spring under the finger- end of the key. This system of key mechanism was also used for other keys subsequently introduced, and is still met with in a modified form in cheap flutes, which have the pin-axle supported between two knobs of wood, the remainder of the ring being cut away. The author of this book — the first complete book of instructions for the flute now known — was called Hotteterre-le-Romain, because he spent part of his early life in Rome. He came of a numerous French family of wind instrument makers and players, many of whom were members of the band of Louis XIV. He has been hitherto confused with an earlier member of the family named Louis, who was Royal flute-player at Court in 1664; but M. Ernest Thoinan, in his book Les Hotteterre et les Chedeville (Paris; Sagot, 1894), has satisfactorily proved that his Christian name was Jacques, that his father's name was Martin, and that he was born in Paris. From the same authority we learn that in 1708 he played his compositions for the flute before the King, who granted him a Document of Privilege, and that he lived in
35
Story of the Flute
tesKvaft'-i':
HOTTETERRE-I.E-ROMAIN. (bY BERNARD PICART.)
36
Hotteterre
Rue Christine in 1707. He died in 1760-61. The Principes contains his portrait by Bernard Picart; the face is far from common, and is characteristic in expression. It will be noticed that the flute in the portrait has figures over each finger. " Le Romain" is
PAR M. HOTTETERRE-LE-R.
|
— » -j tf t A M — r+T — 1 irilTTTri 1^ |
't ^.i 1 — if- |
1 1 1 1 |
1 1:1 1 |
— I- |
|
MENUET Tendre. uUynon. |
1 1 V^ 1 |
*«* i 1 V |
jHiU- |
-4- |
|
^^ |
-^^ |
fe |
Ba55•Cbn^^nue,
Facsiraile of a page of one of Hotteterre's flute solos with bass. In the original the lines are broken and very uneven, and it is difficult to tell what the notes really are.
said to have been the first to play the transverse flute in the opera at Paris, c. 1697. Several of his contem- poraries bear testimony to his powers as a performer, and one, writing in 1702, says he '* taught the instru- ment to lament in so aff"ecting a manner in mournful
37
Story of the Flute
airs, and to sigh so amorously in those that are tender, that all are moved by them." The fact that several editions (some pirated) of his Principes appeared in various countries in rapid succession bears witness to the popularity of the flute, which Hotteterre in his preface terms " one of the most agreeable and fashion- able of instruments."
The scale as given by Hotteterre extends from -•-
— _--t=R, including all semitones (save top Ffj),
"fork" fingerings being used; distinct fingerings are given for Ff and Gb in the two first octaves, and for the top CJ and Dj?, and alternative fingerings for the top Ct|. His flute consists of three pieces; the head- joint is apparently cylinder, and the rest of the tube tapers towards the end. This change in the bore of the body of the flute dates from about 1680. Lavoix attributes it to " Kusder of London,'"' said to have been an oboe-maker. It is much more likely, however, that it was introduced by Hotteterre, or possibly by Johann Christoph Denner, a wind instru- ment maker of Nuremberg, who is generally credited with the invention of the clarinet, and who is said by Furstenau to have made important improvements on the transverse flute, on which he was a noted performer. All flutes continued to be made with conical bodies until the time of Bohm (z*.^., about 170 years later), and many are still so constructed. The eff"ects of the conical bore
38
Improvements
are to improve the intonation of some of the upper notes, and to render certain notes easier to produce, but it certainly weakens the tone of the lowest notes.
The size of the finger-holes was also reduced about the same time, and shortly afterwards the number of ioints was increased ; a boxwood one-keyed flute made for Quantz before 1724 by ^^J'^g^^p F. Boie, a well-known maker, consisted ^j
of four separate pieces.^ These early flutes generally had several — sometimes as many as six — interchangeable middle sections of various lengths, which were used for the purpose of altering the pitch. This device was still used in 1791, and is mentioned in Florio and Tacet's Instruction Book. Pratten tried it in 1867. Sometimes also the foot-joint was made in two pieces, sliding into each other, whioh could be pulled out or pushed in, so as to lengthen or shorten the joint about half an inch according as a longer or shorter middle section was employed. This was called a " Register," and by its means ^j. .
the pitch could be altered an entire tone. Quantz before 1752 made an additional long pin-and- socket joint in the head-piece, so that it could be lengthened or shortened at will. This tuning-slide was originally made of wood, and it was found that when drawn out there was a considerable cavity left in the inside of the tube, rendering the bore wider at that point; this aff"ected the tone. To remedy
^ We learn from Quantz that flutes in three pieces first appeared towards the end ot the seventeenth century.
39
Story of the Flute
this defect Quantz had a number of rings of wood of various widths to slip into this cavity and fill it up. These rings are still occasionally used in old flutes, but they are unsatisfactory and troublesome. The adoption of a thin metal slide, leaving a very trifling cavity, has practically remedied this defect. Bohm objected to a metal slide on the ground that the close combination of metal with wood caused unequal and disturbed vibration, and produced a disagreeable harsh- ness of tone. On his flute of 1832 he therefore used wooden rings. Theoretically, in order to alter the pitch correctly throughout the entire instrument, the position of each hole should be varied, which is, of course, im- possible. By means of the slide the pitch can be varied about the eighth of a tone without putting the flute appreciably out of tune. In most modern flutes the tuning slide is formed by a projection at the top of the second joint.
In 1726 Quantz added a second hole and closed key (Page 31, Fig. 2), which, he claimed, produced the ^ Eb more correctly than the Dji key, and thus J . rendered the common chords of E^ and
BJj more perfectly in tune. One hole had an aperture larger than the other, and by using one or other the tone and tune of certain defective notes was corrected. This additional key, though adopted by Tromlitz, was of no practical value. It never became general, and was only used in Germany, where it sur- vived for about eighty years. Tromlitz credits Quantz with the invention of a screw-stopper at the head of the
40
Quantz's Inventions
flute, by means of which the position of the cork in the head joint could be adjusted. Quantz, however, does not himself lay any claim to this invention, which appeared before 1752, as also did the brass-lining of the head-joint.
The table of fingering- given by Quantz ascends to A"'|3 in alt., whilst that =an Diderot's Encyclopcedia (1756) goes up to the D in alt. above this (being, in fact, a note higher than the present Bohm flute), but he adds that the last five semitones cannot be sounded on all flutes. Quantz possessed a flute, made by I. Biglioni, of Rome, which had an additional open key for the low C^. But he made no claim to its invention, telling us that about ^ ^ 1722 both low Cf and C|; open keys were added to flutes, with a lengthened tube. He objected to this innovation (as did also Wendling, his suc- cessor), and it was for a time abandoned as detri- mental to tone and intonation ; both keys were, however, revived by Pietro Grassi Florio about 1770. Florio was first flute in the orchestra of the Italian Opera in London. He used to hang a little curtain to the foot-joint of his flute in order to conceal these keys, which he wished to keep secret. The French player, Devienne, in 1795 objected to Florio's keys as being out of place in the instrument, and having no power, but they are now universally used on all concert flutes.
The next keys to be added were those for Ffc[, G|, and Brj. The exact date of this innovation is not known.
41
Story of the Flute
One Gerhard Hoffmann is reported to have used the Gf and Bb keys in 1722. They first appeared in London shortly after 1770. By their means all the l<urther semitones (except Ch) could be played with- jj . out fork-fingerings. They also greatly im-
proved the tone of several other notes. It is a matter of wonder how the chromatic passages and shakes found in the flute compositions of Quantz and other early composers could have been played without them. The name of the inventor is uncertain. Ribock, Lavoix, and Mahillon ascribe the short Ft| key to the somewhat mythical Kusder in 1762. Some ascribe all three to Tromlitz, and others (with considerable prob- ability) to Joseph Tacet, who certainly was one of the first to em.ploy them. Tacet, who also experimented with large finger-holes, such as Nicholson afterwards tried, was a flute-maker, player and composer of some note. He was a grandfather of Cipriani Potter; and Richard Potter (the well-known London flute-maker) adopted these keys on a flute made in or before 1774, on which Vanhall performed at The Hague, and which he subsequently sold to Ashe, the Irish flautist. This doubtless is the instrument referred to in the Ency- clopedie Methodiqiie (1785) — " It is pretended that an English musician has constructed a flute with seven keys in order to obtain all the semitones." Potter in 1785 took out the first English patent for improvements in the flute; it included these keys, also a metal tuning- slide, a screw-cork in the head-joint, and conical metal valves on the keys. He, however, makes no claim to
42
Added Keys- — Tromlitz
have invented any of these improvements — they were all known previously. Ribock in 1782 mentions these three keys as being in general use in Germany.
The next step was the addition of a short CC{ key, placed across the tube. Ribock claims to have invented it before 1782; others ascribe it to Petersen of Ham- burg", or to one Rodolphe, of whom nothing is known. This key was altered some time before 1806 into a long key (inventor unknown) running along the side of the tube and opened by the first finger of the right hand.
Strange to say, these additional keys, which greatly improved the instrument — though still very defective — were much objected to, the existing flute being considered perfect, and were as a rule only used for shakes, especially on the continent. They were little used in France when Devienne published his celebrated Methode (1795). Although Hugot and Wunderlich recommend them in their Tutor of 1801 (where, by the way, the low CI3 and C| keys are con- demned), they were not generally adopted till the beginning of the nineteenth century. As Tromlitz scornfully remarked of his contem- poraries, they only " used the fingering of one hundred years ago because it was used by their grandfathers." To Johann George Tromlitz [c. 1730-1805), a Leipsic flautist, is to be ascribed the invention (before 1786) of the long Ftj key, used on all modern eight-keyed flutes. This key is not much used in playing, and was objected to by Nicholson, who would not have it on his flute, and by Tulou, but was advocated by Drouet. Tromlitz's
43
Story of the Flute
chief merit was that he attempted to make flutes on a rational principle, and that he aimed at perfect intona- tion throughout the entire compass of the instrument, being a strenuous advocate of an open-keyed system (Page 31, Fig. 3). He added another long key for B[> (worked by the first finger of the right hand), altered the position of the GJ; hole and key, and made several other changes which may be disregarded as they were not permanently retained. Tromlitz published three important works on the flute in 17S6, 1791, and 1800 respectively; in those of 1791 and 1800 he seems rather to disapprove of keys (save in the hands of skilled players), of the tuning slide, and the low C^ and C| keys. In the book of 1800 he advocates a flute with only a DJf key, but with holes for the thumbs (Fj, B|^), and for the little finger of the left hand (GJ). This is interesting as being the earliest attempt to produce a chromatic flute with open holes; but his system left many " veiled " notes; still it was a step in the right direction. This
idea of constructing a chromatic flute with all ^^" the holes open and in their true positions was
carried still further by Dr. H. W. Pottgiesser between 1803-24. According to Ward, his was "the first truly scientific remodelling of the flute." Pott- giesser's first flute, in two pieces only and with only one key, was wider in bore and shorter than other flutes. In his second flute (with keys) he equalized the size of the finger-holes, suggested rollers for the *' touches" of the thumb-keys, and introduced a per- forated key for the C"^ hole. The object of this "ring
44
Ring-keys — Nolan
and crescent" key was to alter the size ot the C"^ hole, in order to render it better in tune when the B^ is closed.^
I have now traced the history of the development of the old-fashioned eight-keyed flute of our fathers and grandfathers (Page 31, Fig. 4), of which the earliest English description is to be found in Wragg's Fhite Preceptor (1806). Various additional keys and^ levers were added from time to time, none of which came into any general or permanent use. Numerous experiments have been tried in respect to the size of the bore (it has
-NOLAN S RING-KEY.
varied very little from the time of Mersenne) and of the holes, which need not be detailed here. Two inven- tions, however, deserve notice. J. N. Capeller (pos- sibly assisted by Bohm) in 181 1 devised a D"Sj hole and key worked by the first finger of the right hand. This gave the shake from Cj to DS, hitherto practically impossible, and is a most useful _?^^ ^^
key, now found on all good flutes. More ^
important still, the Rev. Frederick Nolan, of Stratford, in Essex, an amateur flautist, in 1808
^ For diagrams of Pottgeisser's first flute and his ring-and-crescent key, and also for portrait of Tromlitz, see English Music^ pp. 147-8.
45
Story of the Flute
invented or adopted a new kind of open key — more especially for the G| — worked by a lever which ended in a ring- placed over the hole of the note below. (Fig*. 12.) This was the earliest contrivance by means of which an uncovered hole and an open key over another hole could be closed by one finger, which is a leading feature of the modern open-keyed system, and has been very largely adopted on all Bohm flutes. The history and details of Bohm's flute, however, deserve a separate chapter.
46
CHAPTER IV.
BOHM AND GORDON.
Biographical — Revolution in the flute — Gordon — His flutes — Bohm — His flutes of 1831, 1832, and 1S47 — His publications — As a player — His compositions — Bohm's centenary — The controversy — Priority of inventions — Coche's attack — Clinton's views — Re- vival of the controversy — Rockstro's attack — Summary.
We now have reached the most momentous stage in the history of the modern flute — the period when the instrument underwent practically a complete revolution, which changed it from being- ^^^volution very imperfect and unsatisfactory into the „.
most perfect of all wind instruments. The question of the origin of the Bohm system, that **most happy of all the more modern improvements made in orchestral instruments," has given rise to one of the bitterest and most prolonged controversies that has ever disturbed the harmony of the musical world. To this day flute-players are divided as to the rival claims of Bohm and Gordon, and it is not likely that the questions raised will ever be quite fully and satis- factorily answered. But the majority of flautists are now agreed that the Bohm flute is rightly so named. I shall endeavour to give a concise and impartial state-
47
Story of the Flute
ment of the main facts without entering into minute technical details, referring those of my readers who desire further information to Mr. Charles Welch's ex- haustive treatise on the subject.
Nothing is known of Gordon's early life. It is not even certain whether his Christian name, whatever it was, began with a W (probably William) or a J. He was a Swiss by birth, though his surname points to an English or Scottish origin, and held a commission as captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles X. He w^as passionately fond of music, to which he devoted all his spare time; and as his regiment was quartered in Paris, he took lessons from Drouet and also from Tulou (the latter, by the way, does not seem to have attached any importance to Gordon's inventions, and describes the tone of his flute as " thin "). He w^ould appear to have been a very good amateur flautist, and a modest, kind- hearted, and ingenious gentleman, possessed of little or no mechanical skill or training, and having no special knowledge of acoustics.
In 1826 Gordon tried to improve the flute by develop- ing the open-keyed system, and he had several flutes made under his direction by French work- °*^ °" men and by a Swiss watchmaker. What the changes he introduced were is not now known pre- cisely, but his widow stated in 1838 that he aimed at perfect accuracy of intonation, combined with easier exe- cution and a more extended compass. Charles X. lost his throne by the Revolution of 1830, and on July 29th Gordon's regiment, which was guarding the Louvre,
48
Gordon
was seized with a panic; some escaped through a door into the Place du Carrousel; those who remained were cut to pieces by the mob, who stripped the bodies naked and adorned themselves with fragments of the uniforms and helmets torn from the dead soldiers. This dreadful scene, combined with the subsequent loss of his fortune and position, affected Gordon's mind, and he seems never to have recovered from its effects. In his distress he "conceived the idea of turning this new flute to account in order to re-establish himself by performing on it in the principal towns of Europe; then he intended to patent his invention, and to establish manufactories and introduce this beautiful instrument to the musical world." Accordingly in 1831 he visited London, where flutes were made for him by Rudall & Rose, and also by Cornelius Ward. The latter, though a partisan of Gordon's claims, says that he " was considered to be of unsound mind. ... He was generally treated with consideration on that account, but very little attention was paid to his flute-mania, such being the light in which his views respecting the flute were regarded." Bohm happened to be in London at the same time, also at work on improving the flute; Gordon made his acquaintance, and they showed each other their re- spective attempts. Bohm tells us that he considered Gordon's flute very diff'erent in its construction from other flutes, that it had a ring and crescent key, and that the keys and levers were ingeniously conceived, but too complicated ever to be of much advantage; moreover, it was made in defiance of the principles
49 4
Story of the Flute
ot acoustics, and was out of tune.^ Bohm's new flute appeared in 1832. Early in 1833 Gordon went to
Munich specially to obtain the assistance of or on s ^^^ ^^ Bohm's most skilful workmen, whose
services, as well as a private workshop, were generously placed at his disposal by Bohm, who himself was in London at the time. In July 1833 Gordon wrote to Mercier in Paris, sending him copies of a prospectus of a new flute which he had made in Munich, after destroying several previous attempts by continual alterations (Page 51, Figs, i and 2). This prospectus was also circulated in Germany and in London. Gordon in his scale for this flute, published in 1834, himself states that it contained two of Bohm's keys (F^ and D shake) by Bohm's express permission. Gordon again visited London, but his new flute failed to attract public attention; and, as his widow says, being very shy, without introduc- tions or knowledge of the world, his pecuniary resources were exhausted, and he returned ill and disheartened to
^ Unfortunately no drawing exists ot any flute made by Gordon de/orehis meeting with Bohm. Coche's picture (Page 51, Fig. i) is said by him to be a copy of a drawing in Gordon's early prospectus, and Ward says it closely resembles a flute he made for Gordon about 1831. It is entirely open-keyed. Clinton's picture (Page 51, Fig. 2) is probably a model of later date (? 1833), and Bohm, who also repro- duces it in his pamphlet of 1847, says Gordon made it at Munich. Some of its keys were worked by means of cranks and wires (a device afterwards used on Ward's flutes). Notice the peculiar low C keys. Bohm's 1 83 1 model (Page 51, Fig. 4) was almost certainly made before he had seen Gordon's flute. It greatly resembles the eight-keyed flute.
sO
Flutes of Gordon and Bohm
(^
It
Q H
2 :0
= Z
=2 <
I
W
<^^'
r
O
Story of the Flute
his family at Lausanne, probably at the end of 1835. He there continued his endeavours to improve his flute. In the course of one of these attempts the tube over which he had spent so many hours cracked, and in a fit of despair he threw it into the Lake of Geneva. Though much cast down, he set to work on another, but before it was finished he had to abandon it, owing to his intellect giving way. In 1836 he became absolutely insane, and had to be put into an asylum, where (with the exception of a brief interval in 1839) he remained till his death, the exact date of which is unknown. He is said by some authorities to have committed suicide, but of this there is no authentic evidence. Truly a sad end to an honourable man and an enthusiastic musician !
Let us now glance rapidly at the career of his rival. Theobald Bohm was born at Munich on April 9th, i794j the son of a working jeweller and goldsmith. From an early age he displayed a penchant for the flute, and in 18 10 he made himself a four-keyed flute. As he was originally intended to follow his father's occupation, he had already acquired considerable mechanical skill, which he subsequently largely developed. He took lessons on the flute from Johann Nepomuk Capeller, who was first flute in the King of Bavaria's Court orchestra and who had made some improvements on the flute. Bohm appears to have made rapid progress in the world; he soon became second flute in the Court orchestra, and was first flute in the Isargate Theatre in Munich from 181 2-17, acting
52
Bohm's Flute of i 83 i
at the same time as an inspector of mines. Continuing his experiments on the flute, he in 1812 apph'ed to it a new kind of spring" for the keys, linings to the sockets, cork coverings to the joints, a moveable embouchure of gold, and other things; most, if not all, of which had been used before his time. In 1818 he was appointed to the King's Chapel band, and henceforth devoted himself entirely to music, studying under Joseph Graz. Having toured through Europe as a flautist along with Molique for several years, Bohm in October 1828 set up a flute factory in Munich, where he manufactured eight-keyed flutes with pillars to sup- port the keys — a contrivance already used in France before 1756 (Page 51, Fig. 3). In 1831 he visited Paris and London, performing on one of these flutes, of which only a drawing now exists. He played his own Grand Polonaise in D (op. 16) at the London Philhar- monic concert of May gth, 1831, and performed solos at Moscheles' concert there in the same month, and at Hummel's concert in June. In London he had a flute made for him, with several new features, by Gerock & Wolf, of 79 Cornhill (Page 51, Fig. 4). It was during this visit that he made Gordon's acquaintance. Whilst there he heard the famous Charles Nicholson, and was greatly struck by his powerful tone, which Bohm attributed to the large size of the holes on Nicholson's flute. In one of his letters Bohm says that but for Nicholson he would never have attempted any radical change of system: he despaired of rivalling him ex- cept by means of an improved instrument. In order
53
Story of the Flute
to accomplish this he determined to construct a totally new flute, *' which should combine accuracy of intonation with power and equality of tone, and on which all music written within its compass could be executed by a new kind of key-mechanism." He decided to abandon the old fingering and to adopt a system of ring-keys, by means of which two or more notes could be closed by one movement of a single finerer. That Bohm's views underwent a considerable change after he had seen Gordon's flute, and that this was also one of his reasons for abandoning attempts with the old fingering, is undeniable; but to what extent he was influenced by Gordon's rather clumsy eff'orts it is impossible to say with any precision.
Bohm returned from London to Munich some time in 183 1, and set to work, choosing ("je me fixai au ") the system of ring-keys — a system which he says he had already thought of. It is to be observed that ring-keys of a primitive kind were used in the earlier flutes of both Gordon and Bohm, and were certainly known, though little used, before either adopted them. Nolan used a ring-key in 1808 (as we have seen; p. 45, ante)^ and Lefevre, of Paris, used one on clarinets before 1826. Neither Gordon nor Bohm ever claimed to have invented the ring-keys. But Bohm developed them, Bohm s ^^^ ^j^^g rendered the production of an entirely open-keyed flute possible. About the middle of 1832 he produced his new model (Page 51, Fig. 5), selected from three with diff"erent fingerings. He performed on it at a concert in Munich
54
Bohm's Flute of 1832
on November ist, 1832, and again on April 25th, 1833. The instrument was described in an article in Der Bazar of the last-named date, which was reprinted in The Har^nonicon of August 1833. In May 1833 Bohm visited Paris and London, and again came to London in July 1834, where he remained for nearly a year, and appeared in public on several occasions, playing "on his newly-constructed flute." At first it does not appear to have been largely taken up in England (chiefly, no doubt, owing to the disinclination of established players to learn the new fingering), but in 1839 Ward began to manufacture it, and Carte — who claimed to have been the first prominent English professor to play it in public — Card, Signor Folz, and Clinton adopted it. It was noticed in the Leipsic Gazette Mnsicale in 1834, and was taken up by several German and French players ot note. In 1838 the French Academy of Fine Arts in- vestigated its merits (as improved by Coche and Buffet), and it was introduced into the Paris Conservatoire.
After 1832 Bohm, who himself says he never placed a high value on his inventions, for a time abandoned his efforts to improve the flute, and turned his attention to other subjects. He evidently possessed an inventive genius, and amongst other things he invented the over- stringing of pianofortes, an improved method ot smelt- ing iron, and also ot communicating rotary motion.
Having studied acoustics under Schafhautl, Professor of Mathematics in the Bavarian University, he in 1847 set to work to improve the bore of the flute, and after three hundred experiments (chiefly with metal tubes)
55
Story of the Flute
on the proper positions of the holes, their size, the shape and position of the mouth-hole, the material of
the instrument, etc., he produced his cylinder
Bohm's ^^^^ ^^jj.j^ parabolic head-joint. He thus
„ restored the old cylinder bore for the body
of the instrument, but fitted it with a head- joint, the inside of which curved slightly at the closed end — a plan which he had already tried unsuccessfully thirty years before. To enter into the details of this very decided improvement would be out of place; suffice it to say that it greatly improved the tone and carrying- power of the flute (especially of the lower notes), whilst making it easier to sound, and render- ing the high notes better in tune. In this flute Bohm adopted certain improvements in the mechanism which had been already used by Coche ; and as the holes were too large for the fingers to cover them, he fitted them all with keys. Bohm's newest system was at first violently opposed by Clinton (who went so far as to say that if the cylinder be right. Nature herself must be wrong) and others, but it is now, with certain modifications, universally adopted for all good modern flutes.
The new flutes were at first made of metal, but in 1848 MM. Godfroy and Lot, of Paris, began to manu- facture them of cocoa wood at the suggestion of Dorus. Godfroy subsequently re-introduced keys perforated in the centre, such as Nolan and Pottgiesser had employed, by which some allege that the delicacy of intonation is increased. Messrs. Rudall & Rose obtained the patent
56
Bohm's Flute of 1847
for England in 1847. Bohm published an extremely technical geometrical schema, or diagram, ''with ex- planation, by which makers of tubular instruments can with the greatest accuracy construct their instruments according to any of the recognised pitches," which so puzzled the musical jury at the Paris Exhibition of 1867 that they refused to decide on its merits. Bohm's system is also applicable to oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, and it has to a certain extent been adopted by certain makers of the two first-named instruments, more especially for French military clarinets, but not nearly to the same extent as on the flute.
The model of 1847 (Page 68, Fig. 2) was awarded the gold medal at the London Exhibition of 185 1, the report of Sir Henry Bishop stating that " M. Bohm has acquired not only a perfection in tone and tuning never before attained, but also a facility in playing in those keys which were hitherto difficult and defective in sonorous- ness or intonation "; and another juror remarks, '* One person brings forward a flute with a fine note E, another with some other fine note, but what we want is a flute with all the notes equally fine, and this we find only in the flutes on Bohm's principles." It also gained the gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1855. Though largely taken up in most European countries and in America, Germany, strange to relate, was one of the last countries to adopt it. In 1866 they still played the old eight-keyed flute in Berlin and Vienna. In fact, even to-day some German conductors object to a Bohm flute in their orchestras.
^1
Story of the Flute
This was practically Bohm's last experiment in con- nection with the instrument, but he continued to manu- facture flutes along- with Mendler. Bohm Bohm s published several pamphlets on the instru- u ica- p-,e,^t. One, entitled Ueher den Flotenhan, appeared in 1847; an abbreviated edition in English was published in 1882 under the title *'An Essay on the Construction of Flutes." Another, on Die Flote iind das Flotenspiel^ written in 1868, has recently been translated and published in English. These works show how deeply he had studied the scientific as well as the mechanical side of the subject.
As a player Bohm attained great celebrity in Germany, where he was considered the best flautist of his time, and Fetis speaks of his brilliant execution Bohm as a ^^ difficult passages and of his fine perform- ance of slow movements. The London press spoke highly of his tone and style: '' he strives to touch the heart rather than to astonish," said The Harmonicon. His compositions (the first, a concerto, dates from 1822) consist chiefly of airs varices ; those on The Swiss Boy (op. 20) and Du! Du ! liegst viir am Herzen (op. 22) are still occasionally heard at concerts. The latter piece is said to have been composed by Bohm as an answer to critics, who asserted that his flute could only play in the key of C. Several were written specially to exhibit the merits of his improved system, and are well- nigh impossible on the old eight-keyed flute. He also wrote some original pieces of merit — such as his Andante in B major (op. 33) and Caprices (op. 26)—
58
Flute Controversy
and some fine Studies. Bohm continued to play after he was seventy-eight years of age and had a set of false teeth; and though his sight was bad, he was erect in figure, and walked with a firm step up to the very end of his long and extremely temperate life (November 25th, 1881). He was a fine billiard and chess-player, even when he could hardly see the balls or the men.
On April 9th, 1894, all the members of the family then living near Munich assembled in the house in which Bohm was born, in order to celebrate the centenary of his birth, and countless o m s
letters and telegrams were sent from all over the world — a fitting tribute to an inventive genius of no mean order.
BOHM-GORDON CONTROVERSY.
During their mutual acquaintance no controversy
ever arose between Bohm and Gordon as to the priority
of their inventions; they were always on
friendly terms, and Bohm always spoke and , *^^°*^^ 7 ° 4-fu- -I- J r- (( Inventions
wrote 01 his rival in words or praise, as " a
gentleman in every respect." He appears to have tried to assist Gordon's efforts in every way. After all, there was not very much originality or invention in the key- mechanism of either of their flutes; both freely adopted the somewhat crude ideas and devices of previous workers in the same field, but it was Bohm who ren- dered them of practical value. The controversy was concerned chiefly with the keys, and was entirely con- fined to Bohm's model of 1832: it had nothing to do
59
Story of the Flute
with the cylinder bore and parabolic head-joint. Now, it is not on his key-mechanism that Bohm's fame chiefly rests: "It is much easier" (as he himself says) "to construct keys than to improve notes." His real claim to the gratitude of all flute-players consists, as Mr. Broadwood remarks, " in his successful substitution of acoustic theory for mere empirical experiment " and in his ascertainment, by careful scientific investigation, of the correct position of the holes on the flute. Gordon no doubt also attempted this: but owing to his lack of acquaintance with acoustics, he failed; whilst Bohm, with his scientific and mechanical knowledge, succeeded.
No question was raised till 1S38, when Gordon had
already been for some time in a lunatic asylum. On
May 25th Coche, then Coadjutor-Professor
Coche's ^^ ^j^^ pj^^^g ^^ ^^^ p^j.j^ Conservatoire,
Attack ^ ^1 ^ r)-! ti Ti- • 'A •
wrote thus to Bohm: — "it is said in pro- fessional society that the flute that bears your name was discovered and invented, with all its present im- provements, by a person of the name of Gordon; that this Gordon, after devoting several years to experiments and labours, has given up, on account of illness, occupying himself with his flute; and that your dis- covery, in a word, is no other than his." Hmc illce lacrymcB! Coche supported this very definite and malicious statement by a letter from Gordon's wife, who naturally espoused the claim made on behalt of her unfortunate husband. It is to be noted that Coche's rival, Camus, was a friend of Bohm and had acted as his agent in Paris, playing and teaching the Bohm flute.
60
Coche's Attack on Bohm
Bohm at once repudiated the charge. Notwithstanding this, Coche issued an Examen Critique de la flute ordinaire comparee a la flute de Bohvi (originally written for the judges at the French Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Music Section, and dedicated to the members of the institution), in which he claimed the priority of invention for Gordon. In the following year Coche published his Methode pour servir a V enseignevient de la Nouvelle Flute, hiventee par Gordon, modifiee par Bohm et perfectionee par V. Coche et Buffet, jeune, dedicated to Cherubini, then Director of the Paris Conservatoire. We shall see in the next chapter what these " perfectings " of M. Coche were ; meanwhile it will be noticed that he treats Bohm as a mere modifier of Gordon's inventions.
Coche's claim on behalf of Gordon was espoused in England in a pamphlet called The Flute Explained, by Ward (1844), who had made flutes for Gordon when in London, and also by Prowse, a London flute-maker, and the controversy was revived in The Musical World of 1843.1
^ That this was not quite appreciated by the non-flute-playing sub- scribers to that journal is clear from the following amusing letter to the Editor :—
THE BOHM FLUTE.
*' I pray you, sir, to put a mute
On all this noise 'bout Bohm's flute ; Your powers arouse To muffle Prowse, Nor let old Card Contend with Ward, But quash at once the dull dispute."
— Embouchure. 61
Story of the Flute
On the other hand, Clinton, a leading Eng-lish flautist and Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, in the first English book of instructions for the Bohm flute — namely, A Theoretical and Pi'actical Essay on the Bdh7n Flute^ as niamtfactiired hy Messrs. Rtidall & Rose — evidently considered Bohm entitled to the credit of the invention. In his enthusiastic dedication of this work to Bohm, Clinton says: —
** When in after ages the future historian of the Flute, in tracing its progress from infancy to maturity, shall enumerate those whose talents and exertions have successfully contributed to its perfect development, your name will stand conspicuously prominent in the list. He will point, with peculiar satisfaction, to your achievements, and this our day will be characterised by him as the commencement of a new era in the history of the instrument. And when he shall contrast the capa- bilities of the Flute, in his time, with the recorded imperfections of that of former generations, the name of Bohm will be transmitted in grate- ful remembrance to posterity, as the originator of the wondrous and triumphant change. To whom, then, can I, with equal propriety, dedicate a work, the object of which is, to introduce to English Flute- players, this monument of your genius, already so fully appreciated by the great body of Continental Professors and amateurs ? — Wishing you many years of health and happiness, in the enjoyment of that fame which is so justly your due, I have the honour to subscribe myself, your very obedient and faithful servant, J. Clinton. London, May, 1843."
He throughout speaks of Bohm as the inventor. His later School for the Bohm Fhtte (1846) was also dedi- cated to Bohm. After such decided expressions on the subject, it is somewhat startling to find Clinton, in his Practical Hints to Flute-players upon the subject of Modern Flutes (1855) — a work describing his own
62
Controversy after Bohm's Death
new " Equisonant " flute — attributing- the invention to
Gordon. A much stronger, though less oratorical,
supporter of Bohm's claims, Mr. Richard Carte (1845),
pointed out that Gordon would hardly have remained
on such friendly terms with Bohm if the latter had
robbed him of his invention in 1832. Fetis, the French
musical historian {c. 1865), rather favoured Gordon.
Nothing further was heard about the matter till after
Bohm's death. In several of the foreign obituary
notices Gordon was again put forward as
entitled to the credit of the invention, and in Contro-
the London Fisraro of December 28th, 1881, t^ ^. ^ ^
. Revived
Gordon's madness was said to be due to „ ^.., ,
on Bohm s
"seeing the results of his own talent attri- Death
buted to Bohm." To this article Mr. Walter Stewart Broadwood, an enthusiastic flautist and a personal friend of Bohm, replied in the same paper and also in the Musical World of January ist, 1882; and Schafhautl wrote a paper — a translation of which appeared in the Musical World oi February i8th, 1882 — strongly advocating Bohm's claims.
The controversy slept once more till i8go, when Mr. R. S. Rockstro, in his elaborate treatise The Flute^ took up the cudgels for Gordon, and treated Bohm as more or less an impostor. An able and . ,
conclusive reply to Rockstro was furnished by Mr. C. Welch in his History of the Bohm Flute, 3rd ed. , 1896. Bohm's latest champion is Mr. H. Clay Wysham, an enthusiastic American flautist, in his little work The Evolution of the Bohm Flute.
63
Story of the Flute
Bohm nowhere states definitely that he obtained no
hints from Gordon's flute, but in a letter of May 20th,
1878, he does say, 'M never had used any-
Conclusion ^^^^^ ^f ^ Gordon, but he had to thank me
°hl^^ for what I have done for him." On the
other hand, Gordon himself never even matter
hinted that Bohm had copied his flute in any
respect; on the contrary he definitely states that he (Gordon) had adopted certain devices of Bohm's flute with Bohm's permission. The truth would appear to be that the same main ideas occurred to both men simultaneously, and that Bohm carried them out successfully, whilst Gordon failed to do so. Bohm's flute was practical and workable; Gordon's was un- practical and much too complicated to be workable.
When it is recollected that to Bohm alone are due the ascertainment of the correct acoustical positions for the holes and of the best bore for the tube; that with these — the vital part of the improvement — Gordon had nothing- whatever to do, as he was either in a mad- house or more probably dead when they were ascer- tained; that, moreover, the mechanical key-action, to which alone the controversy relates, had all been fore- shadowed by previous inventors — when these facts are borne in mind, the entire dispute fades into insigni- ficance and becomes ''a storm in a teacup." It is to be noticed that Gordon's partisans — Coche, Clinton, Ward, Rockstro — all produced rival flutes in Bohm's lifetime. Was it jealousy that caused their opposition to his claims ?
64
CHAPTER V.
THE FLUTE AFTER BOHM.
Various Patentees — Coche and Buffet — Ward — The Dorus Key — Siccama — Briccialdi's Lever— Carte's Flutes — Clinton — Pratten — Rockstro — Radcliff — Other Minor " Improvers."
The Bohm is the groundwork of all modern flutes. Since the inventor's day it has undergone many changes and experiments, but, with very few exceptions, these have not made any substantial improvement. ,
Bohm himself wrote in 1878, "Alterations p * * can be made ad infinitum, but nothing has as yet been better than my system, which will very likely remain the best. I never dispute with others about their improvements." Between 1848-9 Messrs. Rudall and Rose alone made ten diff'erent attempts at "improvement" (all subsequently discarded) for various would-be inventors. Most of these attempts were based on no sound theory, others were merely new applications of old contrivances. If they remedied some old defects, they substituted other new ones. As Skeffington says, "Flute-players were divided, and flute-makers were worked up to a great pitch of rivalry and contention. Systems of mechanism were advocated
65 5
Story of the Flute
which had really nothing at all of system in them ; and theories were hastily laid down which were untenable on the commonest principles of science. . . . We have seen flutes sent forth with flaming- titles and explanations based on acoustical theories and all sorts of scientific nostrums which were to astonish the orchestras of Europe, and we look round now in vain to see a single trace of their existence. . . . Any experimentalist, should he invent or alter but a single key, calls such invention a tlieory or system^ and he attempts to show that the acoustical properties of the flute demand this key or this alteration."
The first of this "noble army of patentees" was Coche, who made one really valuable addition — namely, the hole and key for the C"^ D"| shake — which is now put on all good flutes. Most of his modifications are of
no practical value and have never become '^\t\^^ general. He adopted an excavation in the
head-joint where it rests against the lower lip of the player, a device already suggested by Ribcock [c. 1782) and used by both Bohm and Gordon. It is still occasionally met with. Buff'et fitted the keys with needle springs of steel wire [c. 1S37), possibly at Coche's suggestion. These have since been universally em- ployed on Bohm flutes. Strange to say, Bohm at first objected to them and would not use them, preferring the old flat brass springs. The needle springs were first used in England by Cornelius Ward in 1842. Ward was not satisfied with Bohm's flute. Accord- ingly in substitution for this "bungling compromise
66
Various Patentees
between tone, tune, and the ordinary dimensions of the human hand," Cornelius brought out a flute of his own, which was intended to remedy all Bohm's defects. Most of Ward's changes were adapted from earlier flutes ; they are of an extremely minute and technical nature, aiming at an open-keyed system, and though they attracted a good deal of attention at the time, effected no real permanent improvement. One peculiarity of Ward's flute was that the two low C keys were closed by the left hand thumb by means of long traction levers ; this poor thumb h^d to work no less than five keys.
Dorus in 1838 invented a new closed key for Glf, to render the fingering of the Bohm more like that of the old eight-keyed flute. It was adopted by several leading French players, and is still ^
sometimes used, although better forms of closed Gji keys have since been devised. Many unsuccessful attempts were made by William Card and others to adapt the old, or so-called natural, fingering to the new system. The most notable of these dabblers was Abel Siccama, a very moderate amateur flautist, who patented quite a variety of flutes : the first in 1842. One had but a single key (C^), and had an open hole for the G for the right hand thumb. Another, called The Diatonic Flute (it was really enharmonic), patented in 1847, though of no real value, was adopted by Richardson, and also by Pratten for a time. Siccama claimed that this instrument equalled the violin in correctness of tune, and that
67
Story of the Flute
certain difficult keys were rendered easier; also that it facilitated the playing of chords and arpeggios with neatness. But by his changes Siccama spoiled the third octave, and his flutes — though still to be met with
^
68
Carte's Flutes
occasionally — obtained no permanent hold ( Page 68,
Fig. i). Briccialdi also tried to adapt the old fingering
to the new flute. He is credited sometimes _ , . ,,. . , , . . , - , . , Briccialdi
with havmg mvented a system or closmg the
Fj hole by tw^o rings or keys for the F^ and Ej^ holes, which has been largely adopted, but it is more probable that it was invented by Carte or Forde. However, Briccialdi undoubtedly did invent the Br) lever now used on Bohm flutes (Fig. 13). This contrivance pic. i3.-briccialdi's b^ lever. dates from 1849, and is a de- cided improvement. It was first made, under Bric- cialdi's direction, by Rudall & Rose (now Rudall, Carte, & Co ), whose flutes rapidly attained a great reputation. Mr. Richard Carte, who joined
x.t n • D r Rudall.
the firm m 1850, was for many years '
well known as a flautist, possessing great ^ ^ *
facility of execution. In early life he was a personal friend of Spohr, and in 1842 was a member of Julliens' band. The improvements in the flute made from time to time by this firm are both numerous and important. In 1843 ^^^^7 took up Bohm's model of 1832, and brought over Greve, one of Bohm's best workmen, to instruct their staff". When Bohm's model of 1847 appeared they at once adopted it (Page 68, Fig. 2). In 1851 Carte brought out a new patent flute, in which the open keys and equidistant holes of Bohm were retained, combined with as much as possible of the old eight-keved fingering, but a greater
69
Story of the Flute
facility of rapid execution was obtained, chiefly by means of an open D hole for the second and third octaves, and less work thrown upon the thumb and little fing-er of the left hand, which are always weak. In 1867 Carte brought out another flute known as "The 1867 Patent Carte and Bohm Combined Flute" (Pag-e 68, Fig. 3), which unites the advantages of the original Bohm with those of Carte's 1851 flute. The principal changes are in the key mechanism of the Ft| Fjf and B^ B[,. It also affords a great variety of fingerings for each note.
Clinton in 1848 patented some quite useless modifica- tions, reverting more or less to the old system of closed keys, and contradicting much of what he had said two years previously. In 1855 he published a pamphlet about a new flute which he termed "The Equisonant Flute," retaining much of the old system of fingering, and having diff"erent diameters of the bore for the different notes to imitate the human larynx, a curious and valueless notion. A partisan of the Bohm thereupon asked if " equisonant " meant "equally bad all over," on which Mr. Rockstro remarks that un- fortunately it was unequally bad ! He next (1S62) brought out a flute with cylinder body and equally graduated holes, getting smaller as they approached the mouth-hole. This flute, which gained a gold medal in the exhibition of 1862, was strongly advocated by Skefiington. It had not, however, even the merit of originality, as Bohm had tried graduating the holes before 185 1, but had abandoned the idea. In 1863
70
Modern Improvers
Clinton patented yet another flute, to a great extent retaining the old fingering and closed holes.
Pratten tried various experiments, and about the year 1856 brought out his "Perfected Flute." He objected to take up the Bohm, and endeavoured to adapt the old fingering to the cylinder flute with large holes, with the result that his flute had in the end seventeen keys in place of the original eight ! It need hardly be added that this instrument did not justify its name, and is now completely relegated to oblivion.
Two other modifications of the Bohm which are still
largely used deserve notice. R. S. Rockstro, after many
attempts, in 1864 produced the model _ .
1 u w ^u • • 1 r . Rockstro
known by his name. Ihe principal features
are the full adoption of the open-keyed system, the
uniform diameter of the finger-holes, their increased size,
and an extra Fjj; key. Many of the keys are perforated.
He subsequently placed a tiny tube at right angles
at the C'% hole to improve the tone. Mr. J. Radcliff
also devised a new model — the nearest _ . .... 1 1 1 • 1 t -, n • Radcliff
approach to the old eight-keyed fingering.
Its principal features are that it has not the open D,
and that it has a closed G?; also the Bj? key is closed
by the first finger of the right hand by a separate lever.
Radcliff advocates a mouth-hole which is almost square,
such as Drouet used.
Mr. W. L. Barrett, Mr. Collard, Mr. Colonieu, and
others have all brought out flutes with minute changes
of fingering, etc. All these are very unimportant,
71
Story of the Flute
and have not been generally adopted. The climax of tinkering was reached by Mr. James Mathews, a Birmingham amateur, whose flute had no ^^J „ less than twenty-eight keys! The tube
was of gold, the keys of silver, and the head-joint of ivory, with a perfectly square mouth- hole. In fact, the whole instrument was " be-divelled," to use the expression of one who saw it, Mr. Mathews was a very fine player and an enthusiast. He founded the Birmingham Flue Trio and Quartett Society in 1856, of which Joseph Richardson was president till his death in 1862. The society possesses a magnificent library of flute music, including a Quartett specially written for it by Antonio Minasi.
After all, with the possible exception of Mr. Carte's 1867 Patent Flute, Bohm's own model is still the best:
*' E'en Apollonius might commend this flute, The music, winding through the stojDS, upsj^rings To make the player verj' rich."
—Mrs. BrowxMng, Casa Guidi Whidows.
72
James Mai hews and his Flute, "Chrysostom.
CHAPTER VI.
THE MILITARY FIFE.
Early history, examples, and references — Arbeau's description — Introduced into the French Army — Into the English Army — Duties of military fifers — Their position — Temporary disuse — Reinstatement — The true fife — In opera.
The drum and fife was one of the earliest forms ot military music. Even amongst the ancient Greeks the vertical flute seems to have been used largely
as a martial instrument, and the Lacedae- _^. ^ 11 .1 ,c 1 History
monians had a saymg that " a good per- former on the flute would make a man brave every danger and face even iron itself." This martial character has survived to modern times.
Strictly speaking, a fife is a small cylinder flute, generally unjointed, with six finger-holes and without any keys. It would appear to have been first introduced into military music early in the sixteenth century by the Swiss, who, as the principal mercenary soldiers of the Middle Ages, soon spread the instrument all over Europe. It was first known as the Zwerchpfeiff", Schweitzerpfeiff, or Swiss pipe (for pictures, see Chap. III., p. 30, ante)^ and is said to have been first used by the Swiss troops in the battle of Marignano (1515). It was also called
73
Story of the Flute
the Feldpfeiff (of which there were two kinds). Later on it was termed the Almain whistle (Turner so names it in 1683), owing to its being much used by the German troops. A fife of this period, preserved in the Museum of the Brussels Conservatoire, is made of dark brown wood flattened on the upper side, on which the holes are placed. It measures 12.7 inches in length, and has a bore of .37 inch. Its pitch is in Bi^. Fifes and drums are depicted in an engraving by Albert Durer, repre- senting the triumph of Maximilian in 151 2, also in a picture of the siege of Pavia (now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), painted in 1525. A journal of the siege of Boulogne, 1544, printed in Rymer's Foedera^ mentions " drummes and viffeurs " as marching at the head of the royal army. Waterman, in his Fardle Facw7iSy 1555, says the Turks use "a dromme and a fiphe to assemble their bandes " (ii. xi. 248). Prastorius and Mersenne both depict fife and drum on the same page.
Thoinot Arbeau (whose real name was JehanTaburet)
in 1588 published at Langres a work entitled Orcheso-
graphie^ in the form of a dialogue between
r eau s ^^^ Capriol and the author, in which he
describes at some length these fifes used by
the Swiss and Germans, and gives an illustration of a
soldier playing one. He says: " D'aultant qu' elle est
percee bien estroictement de la grosseur d'un boulet de
pistolet, elle rend un son agu " (p. 17). He tells us
that the player plays any music he likes, and amplifies
it at will ; it is enough for him to keep time with the
74
Early Fife Music
sound of the drum. He also gives instructions as to tongueing: " Il-y-a deux manieres de flutter; Tune en tetant, I'aultre en rollant. Au premier la langue du joueur faict te^ te^ te ou iere^ tere^ tere^ et au second jeu roll6, la langue, du joueur faict rele^ rele^ rele.'' The former method is "plus aigre et rude," and therefore more suitable for war. This highly interesting and rare old book contains a " Tablature du fifre ou arigot [i.e. , flute ^) au troisiesme ton " from C Sol to Ela. This table is stated to have been compiled by *' Isaac
Fife Music from Arbeau's OrcJiesographie.
bh'frfrifrrfi
pf^^X\^\f9 ^^=^
b r rtrfrr ^ ir rrf 0^^ \^^^
Huguet, organiste." Some very early fife music will also be found in Mars his Triumph^ by T. B. (1638), to accompany the manual and firing exercises.
In 1530 Cardinal Wolsey entertained King Henry VIII. at Whitehall with a concert of drums and fifes, and they were used in Lord Mayors' shows in the sixteenth century. In 167 1 Charles I.
Introduced
into the
French and
English
Armies
prohibited persons from playing them at fairs, etc., without a licence from the Royal Trumpeter. Rabelais in 1532 mentions fifes and tambours, and Du Bellay {Essai sur les
^ Cotgrave's Dictionary (1632) defines V arigot as a name for flute or pipe, so called by clowns in some parts of France.
75
Story of the Flute
Instruments^ 1780) says that King Francis I. of France directed in 1534 that each band of one thousand men should have four drums and two fifes. Fifes were sub- sequently allotted to the Swiss companies only, and they disappeared from the French army altogether for some time, but were restored by Napoleon. They are no longer used by the French troops. It is to be noted that A. de Vigny omits ''the ear-piercing fife" alto- gether in his translation of Othello. The instrument was first used in the English army in the reign of Henry VIII. who sent to Vienna for fifes. He had a fifer named Jacques, and another named Oliver, who performed at the King's funeral in 1547. The royal fifer and drummer were paid 45s. for their livery in 1532; in 1555 the King's fifers were Henry Ball and Thomas Curson. "Ffyff"ers" are included in the muster-roll of the London Train bands in 1539; and the Privy Council Acts, 1548, provide for four drums and two fifes, and one John Pretre is named as fifer. Fifes are often mentioned in Elizabethan literature (where they are sometimes called " Whifiles "), almost always in connection with drums, trumpets, and soldiers. In Barret's Theoricke and Prac tike of Modern Warres (1598) " drumes and phifes " are mentioned. Burton, in his Anatomy of Mela?icholy (1621), says "the trumpet, drum, and fife are soldiers' instruments." Francis Markham, in his Five Decades of Epistles of War (1622), says he knew no more sweet and solemn melody than that which drums and fifes aff'orded, but elsewhere he disapproves of the military use of the fife,
76
Military Fifes
which he ignominiously terms "a whistle," and says
that it is to the voice of the drum that the soldier should
wholly attend. These early fifers would seem to have
been often "but easy players and very drunkards."
The band of the British Royal Artillery, when at St.
Quentin in 1557, included a "drum and phife," and a
document of the year 162 1 mentions that the English
army had forty drummers and forty fifers.
The following^ curious regulations were laid down at
this period for army fifers: — " All capitaines must have
drommes and ffifes, and men to use the
same, who shall be faithfuU, secrete, and ",!f^ ° f ui ^ \u ■ Military
mgemous, ot able personage to use their p,^
instruments and office, of sundrie languages ; for oftentimes they bee sent to parley with their enemies, to sommon theire efforts and diverse other messages, which of necessitie requireth language. If such drommes and ffifes should fortune to fall into the hands of the enemies, noe guifte nor force should cause them to disclose any secrettes that they knowe. They must often practice theire instruments, teach the com- panye the soundes of the marche, allarum, approache, assaulte, battaile, retreate, skirmishe, or any other challenge that of necessitie should be knowen. They must be obediente to the commandemente of theire captaine and ensigne, when as they shall command them to comme, goe, or stande, or sound theire retreate or callinge."
It would therefore appear that the fifers were ex- pected to act more or less as interpreters (doubtless
77
Story of the Flute
many of them were foreigmers), and also to a certain extent as drill instructors. Part of the duty of the Fife-Major in 1748 was to inflict corporal punishment, which was later relegated to the Drum-Major. Fifers were clearly of a higher rank than the ordinary soldiers, and were paid on a higher scale, receiving is. a day, whereas the private soldier only got 8d. They carried a case containing several fifes in different pitches at their side, as may be seen in many old pictures. Some- times a banner was attached to the fife, as shown in Sandford's picture of the coronation procession of James II. The Soldier's Accidence (1629) mentions that the eldest fife marched along with the eldest drum. The march usually played by the English fifes and drums at this period struck the French Marshal Biron as *'slow, heavy, and sluggish." On his re- marking this to Sir Roger Williams, the latter replied, '*That may be true, but still it has traversed your master's country from one end to the other."
In the reign of Charles I. the fife disappeared for a while from the English army, its place being taken by
the bagpipe or the hautboy. Four drums Temporary ^^^ ^ f^f^^ however, were used at the funeral ^^d^R °^ ^^^ Duchess of Saxony in 1666. It was
f"^ ^ ^" , re-introduced into the British Guards when instatemcnt ,^ ... rr^, • . j ^•
at Maestricht m 1747. The re-mtroduction
is attributed to the Duke of Cumberland; and at the termination of the war a Hanoverian named John Ulrich was brought over from Flanders specially to teach the fife to the Royal Artillery, and in June 1753 that corps
7«
Fife in Opera
had a Drum-Major, ten drummers, a Fife-Major, and five fifers. Hogarth's famous picture of the March of the Guards, painted in December 1750, includes a drummer and fifer. The old fife calls are still pre- served in the Guard regiments. In 1747 another Hanoverian was fife teacher in the first line regiment to adopt the fife — viz., the 19th Foot, popularly known as the Green Howards. Most of the drummers also played the fife. They were at first allowed only in the Grenadier company, and were paid by the officers. (Grose, Mil. Ant.) Fifers were also used in English cavalry regiments before the end of the eighteenth century.
The true fife, which was generally set in Bb, F, or C, was faulty in intonation; it disappeared about i860, and its place was taken by small fiutes of conical bore and fitted with keys. Prowse made a fife with eleven holes and no keys so late as 1825; I do not quite see how this could be fingered.
Handel, in his opera Almira (iii. 3), has a band of cymbals, drums, and fifes where Consalvo enters as Asia surrounded by lions. Meyerbeer, in addition to the usual orchestra, has intro- A^ *"
duced a fife and drum band, and also a brass band (both on the stage), in his LEtoile du Nord, all playing different tunes simultaneously: the effect is noisy but imposing. These are the only instances that I can recall of the introduction of the fife in orchestral or operatic music. ^
^ The piccolo is used to imitate the fife in Macfarren's May Day.
79
CHAPTER VII.
THE PICCOLO : THE F FLUTE.
Piccolo — Orchestral use — Characteristics— Berlioz on its abuse — Its various registers — As used by great composers — Two piccolos — With cymbals, bells, etc. — As a solo instrument — Military varieties — The F flute.
The Flauto Piccolo, the highest pitched instrument of the orchestra, is a development of the earlier conical
Schweitzerpfeiff, and to this day the conical , bore is preferred to the cylinder bore,
although some piccolos are made with the
r\ 1 4. latter. The piccolo is in a sense a trans- Orchestra ^
posing instrument, as it sounds an octave above the written note. This is done in order to avoid numerous ledger lines. The compass of the instrument is said to extend to the C in altissimo, ^p^^, •• but it is rarely used above the A (the top :^
note of the pianoforte), though an occa- q -[^ sional B may be met with in orchestral 7(7 writings. I have never come across this tf' " top C in any piccolo part. As the instrument does not possess a tail-joint like the flute, its lowest note is DU.
8o
Piccolo in the Orchestra
The piccolo seems to have first appeared in the orchestra about 1700. Destouches and Lalande in The Elements (c. 172 1) have two Httle flutes. Rameau used one in his overture Acanthe . " f°'
znd Cephise (1751) and two in his Pigmalion (1748). Haydn uses it once [Spring)^ and Gluck intro- duces it in several of his operas. Beethoven was the first to introduce it into a symphony.
In the orchestra the piccolo is as a rule played by the second flute-player, unless when played along- with both flutes. A question has been raised as to whether piccolo playing is injurious to the tone of a flute-player, the embouchure being so diff"erent. Certainly the great piccolo-players, such as Frisch (c. 1840), Harrington Young, Le Thiere, Roe, etc., did not shine very pre- eminently as flute-players. The French excel as piccoloists.
The piccolo is the noisiest and least refined in tone of
the whole orchestra, and is apt to give a tinge of
vulgarity if injudiciously introduced — as it
too often is. It is, in fact, in all respects ^*^ Char-
the most abused instrument: abused by ^^ \
1 J J- 1-1 Use, and
composers, players, and audiences alike. ajl
Berlioz says: "When I hear this instru- ment employed in doubling in triple octave the air of a baritone, or casting its squeaking voice into the midst of a religious harmony, or strengthening or sharpening (for the sake of noise only) the high part of an orchestra from beginning to end of an act of an opera, I cannot help feeling that this mode of instrumentation is one of
Si 6
Story of the Flute
platitudes and stupidity. The piccolo may, however, have a very happy effect in soft passages, and it is a mere prejudice to think that it should only be played loud." Examples of most effective use of the piccolo pimiissimo will be found in Beethoven's Turkish March in the Ruins of Athens^ and in Schumann's Faust (ii. 5), where it is so used on its highest register. It abso- lutely lacks the poetic sweetness of the flute. The lower notes are feeble, dull, and devoid of any particular character; the middle register is the best, whilst the upper notes are harsh and piercing, the very top ones being almost unbearably so. There is very little real musical tone to be got out of the instru- ment— it is, in fact, nothing but a glorified tin-whistle. Nevertheless, it has its uses: an occasional sudden flash on the piccolo is very thrilling, and it can create certain piquant effects and accentuate brilliant points in the score better than any other member of the orchestra.
The chief vocation of the piccolo is to reproduce the noises of the elements of nature, the strident howling of the tempest, the flash of the lightning, the torrent ot the rain. There is something diabolic and mocking in its upper notes; hence it has been employed by many dramatic composers to typify infernal revelry and Satanic orgies. Marschner uses two piccolos in his Le Vampire^ and Gounod and Berlioz both introduce it along with Mephistopheles in their respective Fausts. So, too, Sullivan, in The Golden Legend^ heralds the approach of Lucifer by a lightning flash on the piccolo.
82
Piccolo in Great Scores
It is clearly a diabolical instrument — often in more senses than one !
Weber, Wagner, and Sullivan have used the piccolo in scenes of magic and the supernatural with striking effect. Wagner several times portrays the rustling of leaves and of trees by means of it.
Owing to its bright, gay character, the piccolo is also much used in joyous pastoral scenes, village fetes, and dances. Verdi uses it to produce comic effects in his Falstaff. It is very rarely used in sacred music:
Bizet, Caj'men, i. 3, March. Allegro.'
2 PircOTO«; ONLY at fir=!t aloTip then with Strings pizz.
Cherubini introduces it into his Coronation Mass in A, Berlioz uses it in his L'Enfaiice du Christ and Te Deum, and Brahm in his Requiem^ as does also Dvorak. In Massenet's Scenes Pittoresques the lower notes are used effectively in the slow, quiet " Angelus."
In the orchestra the piccolo is often very useful to continue an ascending passage above the compass of the flute, and to brighten the tone. Its sharp, accen- tuated rhythm is very useful in martial scenes, as in Bizet's Carmen. Auber uses the instrument with great skill.
83
Story of the Flute
Two
Piccolos
Though usually played along with the flute in orchestral works, the piccolo is often used alone very effectively. Two piccolos are occasionally used, either in addition to the flutes or with- out them. Spohr has a passage in his over- ture Jessonda for two piccolos in F without flutes. Berlioz, in his Faust (" Evocation "), uses three piccolos (without flutes), playing separate parts. This is the only instance I know of three being used. I don't think any composer has introduced four separate parts for
Berlioz, Faust, "Evocation."' Allegro.
3 PICCOLOS.
With
Cymbals,
etc.
piccolos in any orchestral work. Spontini {N'our- mahal) was apparently the first to discover the com- bination of the piccolo with the cymbals. " It cuts and rends instantaneously like the stab of a poignard," says Berlioz. Modern composers have frequently used it along with the cymbals, bells, triangle, or glockenspiel ; Saint-Saens produces a ghastly effect in his Da?isc Macabre by combining it with the xylophone.
Owing to its great agility, the piccolo is frequently used as a solo instrument, chiefly to imitate birds ©r
84
F Flute
for squealing- variations. These sparklingf (but utterly
trivial) compositions are usually in the polka or waltz
form, and Bousquet, Donjon, and others
have written several pieces of this kind for _
„ , , . , Instrument
two piccolos. But such thmgs are only
tolerable in a very largfe hall or in the open air, where
they are often performed by military bands. A piccolo
solo in the drawing-room is not to be tolerated save by
those who are stone-deaf.
In military bands various other sizes of piccolo are
used. The French use one in D^, a minor 9th higher than
the concert flute, whilst the Italians prefer
one in Ek.^ These are practically never used ,^ \ .
V3.ricties in orchestra, the only instances of which I
am aware being Schumann's Paradise and the Peri,
Berlioz's Syniphonie Fiuiehre (as originally written for
a military band), and Spohr's overture The Fall oj
Babylo7i; in all of which the D? piccolo is used.
Numerous other varieties of small flutes have from
time to time been devised. One in E';j is specially
adapted for military bands; their music
being usually written in flat keys. The only ^
variety ever found in orchestral works is the
F flute, sometimes called the Tierce, or Third Flute,
as it sounds a minor third above the concert flute. It
is less piercing than the piccolo, and has more vigour
than the C flute. It is introduced by Mozart in the
original score of L Enlevement an Serail, by Spohr in
^ Jullien in his Zouave's Band (1856) had one piccolo in FC, one in D[7, one F flute and two concert flutes.
85
Story of the Flute
his Power of Sound symphony — in addition to an ordinary flute — and by Gade in the Siren's song in The Crusaders, probably to avoid the difficulty of the key on the ordinary flute. Bishop originally wrote the obligate to his famous song, " Lo, hear the Gentle Lark," for an F flute.
86
CHAPTER VIII.
ALTO AND BASS FLUTES.
The true bass flute — Early exampleB — Alto flutes — Modern examples — The flute d'amour — Recent revival.
Bass and alto flutes are mentioned by Agricola in 1528. Mersenne (1637) describes a cylinder bass flute an octave below the concert flute. This is a true bass flute, a term which is generally *^ ^
applied to flutes which are really alto or tenor instruments. The Museum of the Paris Conservatoire contains a true bass boxwood flute (presented by Dorus), which is known as the ''Five- foot Flute," though it really measures a little over four English feet. It has three brass keys, is inscribed with the maker's name, "J. Beuker, Amsterdam," and has open keys for two holes (A and E) which could not be reached easily by the fingers. The only other key is for DJ. It dates from early in the eighteenth century. Malcolm Macgregor, a musical instrument maker in Carey Street, London, patented in 1810 a true bass flute. He doubled back the head-joint in order that the fingers might reach the lower holes (a device which is mentioned by Mersenne and also in Borde's Essay ^ 1780). The
87
Story of the Flute
head-joint is a solid block of wood, containing- two bores, connected together at the cork-end (Page 89, Fig. i). The finger-holes are about double as far apart as on an ordinary flute, but they are brought within reach by means of keys. It measures about forty-three inches in all, the turned back portion being- about twelve inches. Macgregor sometimes made the con- nection between the turned back head and the main body of the flute by means of a semi-circular metal pipe, the two tubes standing slightly apart.
Diderot and D'Alembert's Encyclopcedia (Paris, 1751- 80) has a woodcut of a so-called bass flute in G w^th four open keys, covering the B G F^j and E holes, and a closed key for D^ (Page 89, Fig. 2). It is very slightly conoidal, with an ornamental bulb-end, and is bent back at the top with a small semi-circular tube of brass at the end. It is in four joints. A very similar flute, which is now in the Paris Conservatoire, was made by Charles Delusse, a Parisian flautist and composer (r. 1758). It measures fifty inches, and is ot dark-stained boxwood, with ivory tips and brass keys.
There is in the Museo Civico at Verona a so-called bass flute of the seventeeth century, pitched in Kb, and measuring nearly three feet seven inches from the cork to the end. As the lowest hole is thirty and a half inches from the mouth-hole, no person of ordinary stature could finger the lower holes. Those for the little fingers are double.
The alto or tenor flute (sometimes called Flauto di Voce) occasionally has a large hole at the side near
88
Alto and Bass Flutes
89
•
Story of the Flute
the C"f hole, covered with thin skin in order to give a sympathetic or reedy tone. Macgregor made flutes of this kind, sometimes with a turned- back head-joint, and measuring about two feet three inches. They were generally pitched in G. Bohm made an alto flute a fourth lower than the ordinary flute, and wrote solos (now lost) for it. It was made of silver, and "compared to the C flute, it was like the voice of a powerful soprano in contrast to a child. Once when I played it in a church it was mistaken for a French horn." Many foreign makers of the early nineteenth century have made tenor and alto flutes, especially the Viennese and Parisians, and several were exhibited in the Exhibition of 1855. Some had no less than seven keys below the D, worked by the two little fingers and the left-hand thumb. In some the low G was so difficult to sound that when the flautist Sedlatzek succeeded in doing so, he stood the flute up in the corner of the room and saluted it ! This very instrument is now in the possession of Rudall, Carte & Co. It is made of ebony by Koch of Vienna (c. 1827), and has thirteen keys.
Similar flutes were made by several English makers, Banbridge (1820), Burleigh (1855), Potter, and others. They generally measure about two feet Modern ^j^^ j^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ Messrs. Rudall, Examples ^^^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^^ recently perfected an alto flute (Page 89, Fig. 3). It is of silver, about thirty- two inches long, and descends to G. This very beauti- ful instrument has a full, rich tone of novel character,
90
Flute d'Amour
and, strange to say, though so much longer and of so much larger a bore than the concert flute, it requires almost less expenditure of breath to sound. Moritz of Berlin has recently produced a similar instrument.
Another variety, frequently used in Bach's day, was termed the " Flute d'Amour." Flautists will remember that the slow movement in Terschak's fine solo, La Sirene^ is marked to be played '^ " ^ as by a flute d'amour. This instrument is pitched a minor third below the concert flute and stands in the key of B. Oberlender made flutes of this pitch early in the nineteenth century. They had one key, and the finger-holes were bored obliquely. Clementi in 1819 made them with four square silver keys, going down to B^ or Bb.
Berlioz regretted that the alto flute was not more used in his day. There is, however, a tendency of late to return to the ancient practice of employing in the orchestra a complete family of each of the diff'erent classes of wind instrument. The alto flute has already been employed in a considerable number of modern orchestral works (chiefly Russian) to produce special eff"ects, and will doubtless be more largely used in future. Examples occur in Weingartner's Das Gefilde der Seligen^ in one of Rimsky-Kosakow's ballets, and also in works by Glazounow and Joseph Holbrooke.^
1 Mr. E. Gr?eme Browne gave a recital on the so-called bass flute (in G) in London on July 23rd, 1913. He informs me that it has a compass of three full octaves, though no existing orchestral part extends above B".
CHAPTER IX.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLUTE.
Popularity of the flute — Its tone — Various registers — Its agility — Harmonics — Double tongueing — The glide — Vibrato effect — Shakes and turns — Tremolo — Best keys — Hygenic aspect.
The flute excites more enthusiasm among- its votaries than any other instrument. There is a kind of free- , masonry among flute-players. "Can any mortal mixture of Earth's mould breathe such divine, enchanting ravishment?" cries one. Mer- senne says that " if the concert of angels had not the sole right to be called ' ravishing,' the flute would merit this superlatively admiring epithet." An American enthusiast writes: " 'Tis so elegant, so stately, so powerful, so gracious, that I can think of nothing to liken it to, except a tall, slender, grey-eyed, manifold- cultured young Queen, pure with all the reverend characteristics of maidenhood, and at the same time eloquent with that instinctive understanding of the whole humanity of life, by which genius gives expres- sion to emotions it does not need to experience." (!) The Paradisical pleasures of the Mohammedans are said to consist largely of playing on the flute.
92
Popularity of the Flute
Macfarren in 1837 found in the Isle of Man sixteen flute-players to a single violoncellist and clarinetist. Special journals, such as The Flutists' Magazine and The Flutoiiicon (1842), containing music and critical notices of the great players of the day, were issued by Mr. James for the delectation of the countless amateurs of the instrument. Whole operas were transcribed for two, or even one flute. Schopenhauer mentions in his Table-Talk that he possessed all of Rossini's operas arranged for the flute, and that he played them for an hour daily; luckily he never required — or even per- mitted— any one to listen to him ! The Musical Monthly for 1820 complained that accompaniments *'for the German flute " were added to every piece of music. The climax was reached about 1S20-50. It was fol- lowed by a decline in popularity. Of late, however, there has been a very perceptible increase of interest taken in the flute, due in a great measure to the skill and high artistic standard of some of the present-day solo players, and to the good class of compositions favoured by them. Several notable soloists have given successful flute recitals in London and elsewhere; their programmes have included much really good music, and the public are discovering that, as Hamlet says, "There is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ."
The most obvious feature of the flute is the limpid sweetness and clearness of its tone. This liquid sound is quite peculiar to it; even the organ cannot exactly reproduce it. It rather resembles the human voice,
93
Story of the Flute
especially that of a boy. There is something particu- larly fascinating about the soft, velvety, so to speak, "glassy" tone of the flute, which ''falls
°"f. ° upon the ear like flakes of snow." Though the Flute • , -, • •. ^ -^ r ., u
passionate, it is quite devoid or the rough,
tearing tone of the reed instruments. Many orchestral players produce a hard, mechanical tone like a clarinet or oboe; others strive apparently to rival the cornet or trombone, but this is not the true flute tone. The old flute had undoubtedly more of this characteristic melli- fluous sound than the modern Bohm. The cause of this peculiar tone-quality is not known with certainty, but it probably arises from the absence of a mouthpiece of any kind. Flute tone requires gentle treatment, is limited in power or quantity, and is unsuited for large concert halls; but is capable of the most delicate eff"ects in skilful hands, when the player becomes, as it were, united sympathetically to his flute. Too many play forte throughout. Goethe says, "To blow is not to play upon the flute; you must move the fingers"; he might have added, " and vary the strength and manner of your blowing." Its real character is too often sacri- ficed to rapid execution, calculated to show off the technique of the player rather than the beauty of the instrument.
The tone varies very- considerably in the various registers. The characteristic notes of the lowest octave (especially if played piano and in a minor key) are invaluable in soft, mournful, elegaic passages, express- ing, as Berlioz says, "an accent of desolation, but of
94
Tone and Nature of the Flute
humility and resignation at the same time." They are admirable in solos, but require careful treatment in orchestral writing", being easily rendered in- audible. They can also infuse a certain s various tinge of mystery into the music. On the whole, the best part of the instrument is the middle register: there the notes are mild, sweet, plaintive, and poetic, admirably suited to convey the dreaminess of love. Walckiers mentions melancholy as one of the chief characteristics of the flute; hence Sir Henry Irving, at a dinner of the Royal Society of Musicians, once humorously referred to the flute as "perhaps the most conspicuous interpreter of all the melancholy of these damp islands. What a stimulus to charitable impulse ought to be given by the flute !" The upper register is brilliant, bright, gay, lark-like. In an orchestra it tells out and penetrates the whole mass of the strings. The flute has been termed "■ the diamond of the orchestra"; and Gevaert says, " Les flutes, grace et ornament de I'orchestre, creant au dessus de la masse sonore une atmosphere de lumiere azuree." Schumann speaks of the "ethereal tones" of the upper register, which have been compared to a delicate light blue in painting.
Some one has spoken of the "fatal facility" of the flute. It certainly is much the most flexible and agile of all wind instruments. Rapid sequences, scales, arpeggios, and octaves in all keys, ^ S^ ^ V skips from high to low notes and vice-versa, all are easily playable on it. " Harmonics " are also possible in the
95
Story of the Flute
hands of skilled players, and they occasionally use them even in orchestral compositions, in order to simplify difficult passages. Sometimes they are used (especially by continental flautists) for the purpose of varying the tone-colour and expression, and Terschak, Doppler, and others have introduced these " flageletto " notes into some of their solo compositions. The tone of harmonics produced from the lowest Ci| and Ci (and B, if on the instrument) is very remarkable. Drouet objected to the use of harmonics, owing to their being always accompanied by a very slight sound of a fifth below.
A peculiarity of the flute is that very rapid staccato passages can be played with great distinctness by means of " double-tongueing " and " triple- tongueing"; the only other instrument on which this can be done is the cornet. This effect, which was known in the days of Hotteterre, is produced by the rapid enunciation of such syllables as " dou-gou " or *' too-coo-too," in which the tongue strikes alternately on two different parts of the palate. This is, no doubt, more or less of a trick — James terms it "Babylonish gabble" (which it too often is) — and should only be used when absolutely necessary. It is very usual in old-fashioned flute solos, but is not very frequently employed in orchestral music. Raff, how- ever, uses it in his Third Symphony, Saint-Saens in his ballet in Asca?tzo; and Rimsky-Korsakow, in his Grande Paque Russe, produces a tremolo effect by very rapid double-tongueing on a piccolo and two flutes.
96
Double-tongueing
Drouet and Richardson excelled in this device. Good " double-tongfueing " can only be acquired by constant practice. One Dothel Figlio is said by Southey to have slit his tongue that he might excel in it. Mr. Taylor mentions a player who always carried the head-joint of his flute with him on solitary walks in the country and practised his "double-tongueing" as he walked along. I have known a flautist to silently practise this action of the tongue (but, of course, without the flute) during the sermon in church! In the hands of a skilful player a single flute can produce the eff"ect of two, one playing the melody and the other the accompaniment. The extraordinary performances of one George Bayr {c. iSio) created a great sensa- tion in Vienna, and to this day it is sometimes stated that he played double notes on the flute. Mr. Broadwood tells an amusing story of a Dutchman who was noted for his power of sustaining chords on his flute: —
"I was present," he says, "at the Philharmonic rehearsal [in London], and well remember the brilliant and rapid staccato articula- tion with which the special wonder was ushered in. Presently came a pause; then amid deep silence and breathless expectation, the player emitted three several simultaneous sounds, . . . which were greeted by the orchestra and its conductor (Sterndale Bennett) with one vast, irrepressible shout of laughter. When this subsided the Dutchman had fled."
The name or this magician was Koppitz; he com- posed a concerto with a long cadenza in these double notes,
97 7
Story of the Flute
Another trick much used in old times, when the holes
of the flute were directly cov^ered by the fingers, was
entitled the " glide," a kind of sigh created
„., ^^ by sliding: the fingers slowlv off the holes
Effects ^ , J ^
and thus producmg quarter-tones, as m
strings. Nicholson and Richardson were much addicted
to this trick, which, according to an old writer, "is
used to express great tenderness or pity, or anguish
or despair." It is now happily impossible on modern
flutes with solid metal "touches." The vibrato effect
can also be produced on the flute, and is sometimes
extremely effective if introduced sparingly.
Turns and graces of all kinds, especially trills and
shakes, are perhaps more effective on the flute than
on any other instrument. Prolonged shakes Shakes etc •
' ' have been frequently mtroduced by the great
composers. Auber in his Bronze Horse has one twenty
bars long. They are highly effective also on the
piccolo. Wagner often introduces them ; in Siegfried
two piccolos have one for twenty bars, and in the
Walkilre's ride the flutes shake on the topmost notes of
their compass. Strauss in Til Eulenspiegel has a long
piccolo shake.
Two flutes playing in thirds or sixths (if not too high
up on their compass) are peculiarly effective, as has
been noticed by all the leading composers since the
era of Bach and even before it; but tremolo passages
in thirds, etc., although occasionally used, are not so
effective on the flute as on strings, and are sometimes
very difficult, especially if on the top register.
98
Medical Aspect
Certain keys are peculiarly suited to the flute ; thus the flat keys, especially D^ and Ab, are most effective in pathetic or elegaic adagio movements. .
In lively brisk movements the sharp keys, j^
especially E and B, are brilliant, sparkling-, and eff"ervescent. Drouet's favourite key was G, a rather difficult one on his old German flute; Nicholson preferred F.
The ancients used the flute in cases of certain com- plaints, epilepsy, sciatica, gout, and to cure the bite of a viper ; and Galen advises that the instrument be played on the suffering part. It was supposed . ,
also to soften the rigour of punishment, and ^
the Tyrrhenians scourged their slaves to the sound of flutes. The medical profession has in recent times recognised that flute-playing (in moderation) is decidedly beneficial to the health, and is especially valuable as strengthening the chest and lungs, owing to the deep but not excessive inhalations it necessitates. Flute-playing has often been ordered by doctors as a cure for a tendency to pulmonary disease, as in the case of Bohm himself.
99
CHAPTER X.
MUSIC FOR THE FLUTE.
Early Composers — Loeillet— Mercy — Blavet — Quantz — Classical Com- posers— Flautist Composers — Kuhlau — His Successors — Good flute music— Taste of the public — Airs with variations — Doppler — Terschak — Modem School of Flute Composers — Flute and Harp or Guitar — Flute and Voice.
The flute has a more extensive repertoire than any other wind instrument ; it is the best adapted for the drawing-room, being the least powerful and pronounced in tone.
One of the first to write regular solos for the flute w^as Jean Baptiste Loeillet (1653-1728), a native of Ghent, who is said to have been the first "virtuoso to play the transverse flute in England (1705). He lived in Hart
Street, Covent Garden, where he held a ^^ ^ weekly concert, at which Corelli's concertos
were heard for the first time in England. He was the first flute in the orchestra of the Hay- market Theatre, and taught both the flute and the harpsichord. He died worth ;^i6,ooo. Loeillet wrote numerous sonatas for one or two flutes, or flute and oboe, with bass, and for two flutes alone. Many of these compositions are preserved in the British Museum,
100
Loeillet — Merci— Blavet
and some have recently been republished in Paris. They are specially interesting- as being the oldest flute solos now in print. An Englishman of French extrac- tion named Louis Merci or Mercy (1690- 1750), who lived in Orange Court, Castle Street, Leicester Fields, would appear to have been the first British composer of solos for the flute, any of whose music still exists. Some of his flute solos can be seen in the British Museum. In his preface, Merci asserts the superiority of the flute to the violin, as equally capable of doing hard things and less loud or harsh in the high notes. He seems, however, to have always retained a hankering fondness for the recorder (his original instrument) ; and along with Stanesby (a famous wind instrument maker of that day) he devised a new system of non-transposing recorder.
Michel BLavet (1700-1768), a native of Besancon, gained a very high reputation by his playing, as both Ouantz and Voltaire have testified. Frederick the Great tried in vain to retain his services. Blavet (who was left-handed) was principal flute in the Paris Opera House. He composed six sonatas for the flute, with figured bass (1732), and also some duets for two flutes. The sonatas have been recently republished, edited by L. Fleury for flute and pianoforte. They are in the Handelian style, each consisting of four or five short movements, chiefly in early dance measures, of a simple and tuneful character, and absolutely devoid of subtleties or intricacies of any kind.
The first German composer of original pieces for the flute was J.J. Ouantz, who wrote his first six sonatas
lOI
Story of the Flute
in 1734. As Court musician to Frederick the Great,
Quantz composed about three hundred flute concertos
(the last is said to have been completed by
the king himself after Quantz's death), two
hundred flute solos, and numerous other works. The
vast majority remain still in MS. in the Royal Library
at Potsdam. A couple of the concertos, however, have
been published. These have a quaint old-world, and
somewhat ecclesiastical, flavour ; they are dignified and
melodious, exhibiting powerful treatment of the bass,
careful and clever harmony, and skilful handling of the
solo instrument; though Burney (c. 1770) considered
them old-fashioned and commonplace. A movement
from one of Quantz's concertos was played by M.
Dumon, on a single-keyed ivory flute, at the Inventions
Exhibition in London in 1885.
The great composers have written very little for
the flute as a solo instrument. The six sonatas of
J. S. Bach, for flute and pianoforte (c. 1747),
^ are amono-st the treasures of the flute-player's
Composers ,., ^ , , . ^ "^ ,
library, and are m every respect quite worthy
of the great master. Though lying chiefly within the
first two octaves of the flute, they are by no means
easy of execution ; abounding in the arpeggios, rapid
runs and groups of notes so characteristic of Bach.
Frequent use is made of the low notes down to D
below the stave, and they contain no cadenzas or
passages for the flute alone. Handel has also written
half a dozen sonatas for flute and figured bass. They
are by no means so difficult as those of Bach. Handel
102
Flute Solos
likewise very seldom travels above the first two octaves, but he occasionally gives the flute some bars by itself. They are tuneful and playable, but present no features of special importance.
Haydn's chief contribution is a Sonata for flute or violin and pianoforte, containing a celebrated Adagio. This graceful work has many rapid passages for the flute, and it ascends to the top B"'b, a note which is also reached in Mozart's flute concerto in G. Mozart wrote two concertos for the flute, which are frequently performed, and some short trifles for flute and pianoforte.
It was long thought that, save some themes (op. 105, 107) and an arrangement (op. 41) of his Serenade (op. 25), Beethoven wrote no solos for the flute. Quite recently, however, Mr. Ary van Leeuwen of Vienna discovered in the Royal Library, Berlin, the MS. of a Sonata in E flat, the title-page of which is said to be certainly in Beethoven's handwriting, though the score is not. It bears no opus number, but if really composed by Beethoven it is clearly an early work. Weber's solitary contribution is a pretty but quite unimportant Rommiza Siciliana, and the same may be said of Mendelssohn's Hirtenlied, of which the flute part only was found among his MSS. Schubert has WTitten an exceedingly difficult duet for flute and pianoforte (op. 160) ; an introduction and seven variations on the song Trockene Blumen. This piece was written in 1824, probably to display the powers of Ferdinand Bogner, an accomplished flautist Doppler, who was a personal
10.^
Story of the Flute
friend of Schubert, played this work in Vienna in 1862 with great success.
Amongst composers of the second rank, Rameau, HofFmeister, Hummel, Kucken, Kalllwoda, and Molique have all written solos for the flute.
This practically exhausts the repertoire of the flute by elder composers whose names, at any rate, are familiar to the general musical public. No doubt the reason why it is so limited is to be found in the defective nature of the instrument till comparatively recent times.
A German enthusiast some years ago compiled a list
of flute music of all kinds then existing, in which some
7,500 items are specified. The bulk of
^ these are the work of flautists, many of
Composers / u t^ •
whose names even — (such as Uevienne, an
indefatigable composer who wrote a work for ten wind instruments at the age of ten : he died in a lunatic asylum) — are quite unknown outside the flute-playing world, and whose compositions no longer exist. The earliest flautist-composer, whose works may still be said to live, is Antoine Tranquille Berbiguier, a most prolific but somewhat unequal writer ; his compositions num- ber over 200. Many abound in delicious melody and display vigour of imagination and very considerable depth of feeling. As an old writer says, "He captivates every description of players ; and to him may be applied, with slight alteration, the emphatic words which Rousseau used in speaking of Gluck, " Que le chant lui sortait par les pores." Though many of his solos
104
Berbiguier — Kuhlau
are of the "air with variations" type, he has also written some original pieces of great beauty.
The greatest of all flautist-composers was Kuhlau, whose classical compositions have deservedly earned for him the proud title, *'The Beethoven of Kuhlau the flute," and many of his works undoubtedly show the influence of that great master, and would be quite worthy of him. Frederick Daniel Rodolphe Kuhlau was born in 1786 at the village of Uelzen in Luneburg, Hanover. At an early age, his mother sent him one dark winter's evening to draw water at the fountain ; on the way thither he fell and injured one eye so much that he lost the sight of it. He studied the pianoforte, the flute, and other instruments at Hamburg. In order to avoid the Conscription of 1810, Kuhlau moved to Copenhagen, where he became Chamber Musician to the King, and in 1813 set about to revive the Danish opera. His operas were eminently successful. They had a pronounced national character, and skilfully introduced many of the famous old Danish folk-songs and national scenery. The King, voicing the popular enthusiasm, bestowed on him the title of Professor to the Faculty of Royal Danish Court Com- posers. Meanwhile Kuhlau had removed to Lyngbye, a little town near Copenhagen. In 1830, his house— a wooden structure — was burned and many valuable MSS. destroyed. Under this catastrophe his health gave way and he died on the 12th of March, 1832. A march of his own composition was performed at his funeral, which was one of great pomp.
105
Story of the Flute
Kuhlau, on the 2nd September, 1825, visited Beethoven at Baden. After a pleasant day in the open air they wound up with a supper party, at which Kuhlau extem- porised a canon, to which Beethoven responded at once. Next morning, however, the latter wrote to Zinesball the following note : —
*'My good friend, I had scarcely got home when I bethought me of the stuff I may have written yesterday. Give the enclosed to Kuhlau." The enclosed letter contained this canon which is one continuous pun on
Beethoven's Canon on the name
KuM cicht lau.nicht lau Kuhl nicht lau etc.
the name " Kuhlau " :— " I must admit that the cham- pagne went a little to my head yesterday, and I learned once more from experience, that such things rather prostrate than promote my energies ; for, though able to respond fluently at the moment, still I can no longer recall what I wrote yesterday. Sometimes bear in mind your attached Beethoven " (Nohl's Letters of Beethoven). Kuhlau certainly did more than any other composer to raise the standard of flute-music, and Sir G. Mac- farren says he is one of the lights of modern art and ranks him with Schubert. One can play his eighteen sonatas for flute and pianoforte day after day with increased pleasure : they never pall. A great feature
106
Composers for Flute
is the extremely interesting pianoforte accompani- ments ; they give full opportunity to the flautist and to the pianist alike for the display of executive skill. The Adagio movements are specially beautiful. These admirably constructed and brilliant works (written chiefly, it is said, at the desire of an enthusiastic amateur flautist) display the most thorough technical knowledge of the instrument.
Kuhlau was a voluminous composer, and over two hundred of his works are still in existence. They are a complete refutation of the assertion so fre- quently made, that there is no really good Erroneous music written for the flute. This statement i e a t a
merely displays the ignorance of those who j
•^ ^ no good
make it. We have already seen that several ^^^^{^ for
of the greatest composers have written for ^^^ flute
the instrument ; and Kummer, Furstenau,
Gabrielsky, Walckiers, following in the footsteps of
Kuhlau, have left behind them a mass of original flute
compositions, much of which is of a high order of merit,
whilst in more recent times quite a number of works,
worthy to be ranked as " classical," have appeared.^
The origin of this idea that flute music is all trifling
rubbish is not far to seek ; not only was the flute in its
earlier stages a very imperfect instrument, but the
^ Such as Reinecke's Undine (op. 167), Ccncerto, and Ballade; H. Hoffmann's Concertstitck^ Macfarren's Conce?-io and Sonata, Buchner's eight concertos, Prout's sonata (op. 17), Mde. Chaminade's Concertino^ Vinning's Andante and Tarejitelle, and the Suites of Godard, Widor, and E. German.
107
Story of the Flute
players were also mediocre. Hawkins, writing in 1776, is very severe on the poor flute. Soon after his day, it was considerably improved and many of its defects remedied. At the same time a number of skilled performers appeared, and the flute entered on a golden age. Nicholson, Richardson, Drouet, Tulou, Demers- seman (who wrote solos of terrific difiiculty), Farrenc, Briccialdi, and other mrtiwsi were in turn delighting the public both in England and on the continent by their brilliant performances. The flute became the fashionable instrument; everybody who desired to be thought "a gentleman" played it "after a fashion." It was so portable, so convenient; also it was so much in keeping with the romantic Byronically gloomy bearing then in vogue. ^ The public taste was not educated : it was the age of the air variee. The great pro- fessional soloists naturally played the kind of music (?) which pleased their auditors and pupils most.- Every suitable or unsuitable operatic air, every Welsh, Irish, Scottish, or English tune, was adapted by them for the flute, and tortured into all sorts of interminable scales and exercises yclept variations, with double-tongueing, skips from the highest to the lowest notes and such-like tricks ; written to show off the executive skill of the
1 Lord Byron himself played it, and in 1848 Byron's flute was offered to Charles Dickens, who declined the offer, as he could not play that instrument himself and had nobody in his household who could.
^ In fairness, however, it should be mentioned that several of them, notably Tulou and Demersseman, also wrote some music of a better stamp.
108
Taste af the Public
performer and to make the audience wonder how It was all done.
These were the pieces that filled the programmes at public concerts. Even at the London Philharmonic Con- cert in 1847, Ciardi chose as his solo his own fantasia on Lucia de Lamniermoor, and at a concert at the Argyle Rooms on June 24th, 1829 (at which Mendelssohn's overture to Mid- summer Night's Dremn was seasonably performed for the first time in England, conducted by Mendelssohn in person), Drouet played his own variations on an air from one of Weber's operas and on God Save the King. As a sample of the criticism of the day let me quote Mr. James' description of the last-named solo: —
*' Here we have an abundance of difficulty in each variation. The first is made of running passages, and requires every note to be distinctly articulated; and it is, perhaps, the most arduous of the whole five, for no performance short of perfection can make it effective. The air is preserved most admirably throughout, and yet there is nothing far-fetched, or that baffles the instrument to accomplish. The third variation is one of quite a different character. It is composed of octaves, and abounds with chromatic passages. The flute executes the one with the greatest precision, and there is no instrument in use among us which can accomplish the other with finer effect. The last variation of this distinguished piece is admirably calculated for the display of the instrument. It might be called a solfeggio passage; for the upper notes give distinctly the air, while an accompaniment is going on in the under ones. ... In this piece we have almost every difficulty, in three octaves, which music is capable of comprehending."
The following very amusing description of this "here we go up, up, up, and here we %o down, down, down"
109
Story of the Flute
style of composition was given in Musical Opinion^ 1 890 : —
"Air first, then common chord variation (staccato), 'runs' variation, slow movement with a turn between every other two notes, and pump handle shakes that wring tears of agony from the flute ; then the enormously difficult finale, in which you are up in the air on one note, then drop with a bang, which nearly breaks you, on to low CJ, only to bounce up again, hold on to a note, shake it (wring its neck, in fact), scatter it in all directions and come sailing down triumphantly on a chromatic {legato) with a perfect whirlpool of foaming notes, only to be bumped and pushed about until you are exhasuted. Some dear old soul of eighty summers, sitting among the listeners, remarks that 'she remembers hearing it when she was a girl, played by her father, who was really a good performer on the flute, and such a lovely flute he had, too : all inlaid with mother-of-pearl.'"
When this was the kind of thing performed by the great Tritons of the day, of course the smaller fry and the amateurs (often incompetent and of the pale-young- curate type) followed their lead — at a considerable distance. Hence arose a general idea that this was the only kind of music that the flute was capable of render- ing ; in fact, one inquirer asked if there was any other piece ever written for the instrument besides ''There's nae luck " with variations — so exclusively had he heard it both in public and private.
This writing of shallow fantasias on operas, airs varied, and melodies "with embellishments" and ear- torturing effects, or imitations of the movements of butterflies or swallows, or of the noise of mills, spinning- wheels, etc., still continues to flourish, especially in Italy. One modern Italian composer (Galli) is respon-
iio
Better Class of Compositions
sible for no less than four hundred, but he has been beaten by a German, W. Popp (a pupil of Drouet), who probably has written more than any flute composer, ancient or modern; his works exceed five hundred opus numbers.
Happily, however, numerous compositions of a higher class exist. These works are somewhat in the nature of original fantasias ; and, all things con- sidered, are perhaps the best calculated to t, x. . show off the beauties of the flute. R. S. Pratten, the famous English player, may be said to have inaugurated this description of piece in his famous Concertstiicky in which he substitutes elaborate counter- point for variations. F. Doppler has written several extremely effective, though difficult, solos of this class. All his pieces are very florid and abound in cadenzas for the flute ; their chief defect is the thinness of the piano- forte accompaniments. This fault, however, cannot be found with the majority of the solos of Adolf Terschak — the most prolific and also the favourite composer of pieces of this description ; he has written over two hundred of them. They vary considerably in excellence, many being, as Bohm said, "like Terschak himself, much ado about nothing," and some of his later efforts are more like studies or finger exercises than solos. But many of his earlier compositions (such as Bahillard and La Sirejie) are full of ear-haunting melody, and have rarely been equalled. Not only are they admirably written for, and extremely playable on the flute, but also the accompaniments are full and
III
Story of the Flute
grateful to the pianist. Another composer of the same
class is Luig-i Hugues, an Italian whose works deserve
to be better known in this country.
Within the past ten years quite a new school of
composers has arisen, who seem destined to give
renewed life to the flute as a solo instrument.
The Most Their work is characterised often by extreme
Modern modernity and abounds in subtle and unusual
f J^° harmonies, frequent chansfes of key and
of i^^Iute , , , , • r .
Q ^ rhythm, etc. In many cases the pianoforte
part (the weak point with most of the older
flautist-composers) is quite as important as the flute
part ; the two being interwoven, as it were. Some of
these composers (such as Rossler, Verhey, Buchner,
Langer) have adopted the regular sonata or concerto
form, in three or four movements, with great success.
Their works are, as a rule, of very considerable difficulty,
and are mostly "made in Germany." Others, chiefly
French, have, as a rule, adopted much shorter forms,
especially the Romance. Their pieces are of a more
simple type ; they often possess a certain elegaic or
pastoral charm ; soft and unobtrusive, abounding more
in pianissimo than in forte passages. Many of them are
veritable "songs without words." The chief writers
of this class are Joachim Andersen and J. Donjon.
Several of the compositions of the latter show the flute
at its best ; they are very distinctive, and I know of no
others in exactly the same style. Donjon makes most
effective use of the low register, notably in his fine
Offertoire (op. 12). The pieces I have referred to afford
112
Flute Combinations
ample scope for the display of tone, of phrasing, of expression, and happily these are now more highly valued than mere virtuosity and digital dexterity. The flute is daily becoming more and more used to convey the ideas of modern composers of note. The days of what Mr. Collard terms, "ear-tickling fantasias," with their jog-trot accompaniment, are numbered: flute- players now "tune their pipe to loftier strains."
The flute and harp is a very happy combination, the sustained notes of the flute contrasting well with the pizzicato of the harp. Mozart wrote a concerto for these instruments, and several « & an modern French composers have adopted it. ^ .
Haydn wrote a trio for flute, harp, and bass. At one time quite a number of pieces were written for flute and guitar, many of which were performed by Pratten, whose wife was an accomplished guitarist. But the combination is never heard in England now, probably owing to the dearth of guitar- players.
The flute was formerly much used in obligates, not
only m operas, oratorios and cantatas, but also in
songs. But nowadays it is only on rare occasions
that a flute obligato is heard on the concert-platform ;
when it is, it is nearly always the mad scena from
Lucia de Lmnmerrnoor ^ or Bishop's song,
Lo! hear the Gentle Lark. It is remark- -^ •
Voice able that modern song-composers have
not paid more attention to the possibilities of flute
obligatos. The instrument is admiraby adapted,
Story of the Flute
owing to its sympathetic tone, to accompany the human voice (especially a light soprano), and in the hands of a skilful player blends so perfectly that it is often well-nigh impossible to distinguish the notes of the singer from those of the flautist. In order to be really effective, the obligato must be one specially written for the flute. Adaptations from the violin or violoncello are generally unsuited to the flute and do not bring out its best eff"ects; they are, as a rule, too tame. Light, sparkling, bravura songs, with arpeggios and echoing, or imitative passages between voice and flute, are the most effective.
The majority of songs with flute obligato — from Handel's Siveet Bird {II Penscroso) to Terschak's Nightingale — refer more or less directly to birds ; but an attempt to reproduce their song is dangerous, and one feels inclined to say with Philip of Macedon, '' I prefer the nightingale herself." Many were specially composed for great singers, and are too high and florid for ordinary voices ; but amongst those of a simpler character and within average powers, Laville's The Brookside, De Jong's Twilight Carol, and Madame Chaminade's Portrait (for a tenor voice) deserve mention.
114
CHAPTER XL
THE FLUTE IN THE ORCHESTRA. ^
Introduction of the flute into the orchestra — The flute and piccolo as used by the great composers — Bach — His obligatos — Handel — His flauto-piccolo — Flute and organ — Gluck — Haydn — The Creation — Symphonies — Mozart — Disliked the flute — Symphonies — Seren- ades— Operas — Concertos — Beethoven — His famous flute passages — Weber — Meyerbeer — Piccolo passages — Italian operatic com- posers — IVilliajn Tell overture — Mendelssohn — Midsiunnier Night' s Dream — Symphonies — Oratorios — Schubert — Schumann — Use by modern composers — Berlioz — Flute and Harp — Brahms — Dvorak — The Spectre's Bride— CadenzdiS — Grieg — Bizet's Car^nen — Sullivan — The Golden Legend — Coleridge-Taylor — Wagner — Tschaikowsky — R. Strauss — Passages of extreme difticulty.
The flute is the leader of the wood-wind, and if
judiciously used is one of the most telling instruments,
and is capable of producing a great variet}'
of effects. The earliest representations of ^^ ^
. , 1 • 1 1 a ^ c Instances
an orchestra rarely niclude a flute or any f •* tt
kind, but one in a Breviary of the fifteenth
century, now in the Brussels Library, contains two
flutes-a-bec. Fifes and a flute were included in a band
which played instrumental intermezzi at a performance
of Ariosto's Siippositi before Pope Leo at the Vatican
^ In some instances the musical examples have been abbreviated.
II-;
Story of the Flute
1518.
Flutes were used, along with lutes,
in
Corteccia's ballet music at the marriage of Cosmo I. and Eleanora of Toledo in 1539; and in Baltazarini's Ballet Coniique de la Royne^ the music of which was composed by Salmon and Beaulieu in 1581. In this work each character is always accompanied by special instruments (as also in Monteverde's Orfeo)^ those of Neptune being flutes and harp. In Cavaliere's oratorio Anirna e Corpo^ produced at Rome in 1600, the orchestra included two flutes, whilst in Jacopo Peri's Eurydice (December, 1600), the earliest Italian opera, three flutes behind the scene played a Ritornello, whilst Tirsi, a shepherd, pretended to play a triple flute (" tri-flauto ") on the stage. Here is what he played, the longest piece of instrumental music in the entire opera ! —
Peri, Eurydice.
1st & Jnd FLUTES.
Early Orchestral Flute Parts
Claudio Monteverde, who is gfenerally termed the founder of the orchestra, in his opera Orfeo (1607-8), introduces an instrument described as " Uno Flautino alia Vigessima secunda," which would strictly mean an instrument pitched an octave above the piccolo ! Prob- ably all the flutes mentioned in the above w^orks were flutes-a-bec, the ''flautino" being- a little high-pitched whistle pipe.
Alessandro Striggio is said to have employed a trans- verse flute (along w^th two flutes-a-bec — " Tenori de Flauti ") in his La Cofanaria (1566). If so, he is to be credited with the first introduction of a transverse flute into the orchestra, a distinction usually attributed to Giovanni Battista Lulli, who beyond all doubt used the instrument in several of his operas, sometimes allotting it an independent part. Lulli has two such flutes in Alceste (1674), and gives solo passages along with bass in his Songe d'Atys (1676). In his Isis (iii.) two " German " flutes play in thirds in a minor key to repre-
LULLI, Proserpine 2 FLUTES.
BASS FLUTE (in. sol)
5 ' P ' *r i r p I ' =^=
117
Story of the Flute
sent the lamentations of Pan for the death of Syrinx. In Proserpine (ili.) he uses a third bass flute pitched a fifth below the others; in his Triomphe d' Amour {? 1681) we have a quartett of flutes; whilst in his Psyche (1674) we find no less than six flutes, two firsts, two seconds, and two bass. Some of these parts, however, were probably written for flutes-a-bec. Lulli invariably uses the flute to express pathos, sadness, and melancholy, an example which has been largely followed.
J. S. Bach, living" under Frederick the Great, naturally paid considerable attention to the favourite instrument of that monarch. The treatment of the flute by Bach and Handel is particularly interest- ing, owing to the fact that they lived at the period when the flute-a-bec was being gradually superseded by the transverse flute. They each make use of both kinds. Bach uses the flutes much more freely than Handel, and gives them much more difficult passages — many indeed require very considerable executive skill on the part of the performer. He frequently employs the entire com- pass of the transverse flute of that day, which Handel hardly ever does.
Many of Bach's cantatas have parts for one or two flutes. In these works we find almost every possible combination of the flute with the other instruments used, with one noticeable exception — viz., flute and bassoon, a combination very usual in Handel and Haydn. In the earlier works Bach uses the flute-a-bec. He hardly ever uses both it and the transverse flute in the same work, and never in the same piece. The
118
Bach's use of the Flute
probability Is that both varieties of flute were played by the same performers. It has been sug-g-ested that the flutes and oboes were so played, but as they are fre- quently used together in the same piece, this cannot have been the case as a general rule, although un- doubtedly many early flautists did also play the oboe.
Bach is fond of flute obligatos, and many (along with all varieties of voice, but chiefly with soprano) are to be found in these cantatas. Some of them are extremely florid and difficult, oach s
abounding in iterated notes and arpeggios. ^... These obligatos are sometimes written for a single flute, sometimes for two flutes playing in unison or else playing independent parts. We often find two flutes and bass forming the sole accompani- ment, whilst occasionally the organ alone Is combined with the two flutes. No. 170 contains an alto solo with a remarkable rapid obllgato on the flute and organ combined.
Bach often uses the flute to express the sentiments contained in the text. In No. 122 three flutes play a chorale (by Cyrlacus Schneegass) to repre- sent angels singing. In the cantata " O tJach s Holder Tag," at the words "Be silent, "^c of ^the flutes," they play weak, dylng-away notes. He frequently introduces flutes when tears are referred to. Thus in the S^. Matthew Passion^ at the words " May the drops of my tears have agreeable perfume for thee," two flutes play passages like cascades of pearls.
Story of the Flute
Bach frequently combines oboes with flutes, often in unison, sometimes in harmony. He very rarely com- bines the flute with a single stringed instrument obligato, although the combination of flute and violin, or flute and violoncello piccolo (No. 115) — and also of flute and horn — are very occasionally to be met with in the cantatas. In the chorales to his Passions and else- where the flutes, first oboe, and first violins as a rule play the same part as the soprano voices — the flutes being an octave above the voices; but in some choruses the flutes play the same part as the tenor voices, just as in some of the instrumental portions they play along with the violas, the violins and oboes playing the top part. This treatment of the flute as a tenor instrument is very remarkable. He occasionally makes eff"ective use of the low holding notes, and frequently writes passages on the low register, which, if played under modern conditions as regards the balance of strings and wind, would be quite inaudible. Probably he doubled them on the organ, or very possibly several flutes played the same part — a custom which was quite usual in early times; we frequently find the directions ''All the first flutes," "All the second flutes." In order to obtain the proper balance of tone in the works of Bach's era the orchestra should contain nearly as many flutes as first violins. When played by the huge orchestras of to-day, many of the delicate wind passages in the works of the great composers of the past are completely drowned by the mass of strings — e.g., the flute turns in the first movement of Beethoven's Pas-
120
Flauto-Piccolo in Bach
toral Symphony and the flute and bassoon passages in the finale to Mozart's Symphony in C.
I have only noticed two instances in the cantatas of the use of the " flauto piccolo" (probably a small flute-^-bec) ; in No. 96 it is given a p, *°" very florid part, without any flute ; and in ' VLa u No. 103 it is employed to express the joy of the world, in the midst of which the flute interjects a short melancholy motif hy way of contrast.
Bach has, in his flute parts, anticipated almost every device adopted by more recent composers, save that he
Bach, Suile in B minor. — Polonaise.
FLUTE
does not give it chromatic passages and uses accidentals very sparingly. He has used it to express grief, melancholy, softness, delicacy, feebleness, also as a pastoral instrument and expressive of joy and mirth ; even occasionally to depict the supernatural and the anger of the Gods. He rarely introduces a flute into his purely instrumental writings. The Stiite in B tninor
121
Story of the Flute
(which was a favourite with Mendelssohn), is for four strings and flute. The " Polonaise" in this work is for flute and bass only, the former being- given a bravura variation; the flute is also very prominent in the bright '' Badinerie." Bach has also written a concerto in F Bach, ib, Badinerie.
Handel
/ P
major for flute, oboe, violin, and trumpet, two for flute, violin and clavier, and one for two flutes and clavier — all with string accompanimentc
Handel employs the flute much less frequently. Quite a large number of his operas and oratorios have no flute part ; The Messiah^ for instance (to which, however, Mozart has added a flute and also a piccolo part). In many works he introduces the flute in one or two numbers only ; in none is it used anything approaching continuously throughout, as it often is by Bach. Handel's flute parts do not contain a single really difficult passage. Strange to say, his few " flauto piccolo" passages are harder and much more elaborate than those for the flute (he hardly ever uses both instruments together) ; the piccolo solo in Rinaldo being about the most difficult he ever wrote for any kind of flute. Handel rarely travels beyond the two octaves D' to D'" of the flute _p^
(it is to be noticed that the compass —9— — -]
of the older flutes-a-bec was tw octaves as a rule) ; occasionally we
123
SS ^
v'O p
Handel's Flute Parts
meet an E"\ very rarely an F'", and I have only noticed a single case in which he has written a G'" for the flute. He uses the three lowest notes F to D much less fre- quently than Bach, who introduces them freely. Though he sometimes uses flutes in /u^h' movements along with oboes, trumpets, bassoons, and occasionally horns, as a rule, like Bach, he reserves them for special effects and to accompany vocal solos or duets.
Although Handel introduced the transverse flute in a work written in 1705, in his earlier operas he almost exclusively uses the flute-a-bec, which instrument he continued to employ throughout his whole career, in- cluding his last work, T/ie Triimiph of Truth and Time (1757). But this production was really a rechauffe of an earlier work written in 1708, and it is interesting to notice that in some numbers where the flute-^-bec was used in 1708, the transverse flute is substituted for it in the later version. One number in this version in which the flute-i-bec is retained is taken bodily from his early opera Agrippina. In Giustino^ i. 4 (1737), he uses a bass flute-a-bec, and in Riccardo (iii. 2) we have the solitary instance of his use of a bass trans- verse flute. It tranposes from F minor to G minor, and is allotted a melody, extending from
G' to B"b, the accompaniment being -^ — ' p— -1
played on violins and violas only. Some- WE^zizzE^]' times Handel uses both forms of flute in the one work. Thus in La Resurrezione (1708) and in Rodelinda (ii. 5) we have two flutes-^-bec and also a transverse flute — in the latter work they are used simul-
123
Story of the Flute
taneously, the transverse flute plaj^ingf the lower part — and in Tmnerlane (iii. 5) two flutes-^-bec and two transverse flutes, one of each kind playing together in unison. Occasionally parts are marked for " flauto ou traverso," to be played on either kind of flute.
The famous obligate to '' Oh, ruddier than the Cherry," in Acis and Galatea y has a rather interesting history. In the first Italian version of the Serenata (1708) the flute-a-bec only is used, but this song does not occur in it, being first introduced in the English version published about 1720, where it is marked *' flauto" — i.e.y flute-a-bec. In the second Italian version (1732) we find the transverse flute used throughout,
ruddier than the Cherry **
Handel, Acts and Galatea, " Oh, ruddier than the Cherry.
Alleg;ro.
but again this song is omitted. When Mozart re-scored the work, he gave this obligato to a transverse flute, adding some beautiful and characteristic passages, whilst Mendelssohn allotted it to two flutes. At the Ancient Concerts (London) it used to be performed on a flageolet, but nowadays it is usually played on a piccolo ; possibly by way of a joking reply to the monster Polyphemus' demand for a pipe for his capa-
124
HandeFs Flauto-Piccolo
cious mouth ! Surely if Handel had intended this he
would have marked it " flauto piccolo." In this very
work the florid accompaniment to " Hush,
ye pretty warblmg choir was origmally so „,
marked, though it is now always played on Piccolo
a flute. (By the way, "The heart the seat
of soft desire " was originally written for two flutes-a-
bec). Handel used the " flauto piccolo " on several
Handel, Adsy "Hush, ye pretty warbling choir."
Andante.
other occasions. The most notable of these is the very elaborate obligato and cadenza (which last is omitted in the later version of 1731) to Almirena's song, *' Augelletti," in Rinaldo (171 1). This part was marked "flageolet" in the original autograph score, but it was altered to " flauto piccolo " in Handel's own writing. Addison in The Spectator^ Nos. 5 and 14, has a most amusing description of this scene as performed at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, where sparrows flew about the stage and put out the candles ; Addison calls the instruments used " flagellets and bird-calls." The "flauto piccolo" is allotted another very similar obligato in Riccardo (ill. 10). It is also used in the " Tamburino " in the ballet music in Alcitia
12,^
Story of the Flute
(i735)> whilst in the " Menuet " in the Water Music (1715) several " flauti piccoli " play in unison with the
Handel's Rinaldo. Cadenza for Piccolo. Adagio.^. ^. ^. ^.^ ^ ^
strings, but it is doubtful whether the names of these instruments were specified by the composer. The
p compass used in the passag^e in Alcina
iijz^pH js from F' to G" only, but those in Rinaldo and Riccardo extend to the D"' above this, and that in the Water Music to the high E'", Probably all these passages were written for a small flute-a-bec, and not for a transverse piccolo, which would therefore appear never to have been used by Handel; but it is to be noticed that in some cases they
126
Handel's Flute Obligates
are written in the same key as the non-transposing
instruments, whereas in others the contrary is the case.
The same discrepancy occurs in the parts marked
**flauto." It will be recollected that the flute-a-bec
was a transposing instrument.
Several other flute obligates of note occur in
Handel's works. Probably the best known is the
soprano aria, *' Sweet Bird," in // Pen- ^^ ,„ ^, ' . n • 1 J Handel s
serosa. Ihe flute part is very florid and Flute
showy throughout, and an old critic has Obligates
drawn attention to the admirable manner
in which the words " Most musical, most melancholy,"
are treated. We have another bird-song in Joshua
(1747), "Hark, 'tis the linnet [violin] and the thrush"
[flute]. Apollo and Dafne has an important flute
obligato to the duet, " Deh lascia." Like Bach,
Handel uses the flute to convey the idea expressed by
the words, as in "Softest sounds " in Athalia (i) ; with
its thin string accompaniment, in order that the weak
notes of the flute may not be drowned. Again, we
find mjephlha a remarkable flute obligato, " In gentle
murmurs," and the words, " Tune the soft melodious
lute, pleasant harp, and warbling flute," naturally are
accompanied by a solo flute part, which instrument is
also employed in solo passages and trills to illustrate
"the soft-complaining flute" in Si. Cecilia's
Day^ where the flute is used in combina- „
tion with the lute and organ. The flute is
introduced to represent tears in Deborah (iii. 5),
"Tears such as fathers shed," being accompanied by
127
Story of the Flute
two flutes and organ. This combination is also used in Alexander Balus, "Hark! he strikes the golden lyre," and in the famous '' Dead March" in Satil. On one occasion when the present writer was playing at a public performance of this work, the second flute was horribly out of tune; at the conclusion of the number the second flautist discovered that he had left his bandana handkerchief (with which he cleaned his flute) in the tube all the time !
It has been pointed out that Handel uses the organ
to accompany the flute in preference to the pianoforte,
probably as being more similar in tone.
^ ^ ^ The combination of flute and bassoon, Treatment , t^ , , r n
of the Flute "^'^^^ used by Bach, also of flute and horn, occurs several times in Handel's works. In Solomon (1748) we find a curious obligato for a solo oboe, accompanied by all the flutes in unison. In La Resnrresione and in Parthenope (iii. 6) the flute is used in conjunction with the Theorbo (bass lute). It is evident that, though he once declared that all flautists were intelligent, the flute is used by Handel more or less as an appendage to the orchestra rather than as a regular constituent member of it, the number of flutes employed being less than that of the other members of the wood-wind. Rousseau says Handel's usual or- chestra contained but two flutes as against five oboes and five bassoons, and at the Handel commemora- tion in 1784 there were but six flutes, whereas the number of oboes and bassoons was twenty-six each. This preference for the double-reed tone is also very
138
Gluck— His "Orpheo"
marked in Bach's writings, and even, though in a lesser degree, in those of Mozart. A notice in the General Advertiser of October 20th, 1740, announc- ing "a concerto for twenty-four bassoons, accom- panied by a 'cello, intermixed with duets for four double-bassoons accompanied by a German flute," ridicules this predilection.
Many of Handel's flute passages were specially written for Karl Frederick Weidemann (said by Burney to have been a fine player), his principal flautist, who visited England about 1726.
Gluck seems Xo have been particulary fond of the
flute and has written some lovely music for it. He
has caught its true characteristics better _, ,
., ., r u- .' A Gluck
than any other composer or his time. As
a rule his flute passages are simple, though he writes
freely up to the top G'" or even A"'. In scenes of
melancholy and grief he uses the solo flute with most
telling eflfect. The most notable example is the famous
scene in Orpheo^ where he employs the flute to express
the desolation and solitude of the bereaved Eurydice.
This unrivalled passage has been thus described by
Berlioz: "On voit tout de suite qu'une flute devant
seule en faire entendre le chant. Et la melodie de
Gluck est congue en telle sorte que la fliite se prete a
tous les mouvements inquiets de cette doulour eternelle,
encore emprunte de I'accent des passions de la terrestre
vie. C'est d'abord une voix a peine perceptible qui
semble craindre d'etre entendue; puis elle g^mit douce-
ment, s'eleve a I'accent du reproche, k celui de la
129 9
Story of the Flute
douleur profonde, au cri d'un coeur d^chir^ d'incurables blessures et retombe peu a peu a la plalnte, au gemisse- ment, au murmure chagrin d'une ame r^signee. . . . quel pobte ! "
Gluck, Orphco,
Lento
The desired effect is sometimes produced by a few notes only. Thus in Iphige^iie en Taiiride (ii. 4), at the words " II a tue sa m^re," Orestes utters a cry,
Gluck and the Piccolo
■Li
Ah! ah! ah!" and the flutes play these three notes with thrilling- eff"ect at each *'ah"; and in the same opera (iv. 4), at the words *' Cruel! il est mon frere," the F and D sustained on two flutes for three bars create an impression of sadness. In the scene on the border of the enchanted river in Arinide (ii. 3), the flute, during- the sleep of Renaud, plays a dainty
Gluck, Armide, ii. 3.
Andante
ritornelle which "expresses the voluptuous languor of the soul of the hero under the seduction of the ma- gician's art; we seem to see the lovely landscape, smell the perfume of the flowers, and hear the birds sing-.''^
Gluck was the first composer to discover the value and eff"ectiveness of the sonorous, rich notes of the lowest register of the flute ; striking ex- amples will be found in Alceste. As a rule these flute solos are accompanied by strings only. He is also one of the first writers to
^ A rather interesting little point about this flute solo is to be noted : in the original draft a passage beginning thus : if _^- .pi- 'fl ^
was considered too high and accordingly /\j}\z was re-written an octave lower, as it now ^ ' occurs in the full score. A^
Gluck's
use of the
Piccolo
l-^
:(^
Story of the Flute
make use of the piccolo; he introduces it with dramatic effect in Iphigenie en Tauride (using it right up to the top G"'), where we have double trills on two piccolos — as afterwards used by Weber and Meyerbeer.
Hitherto the flute had been used in a fitful manner, chiefly to produce special eff'ects and for obligatos, but with Haydn and Mozart it becomes a regular and indispensable member of the orchestra, being frequently combined with other instruments and no longer almost exclusively confined to solo passages. Haydn evidently had a great predilection for the flute, and has written largely for it, using it much more freely than any of his predecessors. In fact, the wind instruments were only beginning to be understood by composers — as Haydn remarked pathetically to Kalkbrenner, *' I have only just learned in my old age how to use the wind instruments, and now that I do un- derstand them, I must leave them." Many of Haydn's symphonies have very prominent solo passages for the flute ; especially in the slow movements. In a symphony composed in 1788 (Biedermann's ed. No. 3), the andante movement contains quite a long solo for the flute accompanied by two violins only. As the Esterhazy band included only a single flute-player (Hirsch was his name), Haydn often only uses one. Sometimes the flute is only introduced in a single movement, and is the only wind instrument used in that movement.
In The Creation we find several graceful flute solo passages ; and in the lovely introduction to the
132
Creation " Flute Parts
third part, three flutes are used to depict the earthly paradise. The third flute was apparently to be played
Haydn, The Creation, "On Mighty Pens."
Moderato._ s^ ^ saai
by the oboe-player, as it is written into his part. Macfarren has said of this passage, "The morning of
Haydn, The Creation. Opening, Part HI.
<st FLUTE
**The
Creation "
the world, with all the freshness and stillness of our loveliest summer-tide experience, might by such gentle sounds indeed be wakened to find the pulse of nature vibrating in soft harmonies like priestly voices from the ancient statue [of Memnon] to greet its dawning." Haydn shows great skill in combining the flute with several other instru- ments; thus in the opening of his "Military" symphony
Story of the Flute
we have one flute and two oboes playing" quite long* and delightfully fresh passages entirely alone. Duets for
Haydn, Military Symphony.
Allegro. .
FLUTE. "^ ^'' ' ' 1— H-— ^
Z OBOES
flute and bassoon in octaves frequently occur in his works, and, like Mozart, he is fond of writing" melodious
passages for the flute, clarinet, and bassoon ay n s ^ in three distinct octaves. The finale to the Symphonies ^ ^u c i i i i r
Seventh Symphony has a regular solo for
two flutes in thirds. His flute passages avoid the notes at either extreme of the compass, and as a rule lie between F' and F'". They have a delightful freshness and are skilfully written to display the beauties of the middle register of the old flute, a little ascending passage quite alone at the end of a phrase or movement, as in the Largo of the Twelfth Symphony —
134
He often gives the flute
Mozart and Flute
The flute does not take nearly so outstanding a part
in Mozart's music as it does in that of Haydn. He
hardly ever ogives it a solo of an\^ leno^th
• u A , '^ -^ Mozart
or prominence. He does not consider it
a necessary part of his orchestra : his first eight symphonies, and several others written quite late in life, and also his Jveguze??i, have no flute parts. In each of his three great symphonies he only uses one flute. Apparently he shared the opinion of Cherubini, of whom it is related that once when a conductor, whose orchestra included only a single flute, complained piteously "What is worse than one flute in an orchestra?" the master replied laconically, "Two flutes" — meaning thereby that they are never in tune — or as the old German joke has it, "nothing is more dreadful to a musical ear than a flute concerto, except a concerto for two flutes." 1 As a matter of fact, Mozart did not like the flute and had a profound distrust of flute- players, for the same reason as that given by the Greek, Aristoxenus, who complained that the flutes of his day were continually shifting their pitch and never remained in the same state. The only flautist whom Mozart seems to have liked - « ,. was one J. Wendling, of whom he said, " He is not a piper, and one need not be always in terror for fear the next note should be too high or too
^ Cherubini was noted for his dry and caustic manner. When Bred, his oboe-player, died, Tulou the flautist said, "Ah ! maestro, we have lost our dear friend Brod." " What?" said Cherubini, who was deaf. " Brod is dead,"' shouted Tulou. "Ah!" replied Cherubini, as he turned away, "Petit son, petit son" ("little tone").
Story of the Flute
low ; he is always right ; his heart and his ear and the tip of his tongue are all in the right place, and he does not imagine that blowing and making faces is all that is needed ; he knows too what Adagio means."
In several symphonies a flute is introduced into the slow movement only, and in the early works the flutes ^ , are generally in unison with the violins.
S m ho ics '^^^ ^^^^ symphony in which the flute has any independent part is the fourteenth. In the Twentieth Symphony we find a part marked "flute obligato" in the andante, but it is in unison with the first violins almost throughout.
In the Serenades the flute is much used. In the ninth
the trio is for flute and bassoon (a very favourite
combination with him), whilst the Rondo contains the
nearest approach to a real flute solo in all Mozart. It
is of quite considerable length and is accompanied by
the strings. In another trio in this serenade
ozar s ''flautino" {i.e. piccolo) is named along-
Serenades . , . ,. ^ ^ , \. . .
with two violms and bass, but no notes are
written for it. In the fifth the two flutes have a great
deal to do, and in one of the trios the second flute is
given a solo accompanied by the strings
Although Mozart never introduces the piccolo into
any of his symphonies, we find it in several of his
Operas, and above all in his Minuets and His Piccolo j3a^^ces. In a contre-danse entitled "La
Bataille " the piccolo plays the part of Hamlet, whilst in another two piccolos play along with two oboes. Mozart uses the piccolo in these
136
Flute with Mozart
works in all sorts of combinations: sometimes it plays with the bassoons, sometimes with the violins, once with the lyre. Sometimes the piccolo plays the accom- paniment along with the second violins, whilst the first violins and bassoon play the melody. In one dance we have a piccolo and two flutes playing together, and ending up with a solo piccolo run and shake. Mozart seems to have been fond of trying curious and unusual combinations : in his Twenty-seventh Symphony we find two flutes combined with the viola in thirds; in several we have passages for two flutes and two horns alone ; the Fifth Divertimento is for two flutes (which play the melody), five trumpets, and four drums (in C, G, D, and A) only. This and another similar composition were written by Mozart whilst at Salzburg in 1774, probably for some special occasion.
The flute is again used along with the brass and drums in the finale to Act ii. of The Magic Flute with great eff'ect to portray Tamino (originally acted by a flautist named B. Schack) with his flute overcoming the brute forces of Nature. This weird melody on the solo flute may be compared to the famous solo in Gluck's Orpheo. Mozart, Magic Flute Overture.
Allegro.
FLUTE
Mozart's Operas
Story of the Flute
Although the flute is not so much used in this opera as we should have expected from its title, the mag- nificent overture contains several important passages for the instrument. Skilfully written flute passages also occur in the overtures to Don Juan, Cosi fan Tutti^ and L Enlevement ati Serail, in which, by the way, the piccolo part descends to low CC| in Bretkopf and Hartel's edition — possibly this is meant for the flute only. In this opera the piccolo is much used (occa- sionally one in G), and is sometimes given quite florid passages ; as also in The Magic Flute,
It will thus be seen that, notwithstanding his pre- judice, Mozart scores for the flute very considerably; chiefly in rapid, bright passages. It is to be noted that he always uses the middle and upper registers; in fact, the lowest register is practically never used ^
by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven. Like the ^ -p other composers of his day, Mozart rarely '7k" ~\ travels above F"'. ^J
Mozart has written two concertos for the flute — one was first performed by Cosel in 1774; the other was composed in 1778 for Deschamps, a rich Indian Dutchman who played the flute, and whom Mozart calls "a true philanthropist." Also a concerto in C for flute and harp, a bright, melodious work with a fine andante. This last
His
Concertos . . o t ^t
was written in 1770, when Mozart was
at Mannheim, and had fallen in love with Aloysia Weber. The composer, though disliking both instru- ments, wrote the work at the request of the Duke de
■3S
Mozart and Beethoven
Guisnes (an amateur flautist) and his daughter, who played the harp. It is said that the Duke was niggardly in his payment. Mozart also wrote an Andante in C for the flute, with an accompaniment of oboes, horns, and strings; and two quartetts for flute and strings. The flautist Furstenau bears testimony to Mozart's perfect knowledge of the instrument, its technique, and easily-attained eff"ects.
Beethoven's symphonies abound in fine flute passages, written with consummate skill; there is not one in which the flute has not something important to play. The Fifth Symphony has a curious passage of contrary motion for the flute, oboe, and clarinets; when this was first performed the audience Beethoven, Fifih Symphony.
Andante con moto.
FLUTE — ^
OBOE.
Story of the Flute
considered it to be a joke on the composer's part. The most remarkable flute passage in the immortal nine is that known as *' Lang-age des Oiseaux," at the conclu- sion of the andante in the ''Pastorale" Symphony, where, amidst the murmurs of the stream, we suddenly hear the voices of the cuckoo (clarinet), quail (oboe), and nightingale, the last-named being repro- duced by a trilling passage on the flute. Grove says that these "imitations, or rather carica- tures," were intended by Beethoven as a joke of the most open kind, and adds "how completely are the
The
Famous Passage in the " Pastorale
Beethoven, Pastorale Symphony
, Andante.
FLUTE. ':Nightingale.)l
Phrase repeated.
140
" Pastorale " Symphony
raw travesties atoned for and brought into keeping by the lovely phrase (on the violin) with which Beethoven has bound them together and made them one with the music which comes before and after them." But this "joke" view has not been shared by other critics ot note. Teetgen writes poetically: —
" At last