The Flûte with nozzle is a Musical instrument with wind of the family of the wood.

Like all the others instruments, the Flûte with nozzle is declined in several sizes. The modern nomenclature includes/understands in the decreasing order (acuter with most serious): sopraninino (or exiling), sopranino, Soprano, viola, Tenor, low, double bass and soubasse. This nomenclature is far from reflecting the variety of the various agreements which were used during the Siècle S, and illustrates the modern design of the whole of Flûte, rather far away from the " units; historiques".

History

Oldest Flûte S with nozzle goes back to the Préhistoire. It is advisable however to make distinctions among all the instruments “with nozzle”… The Recorder (also called soft Flute, Flute of England, Flute with eight holes) is a instruments which comprises eight holes of play, including one handled by the inch to allow the emission of the acute octaves. This instrument appears incontestably in this particular form as from the 14th century; there remains about it some vestiges: Flute of Dordrecht, fragment of Würzburg, Flute of Göttingen and Flute of Tartu. One can suppose that this instrument existed already before, but no tangible proof has yet could support this assumption. At that time, it comprised nine holes of play (from where its name of “flute with nine holes”) but the useful number was actually only of eight because one was to choose between the two holes bored of each with dimensions with the bottom of the instrument in order to leave the choice between a behavior of droitier or of left-handed person and the useless hole was stopped with wax. It is this instruments which will be declined in several sizes at the end it XVe century until training a family wide and homogeneous as from the 16th century and that one usually indicates by the term of English origin “Consort”.

There exist however instruments “with nozzle” or “block” which do not function according to the same organologic mode:

  • the galoubets , txistu , flutes of Ossau and others Flûte S with a hand comprise only three holes of play and obtaining the fifths and octaves is carried out by the force of the breath. The Flute with a hand, associated with small a drum or others instruments of percussion handled by the flutist himself, was very appreciated with the Middle Ages and the Rebirth to carry out the dance in company. One finds this couple of instruments played by a single interpreter in the current duet flûtet of Provence-tambourine. In this last case, the percussion which accompanies the flûtet with three holes is large a drum with two skins with barrel lengthened and provided with a chantarelle on the higher skin.

  • the flageolets as for them are declined into two type:

    • “English”
# (very near to our current recorder ) which was also used in the Germaniques countries. It is for him, for example, that Mozart wrote parts in removal with the Seraglio . “French”
# including/understanding 6 holes including two with the back handled by each inch. This last, invented by certain Sieur Juvisy as Marin Mersenne brings it back to the 17th century, was equipped for the 19th century with various key systems of which made it very popular in the orchestras of ball and the bands of military Musique.

  • the csakan is a Viennese variety of recorder which was invented, thinks one, by Anton Heberlé at the beginning of the 19th century. It was equipped with keys and its popularity is confirmed by the many works written in particular for him, in particular those left the presses of Diabelli, one of the editors of Beethoven. Its use lasted until orée of last century but seems to be strongly reduced starting from the Années 1850.

  • Le pipeau , as for him, is a very simple instrument of aspect which does not comprise any hole of inch and resembles of very close with the chock whistle Irish . The manufacture of these instruments is often not the fact of professional factors (except for the chock whistle ), but rather of the players themselves; a singularity which distinguishes it from the other instruments mentioned above. The vogue of the makers and players of pipeau in bamboo, of which the history goes back to the any end of the 19th century, answering a certain ideology of nature while taking as a starting point a very fantasmée antiquity, was very popular at the beginning of the 20th century; what contributed to confuse pipeau and true recorder. The “prehistoric flutes” mentioned above are of this type but much more rudimentary since they can comprise only one or two holes of play.

The evolution of the construction of the recorders, which escaped from the Industrialization and machining exaggerated from the musical instruments at the 19th century, led to the 20th century, on the basis of the model baroque, with surprising achievements of instruments equipped with systems of keys the made-to-order of the instruments “Boehm”, or of a total revolution in the acoustic design of the body of the instrument, selected materials (wood, resins, plexiglass, metal) and of the extensions (amplifications, transformations of stamp by electronic devices into real-time).

Such a long and such a varied history bequeathed to the Flûte with nozzle a abundant repertory. Very much used in the erudite music profane and nun since the 15th century at least (there remains nothing the popular music), this instrument knew an eclipse relative to the 19th century and enjoys a renewal of popularity as of the first years of the 20th century, in particular by the action of one of its more enthusiastic defenders, the Franco-English musician and musicologist Arnold Dolmetsch. Associated with the popular movements of German musical youths in the interval wars, widely diffused in England then in Europe thanks to its mass production out of bakelite as of the Years 1940, this instrument was associated, for all these reasons, with the teaching and school activities in the Fifties.

He knows now a true activity of professional concert performer and is taught on a higher level in the specialized academies. One meets it in the contemporary traditional repertory (Berio, Donatoni…) but also of pop music, current musics, even of jazz (Album Spirits of Keith Jarrett).

The family declines itself today out of instruments in C and F .

  • Sopraninino (or exiling) (C)

  • Sopranino (F)
  • Soprano (C)
  • Viola (F)
  • Tenor (C)
  • Low (F)
  • Double bass (C)
  • Soubasse (F)

This classification is far from reflecting the diversity of the historical instruments. For example, at the XVIIIe century division was different:

  • above,
  • high-against,
  • size,
  • fifth.

The first users of the beginning of the 20th century, basing themselves on the instruments Baroque S and undoubtedly seeking to create a family which corresponds to the requirements of classifications modern choral societies and with the aspect running of the chamber music of then (string quartet in particular), made write quartets of flute for Soprano, Alto, Ténor and low. This formation does not have obviously anything history, and the reality of the repertory calls upon consorts who are far from this “traditional” formation.

The instruments soloists, as for them, were declined in many different tonalities. The “top” more running at the 16th century was in ground , and the time baroque abundantly used instruments such as the “ pastoral Flûte ” in semi flat, “flute of voice” in D, “Sixth flute” in D also, “Fourth flute” in if flat. The viola could be in ground or F in full period baroque still… The exhaustive list of these instruments would be extremely long.

The redécouverte of the recorder

Without to be completely forgotten, the recorder however was used little at the XIXe century. The private interest of the musician, violin maker, musicologist and violonist English Arnold Dolmetsch had as a consequence the manufacture of several instruments inspired by old since 1905. A little later, the German violin maker Peter Harlan was put to manufacture some in its turn since 1927 but by diverting the original models with fine practices. These instruments were a very large success before the 2nd war and are truly at the origin of its passion with large scales. This particular invoice gave rise to the flutes " with tact allemand" (makes tacts of the pipeau of them) that one meets still nowadays, whereas the promoted flutes respecting old organology Arnold and Carl Dolmetsch and by Edgard Hunt are known as " with tacts baroques" or " anglais". Through these two " écoles" of invoice these are two designs which clash. One, near to the old sources, sought to recreate a music forgotten in a preoccupation with a historical veracity while the other, more social and commercial, wanted to develop a pleasant and easy instrument (at the price of an excessive simplification) without embarrassing itself more than necessary of musicologic considerations.

The instrument most largely widespread today is that known as " baroque" because it is that which really makes it possible to play works of the repertory, which does not allow the Harlan instrument.

The teaching virtues of the recorder, already underlined by many old authors, were again tested successfully, and the instrument made its appearance with large scales in the classes as of the end of the war.

Many years had however to be waited so that it is taught like professional instrument in the academies, but the example of Edgard Hunt, Frans Brüggen (class of open Amsterdam in 1970) and of good of others has permi to realize of the real potential of this instrument.

Play

Technical of articulation: The main feature of the instrument is the expressivity related to a very varied and subtle technique of the articulation. Low pressure of the column (in spite of an important flow) made that the least difference in the pronunciation of the articulatory syllables is immediately perceptible. It is a force, but also a very great difficulty because that requires much control. The syllables used (already described in the Italian treaties of XVIe century) are T, D, L, K, G. Like the technique of bow of a violonist, the flutist must know not only to control the quality of the emission but also the succession of the consonants to highlight the rate/rhythm or the melody characteristic of a musical sentence. These articulations, present to other instruments until the beginning of the XVIIIe century, fell in disuse at that time where it was judged, in particular for the cross , that they obstructed the purity of emission of the sound.

Technical digital: the handling of the instrument requires a good coordination. If the technique does not require a force or of muscular mass especially trained for the effort, it does not remain about it less than the variety and the complexity of certain sequences (many tacts with fork) makes this instrument difficult enough for a modern musical vocabulary. Not having the " facilité" systems of keys which allow the opening and simultaneous closing several holes by the action of a simple key, its handling can become frankly complex.

Technical of breath: One of the major difficulties is also to succeed in circumventing connect it rigidity of sound intonation . Indeed, the intonation is directly related to the force of the wind sent in the mouth. Low pressure = low sounds, strong pressure = high sounds. By the only force of the wind, one can obtain more than one half your of variation for the same tact! To control this technical side thus requires much to know to make and of subtlety to obtain the adequate intonation and the desired quality of stamp. The flutist arrives at his ends by the control of his breath, the use of tacts of substitution, couvrement or the opening partial of holes of play and the sometimes allied shape of the lips to various degrees of closing of the throat. The unit can be acquired only by a thorough technical work , and thanks to a vigilant and infallible ear.

Teaching value

Shortly after its introduction at the beginning of the 20th century, one redécouvre the great teaching value of this instrument to initiate with the music. This does not want to say that the recorder is for as much an instrument easy to control: as any wind instrument it takes time to acquire a beautiful sonority and some Fludité of play. But as an easily portable instrument, it quickly finds its place in the popular movements of German youths, and by this skew in pedagogy. In parallel, of the firms like Moeck or Adler-Heinrich launch a massive industrial production of recorders, and make a cheap and omnipresent instrument of it. After the Second world war, it is systematic used, that it is at the school, where he is taught with whole classes, or in the music schools and other conservatory S increasingly many buildings, where the recorder is essential like the instrument of initiation on the music . Characteristic of this evolution, the musical awakening and the first course of recorder are often directed by the same one professor. This does not have only positive consequences for the recorder, often considered as a " pipeau" bottom-of-the-range, hardly an instrument, a devalorization which it shares meanwhile with other instruments also used in musical awakening, what moderates this judgment.

The principles of the play of the recorder, in particular of the recorder Soprano, can be acquired by the schoolboys as of the primary education. The first successes in the control of the instrument come in general quickly: to leave a note the instrument and to acquire some tacts basic is very accessible. Passed these first successes, it proves however difficult to obtain a sound neither too weak nor too extremely, harmonious and supported, and techniques of breaths and of tact at a stage even slightly advanced become really complex. It is necessary to learn in parallel two tacts (those of the soprano and the viola) and according to the style of music, to find the tone right requires a particular technique of breath.

Once the first garnered successes, the teachers of recorder have thus a real challenge to take up to raise their pupils with the requirements of the repertory of the recorder of the Moyen-âge at our days.

Example of tacts " baroques" for the first octave of a recorder in C:

  • C: all the fingers

  • D: all fingers except the auricular right
    • semi
  • : auricular and annular surveys
  • F: all fingers except the major right
  • ground: there is only the left hand which stops the holes (top)
  • it: hole of behind and holes stopped by the index and major the left
  • if: hole of behind and hole top stopped
  • C: hole of behind and major left only

Interpreters

Famous soloists

  • Pedro Memelsdorff
  • Paul Leenhouts
  • Michel Keustermans
  • Frans Brüggen
  • Frederic de Roos
  • Saskia Coolen
  • Walter van Hauwe
  • Kees Boeke
  • daN Laurin
  • Pierre Boragno
  • Horacio Free
  • Hans-Martin Linde
  • Pierre Hamon
  • Matthias Maute
  • Jean-Pierre Nicolas
  • Dorothee Oberlinger
  • Michala $petri
  • Michelle Tellier
  • Claire Michon
  • Hugo Reyne
  • Bart Spanhove
  • Maurice Steger
  • Han Tol
  • Marion Verbruggen
  • Michael Schneider
  • Piers Adams
  • Francis Colpron
  • Giovanni Antonini

Whole of flutes

  • Sour Cream (Brüggen, Boeke, Van Hauwe)
  • Royal Wind Consort
  • Brussels Consort " Alba Novella " - Quartet of Recorders - (Laura Pok…)
  • Laterna Magica - Laura Pok -- Nathalie Houtman -- ……
  • Cetra Orfeo (Belgium)
  • Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartett - Daniel Bruggen, Andrea Ritter, Daniel Koschinski, Karel van Steenhoven
  • Flanders To retie Four-bit byte - Bart Spanhove, Han Tol, Joris van Goethem, Paul van Loey
  • Wiener Blockflötenensemble - Hans Maria Kneis, Alfred Endelweber, Ulrike Groier, Klaus Gund, Rudolf Hofstötter, Georg Mittermayr
  • Flautando Köln - Katharina Hess, Susanne Hochscheid, Ursula Thelen, Kerstin de Witt
  • QNG 138
  • Trio diritto
  • Unit Mezzaluna

Whole with flutes

  • Mala Punica

  • Soft memory
  • Witches

Invoice

Materials

If one excludes some rare and invaluable ivory instruments (Hotteterre, Oberlinger), horn of narval (Rosenborg), scale of metal tortoise or plated, the recorders are generally manufactured out of wood. With the Middle Ages and the Rebirth one used more readily the gasolines of fruit trees as show it the surviving specimens. At the time baroque one preferred the European boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), an invaluable wood because pushing slowly, but whose qualities of grain and resistance allow a finer work. Nowadays, because of its scarcity, it is often replaced by exotic gasolines nonrelated but showing similar characteristics - and for this reason wrongly called “boxwood” also -, such as (“boxwood”) the castello ( Calycophyllum multiflorum ). Other gasolines are currently employed (maple, more running in the semi-industrial invoice; pear tree, purple wood, grenadillo - not to confuse with ebony -, ebony, olive-tree, bois de rose). Their density, unequal, gives to the instrument its particular characteristics. One also finds some out of moulded plastic (resin ABS), of lower quality since they are instruments of initiation, but certain professional factors tried out the turning of the plexiglass (Twaalfhoven) or the ivorine (a polymer to which the aspect approaches the ivory).

Historical factors of recorder

Like the manufacturers of violin at their time, certain manufacturers of recorder enjoyed with 17th and 18th centuries of a certain prestige. Below short list members of this profession having influenced on the history of the recorder:

Random links:Coincidence | Terns | Gueorgui Beriev | Robert Jan Verbelen | Mickey Hargitay

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