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Historical
outline of individual instruments
Woodwinds
Flute (concert flute)
17th century
- During this century,
flutes underwent structural changes. Beforehand, flutes had a cylindrical
bore and came in one section with no keys. During the 17th century
flutes appeared with a conical-bore, three sections, and a key.
With this newer design, flutes could play half steps more clearly
and could play in different tonalities more flexibly.
- During the late 17th
century, the French excelled as performers on the redesigned flute.
They also nurtured the flute’s more tender character and sound,
in contrast to its use in the military.
- During the Baroque,
flautists were often oboists.
18th century
- During the early 18th
century flutes appeared commonly in three sections, with a conical
bore and one key for D/E.
- About 1720, four-jointed
flutes started to appear.
- The flute joined the
orchestra during the mid- to late 18th century, often appearing
as an alternative to the oboe. Later on, orchestras commonly featured
one or two flutes.
- Around mid-18th century,
England produced flutes with additional keys for B, G, and F. These
developments spread only gradually to continental Europe due to
the Seven Years War.
- Around mid-18th century
in France, the use of the flute declined, as more attention turned
to opera.
First half of the
19th century
- By the early 19th century,
flutes had between one and eight keys. Key systems varied depending
on country. The 19th century French flutes usually had 4 or 5 keys.
- By 1820, the standard
flute in Europe (except France) featured 8 or 9 keys, and the lowest
note was c or b.
- During the 1830’s
Boehm, himself a flautist, improved the instrument’s design.
Among his accomplishments are the following: increased volume of
the instrument, more uniform sound, improved intonation, and ability
to play chromatic notes. He included ring keys, which enabled fingers
to operate keys outside of hand reach and allowed a finger to stop
more than one hole. Boehm adjusted the flute based on what produced
a better sound, rather than placing holes where the fingers could
reach.
- The 1847 Boehm flute
became the basis for the modern flute. They featured rectangular
embouchure-holes and large tone holes closed with padded keys.
- After about 1850, more
Boehm flutes were made of silver or nickel-silver.
Latter half of
the 19th century
- Some musicians did
not approve of Boehm’s new flutes, for instance, Wagner and
German flautists.
- By 1853, Meyer of Hanover
made flutes that German and Austrian orchestras favored. These flutes
were easy to play in high and low registers, had more volume, had
better intonation, and were generally made of nickel-silver or other
metals. During the latter 19th century, Meyer flutes reached popularity,
and players used them in works by Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Brahms,
Mahler, and R. Strauss.
- On the other hand, after
1860 most French flautists played on modified metal Boehm flutes.
20th century
- Preferences gradually
switched to French Boehm-system flutes. By the end of World War
I, Germans musicians also played on Boehm-system flutes.
- French flautists started
adding vibrato early in the century. Often considered simply a way
to hide bad intonation, vibrato gained acceptance in the early half
of the century and was brought to other national schools of performance.
- After World War II,
the French school of flute playing dominated over German and English
techniques and flutes. Influential French performers also influenced
this trend, and a number of important pieces for flute were written
with French players in mind.
- Also after World War
II, new techniques developed (multiphonics, whistle tones, whisper
tones, humming, slap tones, electronic manipulation).
- Until the 1950’s,
flautists were predominantly male.
Orchestra-History
Early
History • Classical
period • Romantic
period • 20th
century to present
Repertoire
Classical
period • Romantic period
• 20th century to present
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