The bass flute cited by Mersenne should not differ much from that of
the Museo Civico at Verona. We suppose it to have been in [notes], and
that it was furnished with an open key like that which was applied to
the recorders (_flutes douces_) of the same epoch, the function of the
key being to augment by another note the compass of the instrument in
the lower part. A bass flute in G similar to the one in fig. 5 is
figured and described in Diderot and D'Alembert's encyclopaedia [27]
(1751). According to Quantz,[28] it was in France and about the middle
of the 17th century that the first modifications were introduced in
the manufacture of the flute. The improvements at this period
consisted of the abandonment of the cylindrical bore in favour of a
conical one, with the base of the cone forming the head of the
instrument. At the same time the flute was made of three separate
pieces called head, body, and tail or foot, which were ultimately
further subdivided. The body or middle joint was divided into two
pieces, so that the instrument could be tuned to the different pitches
then in use by a replacement with longer or shorter pieces. It was
probably about 1677, when Lully introduced the German flute into the
opera, that recourse was had for the first time to keys, and that the
key of D# was applied to the lower part of the instrument.[29] The
engraving of B. Picart, dated 1707, given in Hotteterre's book,
represents the flute as having reached the stage of improvement of
which we have just spoken. In 1726 Quantz,[30] finding himself in
Paris, had a second key applied to the flute, placed nearly at the
same height as the first, that of the [notes], intended to
differentiate the D# and the E[flat].[31] This innovation was
generally well received in Germany, but does not appear to have met
with corresponding success in other countries. In France and England
manufacturers adopted it but rarely; in Italy it was declared
useless.[32] About the same time flutes were constructed with the
lower extremity lengthened sufficiently to produce the fundamental C,
and furnished with a supplementary key to produce the C[sharp]. This
innovation, spoken of by Quantz,[33] did not meet with a very
favourable reception, and was shortly afterwards abandoned. Passing
mention may be made of the drawing of a flute with a C key in the
_Music-Saal_ of J.F.B. Majer (Nuremberg, 1741), p. 45.
The tuning of the instrument to different pitches was effected by
changes in the length, and notably by substituting a longer or shorter
upper piece in the middle joint. So wide were the differences in the
pitches then in use that seven such pieces for the upper portion of it
were deemed necessary. The relative proportions between the different
parts of the instrument being altered by these modifications in the
length, it was conceived that the just relation could be
re-established by dividing the foot into two pieces, below the key.
These two pieces were adjusted by means of a tenon, and it was
asserted that, in this way, the foot could be lengthened
proportionately to the length of the middle joint. Flutes thus
improved took the name of "flutes a registre." The register system
was, about 1752, applied by Quantz to the head joint[34] and, the
embouchure section being thus capable of elongation, it was allowable
to the performer, according to the opinion of this professor, to lower
the pitch of the flute a semitone, without having recourse to other
lengthening pieces, and without disturbing the accuracy of intonation.
The upper extremity of the flute, beyond the embouchure orifice, is
closed by means of a cork stopper. On the position of this cork
depends, in a great measure, the accurate tuning of the flute. It is
in its right place when the accompanying octaves [notes] are true.
Quantz, in speaking of this accessory, mentions the use of a nut-screw
to give the required position to the cork.[35] He does not name the
inventor of this appliance, but, according to Tromlitz,[36] the
improvement was due to Quantz himself. The invention goes back to
1726.
When the _Method_ of Quantz appeared there were still in use, besides
the orchestral flute in D, the little fourth flute in G, the low
fourth flute in A, and the flute d'amour a note higher; in France they
had, moreover, the little octave flute in D (octave). A bass flute in
D had also been attempted (see fig. 5). When Ribock published his
_Bemerkungen uber die Flote_[37] the flute had already the five keys
here shown. [notes] This author states that the inventor of these new
keys is not known to him, but that either Kusder, a musical
instrument-maker in London, or Johann Georg Tromlitz of Leipzig was
the originator, since he has not been able to trace those keys on the
flutes of any other maker. Although Tromlitz does not claim for
himself the invention of the keys for F, G[sharp] and B[flat], he
states that "he had occupied himself for several years in applying
these keys so as not to augment the difficulty of playing, but on the
contrary to render the handling of them as easy as possible."[38] In
the later work published in 1800,[39] however, he seems to attribute
the invention of these keys to Richard Potter of London; he says that
he has never yet been fortunate enough to come across a good flute by
that maker--"the flute has certainly gained by the addition of the
keys for F, G[sharp] and B[flat], but this is not everything, for on
such a flute much must perforce be left unattempted.... Only a flute
with eight keys according to my invention is capable of everything."
It would seem, moreover, from circumstantial evidence stated clearly
and on good authority by Rockstro[40] that the keys for F, G[sharp]
and B[flat] must have been used first in England and made by Richard
Potter before 1774. The higher key of C adopted from 1786 by Tromlitz,
we believe to have been first recommended by Ribock (1782).[41]
Tromlitz in _Uber Floten_ describes at length what may be termed the
first systematic effort to overcome the difficulties created by the
combination of open holes and closed keys. He attempted to solve the
question by determining the positions of the holes according to the
exigencies of fingering instead of subordinating them to the more
arbitrary theories connected with the musical scale.
In 1785 Richard Potter improved Quantz's slide applied to the head
joint as well as to the register of the foot by a double system of
tubes forming double sliding air-tight joints. In the document[42]
describing this improvement Potter patented the idea of lining the
holes with silver tubes and of adapting metal conical valves to the
keys. Potter's patent conical valves were an adaptation of the
contrivance first invented by J.F. Boie or Boye of Gottingen,[43] who
used pewter for the plugs, and silver for lining the holes. The keys
mentioned in the patent were four--D[sharp], F, G[sharp], A[sharp].
The idea of extending the compass of the flute downwards was taken up
again about the same time by two players of the flute in London named
Tacet and Florio. They devised a new disposition of the keys C and C#,
and confided the execution of their invention to Potter. In Dr
Arnold's _New Instructions for the German Flute_ occurs a tablature,
the engraving of which goes back to the end of the 18th century, and
bears the following title, "A Complete Drawing and Concise Scale and
Description of Tacet and Florio's new invented German Flute, with all
the additional keys explained." It explains the use of six keys--C,
C#, D#, F, G#, A#--that are not always figured, because the employment
of so many keys was at once admitted. Tromlitz himself, who, however,
made flutes with nine keys--adding E[flat], another F, and C[natural],
declared that he was not in favour of so great a complication, and
that he preferred the flute with only two keys, D[sharp] and E[flat],
with a register foot joint and a cork nut-screw at the head joint.
This instrument met all requirements. He was always much opposed to
the use of the old keys for C[natural] and C[sharp], because they
altered the recognised quality of tone of the instrument. When
Tromlitz published his method, the family of flutes had become
modified. It comprehended only the typical flute in D, the flute
d'amour a minor third lower, a "third" flute a minor third higher,
and, finally, the little octave flute.
While Tromlitz was struggling in Germany with the idea of augmenting
the compass of the flute downwards by employing open keys for
C[natural] and C[sharp], an Italian, Giovanni Batista Orazi,[44]
increased the scale of the instrument downwards by the application of
five new keys, viz. B, B[flat], A, A[flat], and G. At the same time
that he produced this invention [45] he conceived the plugging of the
lateral holes by the valve keys then recently invented by Potter. But
it was hardly possible to obtain a perfect plugging of seven lateral
holes with the aid of as many keys, for the control of which there
were only the two little fingers, and therefore this invention of
Orazi proved a failure.
In 1808 the Rev. Frederick Nolan,[46] of Stratford, near London,
conceived an open key, the lever of which, terminating by a ring,
permitted the closing of a lateral hole at the same time the key was
being acted upon. The combination in this double action is the embryo
of the mechanism that a little later was to transform the system of
the flute. Two years later Macgregor,[47] a musical-instrument maker
in London, constructed a bass flute an octave lower than the ordinary
flute. The idea was not new, as is proved by the existence of the bass
flute mentioned above. The difference between the two instruments lies
in the mechanism of the keys. That employed by Macgregor consisted of
a double lever, a contrivance dating from before the middle of the
18th century, of which the application is seen in an oboe of large
dimensions preserved in the National Museum at Munich.[48]
In 1811 Johann Nepomuk Capeller invented the extra D[natural] hole and
key, which is still in constant use on every flute of modern
construction.[49]
About 1830 the celebrated French flautist Tulou added two more keys,
those of F[sharp] and C[sharp], and a key, called "de cadence," to
facilitate the accompanying shakes.
To increase the number of keys, to improve their system of plugging,
and to extend the [notes] scale of the instrument in the lower
region,--these had hitherto been the principal problems dealt with in
the improvement of the flute. No maker, no inventor to whose labours
we have called attention, had as yet devoted his attention to the
rational division of the column of air by means of the lateral holes.
In 1831 Theobald Boehm, a Bavarian, happening to be in London, was
struck with the power of tone the celebrated English performer Charles
Nicholson drew from his instrument. Boehm learned, and not without
astonishment, that his English colleague obtained this result by
giving the lateral holes a much greater diameter than was then usually
admitted. About the same time Boehm made the acquaintance of an
amateur player named Gordon, who had effected certain improvements; he
had bored the lateral hole for the lower E, and had covered it with a
key, while he had replaced the key for F with a ring. These
innovations set Boehm about attempting a complete reform of the
instrument.[50] He went resolutely to work, and during the year 1832
he produced the new flute which bears his name. This instrument is
distinguished by a new mechanism of keys, as well as by larger holes
disposed along the tube in geometrical progression.
Boehm's system had preserved the key of G[sharp] open; Coche,[51] a
professor in the Paris Conservatoire, assisted by Auguste Buffet the
younger, a musical-instrument maker in that city, modified Boehm's
flute by closing the G[sharp] with a key, wishing thus to render the
new fingering more conformable to the old. He thus added a key,
facilitating the shake upon C[sharp] with D[sharp], and brought about
some other changes in the instrument of less importance.
Boehm had not, however, altered the bore of the flute, which had been
conical from the end of the 17th century. In 1846, however, he made
further experiments, and the results obtained were put in practice by
the construction of a new instrument, of which the body was given a
cylindrical bore, while the diameter of the head was modified at the
embouchure, the head-joint becoming parabolic (see fig. 2). The
inventor thus obtained a remarkable equality in the tones of the lower
octave, a greater sonorousness, and a perfect accuracy of intonation,
by establishing the more exact proportions which a column of air of
cylindrical form permitted.
The priority of Boehm's invention was long contested, his detractors
maintaining that the honour of having reconstructed the flute was due
to Gordon. But an impartial investigation vindicates the claim of the
former to the invention of the large lateral holes.[52] His greatest
title to fame is the invention of the mechanism which allows the
production of the eleven chromatic semitones intermediate between the
fundamental note and its first harmonic by means of eleven holes so
disposed that in opening them successively they shorten the column of
air in exact proportional quantities.[53] Boehm (_Essays_, &c.)
published a diagram or scheme to be adopted in determining the
position of the note-holes of wind instruments for every given pitch.
This diagram gives the position of the intermediate holes which he had
been enabled to establish by a rule of proportion based on the law of
the lengths of strings.
The Boehm flute, notwithstanding the high degree of perfection it has
reached, has not secured unanimous favour; even now there are players
who prefer the ordinary flute. The change of fingering required for
some notes, the great delicacy and liability to derangement of the
mechanism, have something to do with this. In England especially, the
ordinary flute retains many partisans, thanks to the improvements
introduced by a clever player, Abel Siccama, in 1845 (Patent No.
10,553). He bored the lateral holes of E and A lower, and covered them
with open keys. He added some keys, and made a better disposition of
the other lateral holes, of which he increased the diameter, producing
thus a sonorousness almost equal to that of the Boehm flute, while yet
preserving the old fingering for the notes of the first two octaves.
But in spite of these improvements the old flute will not bear an
impartial comparison with that of Boehm.
A flute constructed on a radically new system by Signor Carlo Tommaso
Georgi and introduced in 1896 places the technique of the instrument
on an entirely new and simple basis. The principal features of this
flute consist in an embouchure placed at the upper extremity of the
tube instead of at the side, which allows the instrument to be held in
a perpendicular position; no tuning cork is required. There are eleven
holes mathematically placed in the tube which give the semitones of
the scale; there are no keys. The eleven holes are fingered by the
fingers and thumbs, the C[sharp] hole being closed by the side of the
left fore-finger. All the notes are obtained by means of simple
fingering as far as G[sharp] of the third octave, the remaining notes
of which are produced by cross-fingering. For the convenience of
players with short fingers keys can be added, and the head of the
Georgi flute can be used with any cylinder flute. The compass of the
Georgi flute [notes] is almost the same as that of the concert flute;
viz. If the lower C and C[sharp] are required, extra holes and keys
can be added. Everything that is possible on the Boehm flute is
possible on the Georgi and more, owing to the simplicity of the
fingering; each finger having but one duty to perform, all trills are
equally easy. The tone is the true flute tone, brilliant and
sympathetic.[54]
The old English _fipple flute_, or _flute a bec_, is described under
the headings RECORDER and FLAGEOLET. (V. M.; K. S.)
2. In architecture the name "flute" is given to the vertical channels
(segmental, semicircular or elliptical in horizontal section) employed
on the shafts of columns in the classic styles. The flutes are separated
one from the other by an "arris" in the Doric order and by a "fillet" in
the Ionic and Corinthian orders. The earliest fluted columns are those
in Egypt, at first with plain faces without any sinking, subsequently at
Karnac (1400 B.C.) with a segmental sinking equal in depth to about
one-seventh of the width of the flute. The columns flanking one of the
"beehive" tombs at Mycenae have segmental flutes and are the earliest
Greek examples. In two of the earliest Doric temples at Metapontum and
Syracuse (temple of Apollo) the flutes are also segmental, but in later
examples in order to emphasize the arris they were formed of three arcs
and are known as "false ellipses," and this applies to nearly all the
fluting in Greek examples whether belonging to the Doric, Ionic or
Corinthian orders. The number of flutes varies, there being 52 in the
archaic temple of Diana at Ephesus and from 30 to 52 flutes in the
Persian columns according to the diameter of the column. In the Greek
Doric column 20 is the usual number, but there are 16 only in the
temples of Sunium, Assos, Segesta and the temple of Apollo at Syracuse;
18 in one of the temples of Selinus and the temple of Diana at Syracuse,
and 24 in the temple of Neptune at Paestum. The depth of the flute also
varies; in the Propylaea at Athens the radius is equal to the width of
the flute and the flute is segmental. In the Parthenon the radius of the
central part of the flute is greater than the width, but the smaller
arcs on either side accentuate better the arris. A similar accentuation
is found in the Ionic and Corinthian orders, where the flutes are
separated by fillets, and their section is always elliptical in Greek
work, the depth of the flute, however, being always greater than in the
Doric order. Thus, in the temple of Ilissus and the Ionic column in the
cella of the temple at Bassae, the depth is about one-quarter of the
width, in the Propylaea at Priene it is about one-third, and in the
Erechtheum and other examples of the Greek Ionic order it is little more
than one-half. The width of the fillet also varies, being as a rule one
quarter of the width of the flute; and the same applies to the Greek
Corinthian order. In the Roman Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, the
flute is either segmental or semicircular, its depth being about one
third of the width in the Doric column, and in all Ionic, Corinthian and
Composite columns half the width of the flute. The fillet also is much
broader in Roman examples, being about one-third of the width of the
flute. In Roman columns sometimes the flutes of the lower part of the
shaft, about one-third of the height, are partly filled with a convex
moulding, "cabling" being the usual term applied to this treatment. The
French architects of the 16th and 17th centuries carried this decorative
feature much farther, and in the Tuileries and the Louvre carved a
series of leaves in the flutes. In a few Italian buildings, instead of
the fluting of the column being vertical, it twines round the column and
is known as spiral fluting; a fine example is found in the Bevilacqua
palace at Verona by San Michele. Fluting is sometimes introduced into
capitals, as in the tomb of Mylasa, and in friezes, as in the theatre at
Cnidos, the Incantada at Salonica, and a doorway at Patara. In one of
the museums at Rome is a fine sarcophagus, the sides of which are
sculptured with flutes in waved lines. The coronas of many of the Roman
temples were carved with flutes. In medieval buildings, fluting was
occasionally introduced in imitation of Roman work, as in the churches
of central Syria and of Autun and Langres in France, but in the south of
Italy and Sicily it would seem to have been brought in as a variety of
treatment, in the decoration of the shafts carrying the arches of
cloisters, as at Monreale in Sicily and in those of St John Lateran and
St Paul-outside-the-Walls at Rome. (R. P. S.)