Comparative Study of the use of the Baroque and Modern Flute in Composition
A comparative study of the use of the barqoue and modern flute in composition, with specific reference to -- Sonata IV for flute and continuo by J.S Bach, and Sonata for flute and piano by Hindemith
The baroque, or transverse flute is of great interest to me, mainly because of my own flute playing experience. Since listening to a concert which included both a modern orchestra and a baroque orchestra playing together in a specially written composition, and separately, I have considered the baroque flute a much softer and more beautiful instrument, in construction and sound. It is because of this interest that I have decided to carry out my investigation upon the difference between the two flutes, particularly in composition. Firstly, I plan to study the development of the baroque flute, as it is my main focus for this project, and what its capabilities were for composition. Then I will compare the flutes, using the pieces I have chosen, one written for a baroque flute, and one for a modern flute. From this investigation, I hope to be able to draw some conclusions about the better of the two flutes. At the moment I prefer the baroque flute to the modern flute, and I would like to prove that it is indeed the better flute.
History of the baroque flute
The earliest record of a flute is in a ninth century BC Chinese poem 'Shih Ching', but the first pictorial evidence of a transverse flute did not appear until the second century BC, on an urn in Italy. The recorder was the predecessor of the transverse flute, but gradually, the flute became the more dominant instrument. During the baroque period (between about 1650 -- 18th century), four main flutes were in use. These were the treble, the alto, the tenor and the bass. Each was pitched a perfect fifth apart (apart from the alto and tenor, which were very similar), and had a range of about two octaves. The bass flute was usually replaced by a sackbutt in wind ensembles, as it had a small range and a weak sound. The baroque flute -- which later was developed into the Boehm flute, was in fact the descendent of the tenor flute. This was noted to have the range of the early female voice in 1619,
The Native American flute is the third oldest known musical instrument in the world, with bone flutes dating back over 60,000 years. The first instrument found were drums, then varies whistle were made. Over time, the instrument evolved with many different materials and shapes. And these difference and changes reflect the culture of that time. Virtually, flutes were used all types of hardwoods and softwoods in history.
As the late Baroque period morphed into the new period known as the classical period, technological advances and new compositional techniques and ideas created new opportunities for the musicians of the period. The changes allowed for new performance techniques, forms, performance venues, and newly available compositional orchestrations to be improved and evolved into something new and improved for the new period.
...se on both the tenor and alto flute, one an octave higher than the other. While the return of the verse and the flute’s soothing sound give this ending a vague happy feeling, the contrast between the flutes’ pitches and timbres cannot help but leave the listener with a feeling of tension and apprehension over what will ensue.
Gabrieli, Giovanni. Sacrae Symphoniae: Sonata Pian e Forte. London: Brass Wind Publications, 1996. M886.G119 S13
Wolfe, Joe. "How Do Woodwind Instruments Work?." Music Acoustics. 1994. 2014. Web. April 13, 2014. .
Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 was his last and longest symphony he composed. While listening to this breathtaking piece of music, one specific aspect of this piece stood out to me; this being the instrumentation. In this symphony, many different instruments were used. While listening, I recognized many of them. A flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings make up this famous piece that is known world-wide by millions of people.
The organum, which thrived at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, was one of the earliest types of polyphony. It was very much similar to a trope, as it added vertical notes onto an existing melody or plainchant. There is quite the development of the organum between the 10th and 12th centuries. French composers, Leoninus, and Perotinus, were leading contributors to the evolution of the organum advancing the terms “free organum”, and “discant organum”. Through examining the works throughout Musica enchiriadis of the 10th century, and the compositions of Leoninus and Perotinusis in the 12th century, it is made clear that the the organum endured influential alterations both melodically and rhythmically.
The major classes of musical instruments used in the High and Late Renaissance include plucked strings, bowed strings, brass, double reeds, other winds, keyboards, and percussions (McGee, 1985). Lutes, drums, and trumpets were often used, but the instruments that were especially popular during the Renaissance include the bass viol, treble viol, viola, violin, tenor sackbut, cornetto, bass sackbut, curtal, tenor shawm, bass recorder, and harpsichord (McGee, 1985).
In the first part of this recital the vivaldi, contained a string Quartet. After the first intermission, I looked down at the podium and noticed that the precussions were added which included the timpani, bass drum, tylophone, and cymbals. In this recital Nancy Menk was the conductor, Judith Von Houser was the soprano which played a high note, and Mary Nessinger was the Mezzo-soprano which played a slight softer note. This part of the concert was divided into four pieces. First there was the Magnificant by M. Haydn (the orchestra accompaniment was edited from the composer's manuscript by Mark Nabholz). This piece consisted of strings without violas, two french horns, and an organ.
These pieces are extremely well written and are very idiomatic for each instrument. Montilla explores and takes advantage of the entire clarinet register and the sound of each instrument in each of his compositions and arrangements. In this essay, I will put emphasis on one of his most famous clarinet quartets, “Four for Four.” This is because the core of his knowledge, composition and performance skills can be seen in this work, especially in the movements “Joropo” and “Merengue,” and once we get to know the background of this piece, we will be able to apply it to most of his compositions and arrangements.
Countless dozens of Ph.D theses must be written about Mozart's The Magic Flute and yet it is so lively with elements of fantasy and free-flying imagination that it is often the first opera to which children are taken. It has a plot of such complexity that it takes several viewings for all but the most studious opera buffs to sort out the characters and follow the ins and outs of the multilevel story. At the same time it has so much easily accessible charm and so many glorious Mozart tunes that even the novice will be captivated.
During the baroque period, they used bows that were convex and tapered at the end. It was also made out of snake wood, which is lighter than the modern violin bow, and it was balanced toward the frog instead of in the middle. Because of that the bow starts out strong and fades out when it reaches the tip. The baroque music is played with characteristic of lightness because of the bow. This is also why there isn’t much dynamics because of its balance. Baroque composers also believed that the performer should have control what they should do with the notes, so it was up to the performer to ad gracing into the piece. Instead of having a screw mechanism, the bow had a clip at the frog which loosen and tighten the bow and the bow had less than the modern day bow. No uniform standards emerged on a widespread scale, i.e. in this context one cannot speak of there being a typical model of a Baroque violin bow. What is, however, typical of Baroque-period bows is the diversity of shapes and designs.
Sartorius, Michael. Baroque Music Perormance: "Authentic" or "Traditional": A discussion of the essential issues involved. Ed. Micahel Sartorius. n.dat. Baroque Music Pages. [17 October 2003] .
Giuseppe Torelli, was an Italian violinist, teacher and composer, is considered one of the early developers of the Baroque concerto and concerto grosso. Torelli also composed a significant number of works for the trumpet during the Baroque period (1600-1750). Around 1690, one can begin to see the first works for the trumpet. He was familiar with the virtuoso trumpeter, Giovanni Pellegrino Brandi. Brandi would sometimes play with the San Petronio orchestra, of which Torelli was violin player. This acquaintance could explain Torelli’s awareness of the trumpet’s timbre, dynamic range, and expressive capabilities.
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.