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 fineThe Flute
d'Amour solo, La Siréne, 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 B♭.
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 different classes of wind instrument. The alto flute has already been employed in a considerable number of modern orchestral works (chiefly Russian) to produce special effects, 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]
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- ↑ Mr. E. Græme 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′′.
