Page:The story of the flute (IA storyofflute1914fitz).djvu/155

Gluck and the Piccolo

"Ah! ah! ah!" and the flutes play these three notes

with thrilling effect at each "ah"; and in the same opera (iv. 4), at the words "Cruel! ìl est mon frère," the F and D sustained on two flutes for three bars create an impression of sadness. In the scene on the border of the enchanted river in Armide (ii. 3), the flute, during the sleep of Renaud, plays a dainty

Gluck, Armide, ii. 3.

ritornelle which "expresses the voluptuous languor of the soul of the hero under the seduction of the magician's art; we seem to see the lovely landscape, smell the perfume of the flowers, and hear the birds sing."^[1]

Gluck was the first composer to discover the value and effectiveness of the sonorous, rich notes of the lowest register of the flute; striking examplesGluck's
use of the
Piccolo will be found in Alceste. As a rule these flute solos are accompanied by strings only. He is also one of the first writers to

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1. A rather interesting little point about this flute solo is to be noted: in the original draft a passage beginning thus:
   
   was considered too high and accordingly was re-written an octave lower, as it now occurs in the full score.