Virdung—Luscinius—Agricola
appear to have developed it more than any other nation (though the French were the first to produce great players), and our earliest informationReferences
in Early
Treatises
on Music;
Virdung respecting it is to be found chiefly in German treatises. We find an engraving of the instrument (there called Zwerchpfeiff) in the Musica Getutscht und Auszgezogen of Sebastian Virdung, published at Basle in 1511. It will be noticed (Page 30, Fig. 1) that the mouth-hole is very small, and is round; that the finger-holes are very far removed from it, being all equal distances apart and very close to each other; and that the tube is a long, slender cylinder. Certainly the flute here depicted does not look as if it was drawn accurately to scale from an actual instrument. Unfortunately, Virdung did not give any detailed description either of its construction or of the manner of playing it. The Musurgia seu praxis Musicœ (1536) of Ottomar Luscinius (or Nachtigall) is practically a translation of Virdung's work into Latin, with identical illustrations. He mentions five varieties of flutes:—The Chalamen and Bombardt (like the modern clarinet), the Helvetian (like the old English flute-à-bec), the Schwegel (or whistle), and the Zwerchpfeiff.
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