Quantz's Inventions
flute, by means of which the position of the cork in the head joint could be adjusted. Quantz, however, does not himself lay any claim to this invention, which appeared before 1752, as also did the brass-lining of the head-joint.
The table of fingering given by Quantz ascends to A′′′♮ in alt., whilst that in Diderot's Encyclopœdia (1756) goes up to the D in alt. above this (being, in fact, a note higher than the present Böhm flute), but he adds that the last five semitones cannot be sounded on all flutes. Quantz possessed a flute, made by I. Biglioni, of Rome, which had an additional open key for the low C♯. But he made noThe Low
C Keys claim to its invention, telling us that about 1722 both low C♯ and C♮ open keys were added to flutes, with a lengthened tube. He objected to this innovation (as did also Wendling, his successor), and it was for a time abandoned as detrimental to tone and intonation; both keys were, however, revived by Pietro Grassi Florio about 1770. Florio was first flute in the orchestra of the Italian Opera in London. He used to hang a little curtain to the foot-joint of his flute in order to conceal these keys, which he wished to keep secret. The French player, Devienne, in 1795 objected to Florio's keys as being out of place in the instrument, and having no power, but they are now universally used on all concert flutes.
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