References.—Sir G.G. Stokes,Mathematical and Physical Papers, vols. iii. and iv.; Müller-Pouillet,Lehrbuch der Physik, Bd. ii. (1897); A. Wullner,Lehrbuch der Experimentalphysik, Bd. iv. (1899); A.A. Winkelmann,Handbuch der Physik, Bd. vi. (1906); R.W. Wood,Physical Optics(1905).
References.—Sir G.G. Stokes,Mathematical and Physical Papers, vols. iii. and iv.; Müller-Pouillet,Lehrbuch der Physik, Bd. ii. (1897); A. Wullner,Lehrbuch der Experimentalphysik, Bd. iv. (1899); A.A. Winkelmann,Handbuch der Physik, Bd. vi. (1906); R.W. Wood,Physical Optics(1905).
(J. R. C.)
FLUORINE(symbol F, atomic weight 19), a chemical element of the halogen group. It is never found in the uncombined condition, but in combination with calcium as fluor-spar CaF2it is widely distributed; it is also found in cryolite Na3AlF6, in fluor-apatite, CaF2·3Ca3P2O8, and in minute traces in sea-water, in some mineral springs, and as a constituent of the enamel of the teeth. It was first isolated by H. Moissan in 1886 by the electrolysis of pure anhydrous hydrofluoric acid containing dissolved potassium fluoride. The U-shaped electrolytic vessel and the electrodes are made of an alloy of platinum-iridium, the limbs of the tube being closed by stoppers made of fluor-spar, and fitted with two lateral exit tubes for carrying off the gases evolved. Whilst the electrolysis is proceeding, the apparatus is kept at a constant temperature of −23° C. by means of liquid methyl chloride. The fluorine, which is liberated as a gas at the anode, is passed through a well cooled platinum vessel, in order to free it from any acid fumes that may be carried over, and finally through two platinum tubes containing sodium fluoride to remove the last traces of hydrofluoric acid; it is then collected in a platinum tube closed with fluor-spar plates. B. Brauner (Jour. Chem. Soc., 1894, 65, p. 393) obtained fluorine by heating potassium fluorplumbate 3KF·HF·PbF4. At 200° C. this salt decomposes, giving off hydrofluoric acid, and between 230-250° C. fluorine is liberated.
Fluorine is a pale greenish-yellow gas with a very sharp smell; its specific gravity is 1.265 (H. Moissan); it has been liquefied, the liquid also being of a yellow colour and boiling at -187° C. It is the most active of all the chemical elements; in contact with hydrogen combination takes place between the two gases with explosive violence, even in the dark, and at as low a temperature as −210° C; finely divided carbon burns in the gas, forming carbon tetrafluoride; water is decomposed even at ordinary temperatures, with the formation of hydrofluoric acid and “ozonised” oxygen; iodine, sulphur and phosphorus melt and then inflame in the gas; it liberates chlorine from chlorides, and combines with most metals instantaneously to form fluorides; it does not, however, combine with oxygen. Organic compounds are rapidly attacked by the gas.
Only one compound of hydrogen and fluorine is known, namelyhydrofluoric acid, HF or H2F2, which was first obtained by C. Scheele in 1771 by decomposing fluor-spar with concentrated sulphuric acid, a method still used for the commercial preparation of the aqueous solution of the acid, the mixture being distilled from leaden retorts and the acid stored in leaden or gutta-percha bottles. The perfectly anhydrous acid is a very volatile colourless liquid and is best obtained, according to G. Gore (Phil. Trans., 1869, p. 173) by decomposing the double fluoride of hydrogen and potassium, at a red heat in a platinum retort fitted with a platinum condenser surrounded by a freezing mixture, and having a platinum receiver luted on. It can also be prepared in the anhydrous condition by passing a current of hydrogen over dry silver fluoride. The pure acid thus obtained is a most dangerous substance to handle, its vapour even when highly diluted with air having an exceedingly injurious action on the respiratory organs, whilst inhalation of the pure vapour is followed by death. The anhydrous acid boils at 19°.5 C. (H. Moissan), and on cooling, sets to a solid mass at −102°.5 C, which melts at −92°.3 C. (K. Olszewski,Monats. für Chemie, 1886, 7, p. 371). Potassium and sodium readily dissolve in the anhydrous acid with evolution of hydrogen and formation offluorides. The aqueous solution is strongly acid to litmus and dissolves most metals directly. Its most important property is that it rapidly attacks glass, reacting with the silica of the glass to form gaseous silicon fluoride, and consequently it is used for etching. T.E. Thorpe (Jour. Chem. Soc., 1889, 55, p. 163) determined the vapour density of hydrofluoric acid at different temperatures, and showed that there is no approach to a definite value below about 88° C. where it reaches the value 10.29 corresponding to the molecular formula HF; at temperatures below 88° C. the value increases rapidly, showing that the molecule is more complex in its structure. (For references see J.N. Friend,The Theory of Valency(1909), p. 111.) The aqueous solution behaves on concentration similarly to the other halogen acids; E. Deussen (Zeit. anorg. Chem., 1905, 44, pp. 300, 408; 1906, 49, p. 297) found the solution of constant boiling point to contain 43.2% HF and to boil at 110° (750 mm.).
The salts of hydrofluoric acid are known asfluoridesand are easily obtained by the action of the acid on metals or their oxides, hydroxides or carbonates. The fluorides of the alkali metals, of silver, and of most of the heavy metals are soluble in water; those of the alkaline earths are insoluble. A characteristic property of the alkaline fluorides is their power of combining with a molecule of hydrofluoric acid and with the fluorides of the more electro-negative elements to form double fluorides, a behaviour not shown by other metallic halides. Fluorides can be readily detected by their power of etching glass when warmed with sulphuric acid; or by warming them in a glass tube with concentrated sulphuric acid and holding a moistened glass rod in the mouth of the tube, the water apparently gelatinizes owing to the decomposition of the silicon fluoride formed. The atomic weight of fluorine has been determined by the conversion of calcium, sodium and potassium fluorides into the corresponding sulphates. J. Berzelius, by converting silver fluoride into silver chloride, obtained the value 19.44, and by analysing calcium fluoride the value 19.16; the more recent work of H. Moissan gives the value 19.05.See H. Moissan,Le Fluor et ses composes(Paris, 1900).
The salts of hydrofluoric acid are known asfluoridesand are easily obtained by the action of the acid on metals or their oxides, hydroxides or carbonates. The fluorides of the alkali metals, of silver, and of most of the heavy metals are soluble in water; those of the alkaline earths are insoluble. A characteristic property of the alkaline fluorides is their power of combining with a molecule of hydrofluoric acid and with the fluorides of the more electro-negative elements to form double fluorides, a behaviour not shown by other metallic halides. Fluorides can be readily detected by their power of etching glass when warmed with sulphuric acid; or by warming them in a glass tube with concentrated sulphuric acid and holding a moistened glass rod in the mouth of the tube, the water apparently gelatinizes owing to the decomposition of the silicon fluoride formed. The atomic weight of fluorine has been determined by the conversion of calcium, sodium and potassium fluorides into the corresponding sulphates. J. Berzelius, by converting silver fluoride into silver chloride, obtained the value 19.44, and by analysing calcium fluoride the value 19.16; the more recent work of H. Moissan gives the value 19.05.
See H. Moissan,Le Fluor et ses composes(Paris, 1900).
FLUOR-SPAR,native calcium fluoride (CaF2), known also asFluoriteor simplyFluor. In France it is called fluorine, whilst the term fluor is applied to the element (F). All these terms, from the Lat.fluere, “to flow,” recall the fact that the spar is useful as a flux in certain metallurgical operations. (Cf. its Ger. nameFlussspatorFluss.)
Fluor-spar crystallizes in the cubic system, commonly in cubes, either alone or combined with the octahedron, rhombic dodecahedron, four-faced cube, &c. The four-faced cube has been called the fluoroid. In fig. 1,ais the cube (100),dthe rhombic dodecahedron (110), andfthe four-faced cube (310). Fig. 2 shows a characteristic twin of interpenetrant cubes. The crystals are sometimes polysynthetic, a large octahedron,e.g., being built up of small cubes. The faces are often etched or corroded. Cleavage is nearly always perfect, parallel to the octahedron.
Fluor-spar has a hardness of 4, so that it is scratched by a knife, though not so readily as calcite. Its specific gravity is about 3.2. The colour is very variable, and often beautiful, but the mineral is too soft for personal decoration, though it forms a handsome material for vases, &c. In some fluor-spar the colour is disposed in bands, regularly following the contour of the crystal. As the colour is usually expelled, or much altered, by heat, it is believed to be due to an organic pigment, and the presence of hydrocarbons has been detected in many specimens by G. Wyrouboff, and other observers. H.W. Morse (Proc. Amer. Acad., 1906, p. 587) obtained carbon monoxide and dioxide, hydrogen and nitrogen and small quantities of oxygen from Weardale specimens by heating. He concluded that the gases are due to the decomposition of an organic colouring matter, which has, however, no connexion with the fluorescence or thermo-luminescence of the mineral. Certain crystals from Cumberland are beautifully fluorescent, appearing purple with a bluish internal haziness by reflected light, and greenish by transmitted light. Fluor-spar, though cubic, sometimes exhibits weak double refraction, probably due to internal tension. Many kinds of fluor-spar are thermo-luminescent,i.e.they glow on exposure to a moderate heat, and the name of chlorophane has been given to a variety which exhibits a green glow. The mineral also phosphoresces under the Röntgen rays. Cavities containing liquid occasionally occur in crystals of fluor-spar, notably in the greasy green cubes of Weardale in Durham. A dark violet fluor-spar from Wölsendorf in Bavaria, evolves an odour of ozone when struck, and has been called antozonite. Ozone is also emitted by a violet fluor-spar from Quincié, dep. Rhône, France. In both cases the spar evolves free fluorine, which ozonizes the air.
Fluor-spar is largely employed by the metallurgist, especially in lead-smelting, and in the production of ferro-silicon and ferro-manganese. It is also used in iron and brass foundries, and has been found useful as a flux for certain gold-ores and in the reduction of aluminium. It is used as a source of hydrofluoric acid, which it evolves when heated with sulphuric acid. The mineral is also used in the production of opal glass and enamel ware. In consequence of its low refractive and dispersive power, colourless pellucid fluor-spar is valuable in the construction of apochromatic lenses, but this variety is rare. The dark violet fluor-spar of Derbyshire, known locally as “Blue John,” is prized for ornamental purposes. It occurs almost exclusively at Tray Cliff, near Castleton. The dark purple spar, called by the workmen “bull beef,” may be changed, by heat, to a rich amethystine tint. Being very brittle, the spar is rather difficult to work on the lathe, and is often toughened by means of resin. F. Corsi, the eminent Italian antiquary, held that fluor-spar was the material of the famous murrhine vases.
Fluor-spar is a mineral of very wide distribution. Some of the finest crystals occur in the lead-veins of the Carboniferous Limestone series in the north of England, especially at Weardale, Allendale and Alston Moor. It is also found in the lead and copper-mines of Cornwall and S. Devon, notably near Liskeard, where fine crystals have been found, with faces of the six-faced octahedron replacing the corners of the cube. In Cornwall fluor-spar is known to the miners as “cann.” Fine yellow fluor-spar occurs in some of the Saxon mines, and beautiful rose-red octahedra are found in the Alps, near Göschenen. Many localities in the United States yield fluor-spar, and it is worked commercially in a few places, notably at Rosiclare in southern Illinois.
FLUSHING,formerly a township and a village of Queens county, New York, U.S.A., on Long Island, at the head of Flushing Bay, since the 1st of January 1898 a part of the borough of Queens, New York City. Flushing is served by the Long Island railroad and by electric lines. It was settled in 1644 by a company of English non-conformists who had probably been residents of Flushing in Holland, from which the new place took its name. Subsequently a large number of Quakers settled here, and in 1672 George Fox spent some time in the township. Before the War of Independence Flushing was the country-seat of many rich New Yorkers and colonial officials.
FLUSHING(DutchVlissingen), a fortified seaport in the province of Zeeland, Holland, on the south side of the island of Walcheren, at the mouth of the estuary of the western Scheldt, 4 m. by rail S. by W. of Middelburg, with which it is also connected by steam tramway and by a ship canal. There is a steam ferry to Breskens and Ter Neuzen on the coast of Zeeland-Flandres. Pop. (1900) 18,893. An important naval station and fortress up to 1867, Flushing has since aspired, under the care of the Dutch government, to become a great commercial port. In 1872 the railway was opened which, in conjunctionwith the regular day and night service of steamers to Queenborough in the county of Kent, forms one of the main routes between England and the east of Europe. In 1873 the great harbour, docks and canal works were completed. Yet the navigation of the port remains far behind that of Rotterdam or Antwerp, the tonnage being in 1899 about 7.9% of that of the kingdom. As a summer resort, however, Flushing has acquired considerable popularity, sea-baths and a large modern hotel being situated on the fine beach about three-quarters of a mile north-west of the town. It possesses a town hall, containing a collection of local antiquities, a theatre, an exchange, an academy of sciences and a school of navigation. The Jakobskerk, or Jacob’s church, founded in 1328, contains monuments to Admiral de Ruyter (1607-1676) and the poet Jacob Bellamy (1757-1786), who were natives of Flushing. The chief industries of the town are connected with the considerable manufacture of machinery, the state railway-workshops, shipbuilding yards, Krupp iron and steel works’ depot, brewing, and oil and soap manufacture. The chief imports are colonial produce and wine, wood and coal. The exports include agricultural produce (wheat and beans), shrimps and meat.
FLUTE,a word adapted from O. Fr.fleüte, modernflûte; from O. Fr. have come the Span.flauta, Ital.flautoand Ger.Flöte. TheNew English Dictionarydismisses the derivations suggested from Lat.flatuareorflavitare; ultimately the word must be referred to the root seen in “blow,” Lat.flare, Ger.blasen, &c.
1. In music “flute” is a general term applied to wood-wind instruments consisting of a pipe pierced with lateral holes and blown directly through the mouthpiece without the intervention of a reed. The flute family is classified according to the mouthpiece used to set in vibration the column of air within the tube:i.e.(1) the simple lateral mouth-hole or embouchure which necessitates holding the instrument in a transverse position; (2) the whistle or fipple mouthpiece which allows the performer to hold the instrument vertically in front of him. There is a third class of pipes included among the flutes, having no mouthpiece of any sort, in which the column of air is set in vibration by blowing obliquely across the open end of the pipe, as in the ancient Egyptian nay, and the pan-pipe or syrinx (q.v.). The transverse flute has entirely superseded the whistle flute, which has survived only in the so-called penny whistle, in the “flute-work” of the organ (q.v.), and in the French flageolet.
The Transverse FluteorGerman Flute(Fr.flûte traversière,flûte allemande: Ger.Flöte,Querflöte,Zwerchpfeiff,Schweitzerpfeiff; Ital.flauto traverso) includes theconcert fluteknown both as flute in C and as flute in D, the piccolo (q.v.) or octave flute, and the fife (q.v.). The modern flute consists of a tube open at one end and nominally closed at the other by means of a plug or cork stopper: virtually, however, the tube is an open one giving the consecutive harmonic series of the open pipe or of a stretched string. The primitive flute was made in one piece, but the modern instrument is composed of three adjustable joints. (1) The head-joint, plugged at the upper end and containing at about one-third of the length the mouth-hole or embouchure. This embouchure, always open when the instrument is being played, converts the closed tube into an open one, in an acoustical sense. (2) The body, containing the holes and keys necessary to produce the scale which gave the flute its original designation of D flute, the head and body together, when the holes are closed, giving the fundamental note D. Before the invention of keys, this fundamental note and the notes obtained by the successive opening of the six holes produced the diatonic scale of D major. All other semitones were obtained by what is known as cross fingering (Fr.doigté fourchu; Ger.Gabelgriffe). It became usual to consider this the typical fingering nomenclature, whatever the fundamental note given out by the flute, and to indicate the tonality by the note given out when the six lateral holes are covered by the fingers. The result is that the tonality is always a tone lower than the name of the instrument indicates. Thus the D flute is really in C, the F flute is E♭, &c. (3) The foot-joint or tail-joint containing the two additional keys for C♯ and C which extend the compass downwards, completing the chromatic scale of C in the fundamental octave.
The compass of the modern flute is three octaves with chromatic semitones fromThe sound is produced by holding the flute transversely with the embouchure turned slightly outwards, the lower lip resting on the nearer edge of the embouchure, and blowing obliquely across, not into, the orifice. The flat stream of air from the lips, known as the air-reed, breaks against the sharp outer edge of the embouchure. The current of air, thus set in a flutter, produces in the stationary column of air within the tube a series of pulsations or vibrations caused by the alternate compression and rarefaction of the air and generating sounds of a pitch proportional to the length of the stationary column, which is practically somewhat longer than the length of the tube.1The length of this column is varied by opening the lateral finger-holes. The current or air-reed thus acts upon the air column within the flute, without passing through the tube, as a plectrum upon a string, setting it in vibration. The air column of the flute is the sound-producer, whereas in instruments with reed mouthpieces the vibrating reed is more properly the sound-producer, while the air column, acting as a resonating medium, reinforces the note of the reed by vibrating synchronously with it. If the angle2at which the current of air is directed against the outer edge of the embouchure be made less acute and the pressure of the breath be at the same time increased, the frequency of the alternate pulses of compression and rarefaction within the tube will be increased two, three or fourfold, forming a corresponding number of nodes and loops which results in harmonics or upper partials, respectively the octave, the twelfth, the double octave. By this means sounds of higher pitch are produced without actually shortening the length of the column of air by means of lateral holes. The acoustic theory of sound-production in the flute is one on which there is great diversity of opinion. The subject is too vast to be treated here, but readers who wish to pursue it may consult the works of Rockstro,3Helmholtz,4and others.5The effect of boring lateral holes in pipes is to shorten the vibrating length of the air column, which may be regarded as being effective only between the hole in question and the mouthpiece. In order to obtain this result the diameter of the hole should be equal to that of the bore; as long as the holes were covered by the fingers, this was obviously impossible. The holes, therefore, being smaller than the laws of acoustics demand, have to be placed proportionally nearer the mouthpiece in order to avoid deepening the pitch and deadening the tone. This principle was understood by wind-instrument makers of classic Greece (seeAulosandClarinet), and has been explained by Chladni6and Gottfried Weber.7
The bore of the early flute with six finger-holes was invariably cylindrical throughout, but towards the end of the 17th century a modification took place, the head joint alone remaining cylindrical while the rest of the bore assumed the form of a cone having its smallest diameter at the open end of the tube. Theconoidal bore greatly improved the quality of tone and the production of the higher harmonics of the third octave. Once the conical bore had been adopted, the term flute was exclusively applied to the new instruments, the smaller flutes, then cylindrical, used in the army being designated fife (q.v.). At the present day in England, France and America, the favourite mode of construction is that introduced by Theobald Boehm, and known as the “cylinder flute with the parabolic head,” of which more will be said further on. The successive opening of the holes and keys on the flute produces the chromatic scale of the first or fundamental octave. By increasing the pressure of the breath and slightly altering the position of the lips over the mouth-hole, the same fingering produces the notes of the fundamental octave in the next octave higher. The third octave of the compass is obtained by the production of the higher harmonics (Fr.sons harmoniques; Ger.Flageolettöne), of the fundamental scale, facilitated by the opening of certain of the finger-holes as “vent holes.” The quality of tone depends somewhat on the material of which the flute is made; silver and gold produce a liquid tone of exquisite delicacy suitable for solo music, cocus-wood and ebonite a rich mellow tone of considerable power suitable for orchestral music. The tone differs further in the three registers, the lowest being slightly rough, the medium sweet and elegiac, and the third bird-like and brilliant. The proportions, position and form of the stopper and of the air chamber situated between it and the embouchure are mainly influential in giving the flute its peculiar slightly hollow timbre, due to the paucity of the upper partials of which according to Helmholtz8only the octave and twelfth are heard. Mr Blaikley9states, however, that when the fundamental D is played, he can discern the seventh partial. The technical capabilities of the flute are practically unlimited to a good player who can obtain sustained notes diminuendo and crescendo, diatonic and chromatic scales and arpeggios both legato and staccato, leaps, turns, shakes, &c. By the articulation with the tongue of the syllableste-keorti-kerepeated quickly for groups of double notes, or ofte-ke-tifor triplets, an easy effective staccato is produced, known respectively asdoubleortriple tonguing, a device understood early in the 16th century and mentioned by Martin Agricola,10who gives the syllables asdefor sustained notes, di-ri for shorter notes, andtel-lel-lelfor staccato passages in quick tempo.11
Musical instruments, such as flutes, in which a column of air is set in vibration by regular pulsations derived from a current of air directed by the lips of the executant against the side of the orifice serving as embouchure, appear to be of very ancient origin. The Hindus, Chinese and Japanese claim to have used these modes of blowing from time immemorial. The ancient Egyptians had a long pipe held obliquely and blown across the end of the pipe itself at its upper extremity; it was known asSaïb-it12and was frequently figured on the monuments. The same instrument, called “nay,” is still used in Mahommedan countries. The oblique aulos of the Greeks, plagiaulos,13was of Egyptian origin and was perhaps at first blown from the end as described above,14since we know that the Greeks were familiar with that method of blowing in the syrinx or pan-pipe. The instruments preserved at the British Museum15having lateral embouchures show, however, that they were also acquainted—probably through the Hindus—with the transverse flute, although in the case of these specimens a reed must have been inserted into the mouth-hole or no sound would have been obtained.Fig. 3.—Transverse Flute. 1st or 2nd centuryA.D.From the Tope at Amarābati, British Museum.The high antiquity of a lateral embouchure in Europe is generally admitted; the flute evidently penetrated from the East at some period not yet determined. A transverse flute is seen on Indian sculptures of the Gandhara school showing Greek influence, and dating from the beginning of our era (fig. 3). But although the transverse flute was evidently known to the Greeks and Romans, it did not find the same favour as the reed instruments known as auloi. We have no evidence of the survival of the transverse flute after the fall of the Roman empire until it filtered through from Byzantine sources during the early middle ages. Instances of the flute occur on a group of caskets16of Italo-Byzantine work of the 9th or 10th century, while of purely Byzantine origin we find examples of flutes in GreekMSS.17preserved in Paris, at the British Museum and elsewhere. There is moreover in the cathedral of St Sophia at Kiev18an orchestra depicted on frescoes said to date from the 11th century; among the musicians is a flautist.The first essentially western European trace of the transverse flute occurs in a German MS. of the 12th century, the celebratedHortus deliciarumof the abbess Herrad von Landsperg.19Fol. 221 shows a syren playing upon the transverse flute, which Herrad explains in a legend astibia; in the vocabulary the latter is translated swegel. In the 13th century it occurs among the miniatures of the fifty-one musicians in the beautiful MS.Las Cantigas de Santa Mariain the Escorial, Madrid.20Eustache Deschamps, a French poet of the 14th century, in one of his ballads, makes mention of the “flute traversaine,” and we are justified in supposing that he refers to the transverse flute. It had certainly acquired some vogue in the 15th century, being figured in an engraving in Sebastian Virdung’s celebrated work,21where it is called “Zwerchpfeiff,” and, with the drums, it already constituted the principal element of the military music. Agricola (op. cit.) alludes to it as the “Querchpfeiff” or “Schweizerpfeiff,” the latter designation dating, it is said, from the battle of Marignan (1515), when the Swiss troops used it for the first time in war.From Agricola onwards transverse flutes formed a complete family, said to comprise the discant, the alto and tenor, and the bass—respectively. Praetorius22designates the transverse flute as “Flauta traversa’ Querpfeiff” and “Querflöt,” and gives the pitch of the bass inthe tenor and alto inand the discant inas varieties then in use. A flute concert at that time included two discants, four altos or tenors, and two basses. The same author distinguishes between the “Traversa” and the “Schweizerpfeiff” or fife (which he also calls “Feldpfeiff,”i.e.military flute), although the construction was the same. There were two kinds of “Feldpfeiff,” inandrespectively; they were employed exclusively with the military drum.Mersenne’s23account of the transverse flute, then designated “flûte d’Allemagne” or “flûte allemande” in France, and an “Air de Cour” for four flutes in his work lead us to believe that there were then in use in France the soprano flute inthe tenor or alto flute inand the bass flute descending to. The museum of the Conservatoire Royal of Brussels possesses specimens of all these varieties except the last. All of them are laterally pierced with six finger-holes; they have a cylindrical bore, and are fashioned out of a single piece of wood. Their compass consists of two octaves and a fifth. Mersenne’s tablature for fingering the flute differs but little from those of Hotteterre-le-Romain24and Eisel25for the diatonic scale; he does not give the chromatic semitones and the flute had as yet no keys.Fig.4.Fig.5.Fig.4.—Bass Flute. From Museo Civico, Verona (facsimile).Fig.5.—Bass Flute. Brussels Museum.The largest bass flute in the Brussels museum is inat the French normal pitch A 435 double vibrations per second. It measures 0.95 m. from the centre of the blow orifice to the lower extremity of the tube. The disposition of the lateral holes is such that it is impossible to cover them with the fingers if the flute is held in the ordinary way. The instrument must be placed against the mouth in an almost vertical direction, inclining the extremity of the tube either to the right or the left. This inconvenient position makes it necessary that the instrument should be divided into two parts, enabling the player to turn the head joint that the embouchure may be most commodiously approached by the lips, which is not at all easy. The first and fourth of the six lateral holes are double in order to accommodate both right- and left-handed players, the holes not in use being stopped up with wax. The bass flute shown in fig. 4 is the facsimile of an instrument in the Museo Civico of Verona. The original, unfortunately no longer fit for use, is nevertheless sufficiently well preserved to allow of all its proportionate measurements being given. The lowest note, E♭, is obtained with a remarkable amplitude of sound, thus upsetting a very prevalent opinion that it is impossible to produce by lateral insufflation sounds which go a little lower than the ordinary limit downwards of the modern orchestral flute.26The bass flute cited by Mersenne should not differ much from that of the Museo Civico at Verona. We suppose it to have been in, and that it was furnished with an open key like that which was applied to the recorders (flûtes douces) of the same epoch, the function of the key being to augment by another note the compass of the instrument in the lower part. A bass flute in G similar to the one in fig. 5 is figured and described in Diderot and D’Alembert’s encyclopaedia27(1751). According to Quantz,28it was in France and about the middle of the 17th century that the first modifications were introduced in the manufacture of the flute. The improvements at this period consisted of the abandonment of the cylindrical bore in favour of a conical one, with the base of the cone forming the head of the instrument. At the same time the flute was made of three separate pieces called head, body, and tail or foot, which were ultimately further subdivided. The body or middle joint was divided into two pieces, so that the instrument could be tuned to the different pitches then in use by a replacement with longer or shorter pieces. It was probably about 1677, when Lully introduced the German flute into the opera, that recourse was had for the first time to keys, and that the key of D# was applied to the lower part of the instrument.29The engraving of B. Picart, dated 1707, given in Hotteterre’s book, represents the flute as having reached the stage of improvement of which we have just spoken. In 1726 Quantz,30finding himself in Paris, had a second key applied to the flute, placed nearly at the same height as the first, that of the, intended to differentiate the D# and the E♭.31This innovation was generally well received in Germany, but does not appear to have met with corresponding success in other countries. In France and England manufacturers adopted it but rarely; in Italy it was declared useless.32About the sametime flutes were constructed with the lower extremity lengthened sufficiently to produce the fundamental C, and furnished with a supplementary key to produce the C♯. This innovation, spoken of by Quantz,33did not meet with a very favourable reception, and was shortly afterwards abandoned. Passing mention may be made of the drawing of a flute with a C key in theMusic-Saalof J.F.B. Majer (Nuremberg, 1741), p. 45.The tuning of the instrument to different pitches was effected by changes in the length, and notably by substituting a longer or shorter upper piece in the middle joint. So wide were the differences in the pitches then in use that seven such pieces for the upper portion of it were deemed necessary. The relative proportions between the different parts of the instrument being altered by these modifications in the length, it was conceived that the just relation could be re-established by dividing the foot into two pieces, below the key. These two pieces were adjusted by means of a tenon, and it was asserted that, in this way, the foot could be lengthened proportionately to the length of the middle joint. Flutes thus improved took the name of “flûtes à registre.” The register system was, about 1752, applied by Quantz to the head joint34and, the embouchure section being thus capable of elongation, it was allowable to the performer, according to the opinion of this professor, to lower the pitch of the flute a semitone, without having recourse to other lengthening pieces, and without disturbing the accuracy of intonation.The upper extremity of the flute, beyond the embouchure orifice, is closed by means of a cork stopper. On the position of this cork depends, in a great measure, the accurate tuning of the flute. It is in its right place when the accompanying octavesare true. Quantz, in speaking of this accessory, mentions the use of a nut-screw to give the required position to the cork.35He does not name the inventor of this appliance, but, according to Tromlitz,36the improvement was due to Quantz himself. The invention goes back to 1726.When theMethodof Quantz appeared there were still in use, besides the orchestral flute in D, the little fourth flute in G, the low fourth flute in A, and the flûte d’amour a note higher; in France they had, moreover, the little octave flute in D (octave). A bass flute in D had also been attempted (see fig. 5). When Ribock published hisBemerkungen über die Flöte37the flute had already the five keys here shown.This author states that the inventor of these new keys is not known to him, but that either Kusder, a musical instrument-maker in London, or Johann Georg Tromlitz of Leipzig was the originator, since he has not been able to trace those keys on the flutes of any other maker. Although Tromlitz does not claim for himself the invention of the keys for F, G♯ and B♭, he states that “he had occupied himself for several years in applying these keys so as not to augment the difficulty of playing, but on the contrary to render the handling of them as easy as possible.”38In the later work published in 1800,39however, he seems to attribute the invention of these keys to Richard Potter of London; he says that he has never yet been fortunate enough to come across a good flute by that maker—“the flute has certainly gained by the addition of the keys for F, G♯ and B♭, but this is not everything, for on such a flute much must perforce be left unattempted.... Only a flute with eight keys according to my invention is capable of everything.” It would seem, moreover, from circumstantial evidence stated clearly and on good authority by Rockstro40that the keys for F, G♯ and B♭ must have been used first in England and made by Richard Potter before 1774. The higher key of C adopted from 1786 by Tromlitz, we believe to have been first recommended by Ribock (1782).41Tromlitz inÜber Flötendescribes at length what may be termed the first systematic effort to overcome the difficulties created by the combination of open holes and closed keys. He attempted to solve the question by determining the positions of the holes according to the exigencies of fingering instead of subordinating them to the more arbitrary theories connected with the musical scale.In 1785 Richard Potter improved Quantz’s slide applied to the head joint as well as to the register of the foot by a double system of tubes forming double sliding air-tight joints. In the document42describing this improvement Potter patented the idea of lining the holes with silver tubes and of adapting metal conical valves to the keys. Potter’s patent conical valves were an adaptation of the contrivance first invented by J.F. Boie or Boye of Göttingen,43who used pewter for the plugs, and silver for lining the holes. The keys mentioned in the patent were four—D♯, F, G♯, A♯. The idea of extending the compass of the flute downwards was taken up again about the same time by two players of the flute in London named Tacet and Florio. They devised a new disposition of the keys C and C#, and confided the execution of their invention to Potter. In Dr Arnold’sNew Instructions for the German Fluteoccurs a tablature, the engraving of which goes back to the end of the 18th century, and bears the following title, “A Complete Drawing and Concise Scale and Description of Tacet and Florio’s new invented German Flute, with all the additional keys explained.” It explains the use of six keys—C, C♯, D♯, F, G♯, A♯—that are not always figured, because the employment of so many keys was at once admitted. Tromlitz himself, who, however, made flutes with nine keys—adding E♭, another F, and C♮, declared that he was not in favour of so great a complication, and that he preferred the flute with only two keys, D♯ and E♭, with a register foot joint and a cork nut-screw at the head joint. This instrument met all requirements. He was always much opposed to the use of the old keys for C♮ and C♯, because they altered the recognised quality of tone of the instrument. When Tromlitz published his method, the family of flutes had become modified. It comprehended only the typical flute in D, the flûte d’amour a minor third lower, a “third” flute a minor third higher, and, finally, the little octave flute.While Tromlitz was struggling in Germany with the idea of augmenting the compass of the flute downwards by employing open keys for C♮ and C♯, an Italian, Giovanni Batista Orazi,44increased the scale of the instrument downwards by the application of five new keys, viz. B, B♭, A, A♭, and G. At the same time that he produced this invention45he conceived the plugging of the lateral holes by the valve keys then recently invented by Potter. But it was hardly possible to obtain a perfect plugging of seven lateral holes with the aid of as many keys, for the control of which there were only the two little fingers, and therefore this invention of Orazi proved a failure.In 1808 the Rev. Frederick Nolan,46of Stratford, near London, conceived an open key, the lever of which, terminating by a ring, permitted the closing of a lateral hole at the same time the key was being acted upon. The combination in this double action is the embryo of the mechanism that a little later was to transform the system of the flute. Two years later Macgregor,47a musical-instrument maker in London, constructed a bass flute an octave lower than the ordinary flute. The idea was not new, as is proved by the existence of the bass flute mentioned above. The difference between the two instruments lies in the mechanism of the keys. That employed by Macgregor consisted of a double lever, a contrivance dating from before the middle of the 18th century, of which the application is seen in an oboe of large dimensions preserved in the National Museum at Munich.48In 1811 Johann Nepomuk Capeller invented the extra D[natural] hole and key, which is still in constant use on every flute of modern construction.49About 1830 the celebrated French flautist Tulou added two more keys, those of F♯ and C♯, and a key, called “de cadence,” to facilitate the accompanying shakes.To increase the number of keys, to improve their system of plugging, and to extend thescale of the instrument in the lower region,—these had hitherto been the principal problems dealt with in the improvement of the flute. No maker, no inventor to whose labours we have called attention, had as yet devoted his attention to the rational division of the column of air by means of the lateral holes. In 1831 Theobald Boehm, a Bavarian, happening to be in London, was struck with the power of tone the celebrated English performer Charles Nicholson drew from his instrument. Boehm learned, and not without astonishment, that his English colleague obtained this result by giving the lateral holes a much greater diameter than was then usually admitted. About the same time Boehm made the acquaintance of an amateur player named Gordon, who had effected certain improvements; he had bored the lateral hole for the lower E, and had covered it with a key, while he had replaced the key for F with a ring. These innovations set Boehm about attempting a complete reform of theinstrument.50He went resolutely to work, and during the year 1832 he produced the new flute which bears his name. This instrument is distinguished by a new mechanism of keys, as well as by larger holes disposed along the tube in geometrical progression.Boehm’s system had preserved the key of G♯ open; Coche,51a professor in the Paris Conservatoire, assisted by Auguste Buffet the younger, a musical-instrument maker in that city, modified Boehm’s flute by closing the G♯ with a key, wishing thus to render the new fingering more conformable to the old. He thus added a key, facilitating the shake upon C♯ with D♯, and brought about some other changes in the instrument of less importance.Boehm had not, however, altered the bore of the flute, which had been conical from the end of the 17th century. In 1846, however, he made further experiments, and the results obtained were put in practice by the construction of a new instrument, of which the body was given a cylindrical bore, while the diameter of the head was modified at the embouchure, the head-joint becoming parabolic (see fig. 2). The inventor thus obtained a remarkable equality in the tones of the lower octave, a greater sonorousness, and a perfect accuracy of intonation, by establishing the more exact proportions which a column of air of cylindrical form permitted.The priority of Boehm’s invention was long contested, his detractors maintaining that the honour of having reconstructed the flute was due to Gordon. But an impartial investigation vindicates the claim of the former to the invention of the large lateral holes.52His greatest title to fame is the invention of the mechanism which allows the production of the eleven chromatic semitones intermediate between the fundamental note and its first harmonic by means of eleven holes so disposed that in opening them successively they shorten the column of air in exact proportional quantities.53Boehm (Essays, &c.) published a diagram or scheme to be adopted in determining the position of the note-holes of wind instruments for every given pitch. This diagram gives the position of the intermediate holes which he had been enabled to establish by a rule of proportion based on the law of the lengths of strings.The Boehm flute, notwithstanding the high degree of perfection it has reached, has not secured unanimous favour; even now there are players who prefer the ordinary flute. The change of fingering required for some notes, the great delicacy and liability to derangement of the mechanism, have something to do with this. In England especially, the ordinary flute retains many partisans, thanks to the improvements introduced by a clever player, Abel Siccama, in 1845 (Patent No. 10,553). He bored the lateral holes of E and A lower, and covered them with open keys. He added some keys, and made a better disposition of the other lateral holes, of which he increased the diameter, producing thus a sonorousness almost equal to that of the Boehm flute, while yet preserving the old fingering for the notes of the first two octaves. But in spite of these improvements the old flute will not bear an impartial comparison with that of Boehm.A flute constructed on a radically new system by Signor Carlo Tommaso Georgi and introduced in 1896 places the technique of the instrument on an entirely new and simple basis. The principal features of this flute consist in an embouchure placed at the upper extremity of the tube instead of at the side, which allows the instrument to be held in a perpendicular position; no tuning cork is required. There are eleven holes mathematically placed in the tube which give the semitones of the scale; there are no keys. The eleven holes are fingered by the fingers and thumbs, the C♯ hole being closed by the side of the left fore-finger. All the notes are obtained by means of simple fingering as far as G♯ of the third octave, the remaining notes of which are produced by cross-fingering. For the convenience of players with short fingers keys can be added, and the head of the Georgi flute can be used with any cylinder flute. The compass of the Georgi flute is almost the same as that of the concert flute; viz.If the lower C and C♯ are required, extra holes and keys can be added. Everything that is possible on the Boehm flute is possible on the Georgi and more, owing to the simplicity of the fingering; each finger having but one duty to perform, all trills are equally easy. The tone is the true flute tone, brilliant and sympathetic.54The old Englishfipple flute, orflûte à bec, is described under the headingsRecorderandFlageolet.
Musical instruments, such as flutes, in which a column of air is set in vibration by regular pulsations derived from a current of air directed by the lips of the executant against the side of the orifice serving as embouchure, appear to be of very ancient origin. The Hindus, Chinese and Japanese claim to have used these modes of blowing from time immemorial. The ancient Egyptians had a long pipe held obliquely and blown across the end of the pipe itself at its upper extremity; it was known asSaïb-it12and was frequently figured on the monuments. The same instrument, called “nay,” is still used in Mahommedan countries. The oblique aulos of the Greeks, plagiaulos,13was of Egyptian origin and was perhaps at first blown from the end as described above,14since we know that the Greeks were familiar with that method of blowing in the syrinx or pan-pipe. The instruments preserved at the British Museum15having lateral embouchures show, however, that they were also acquainted—probably through the Hindus—with the transverse flute, although in the case of these specimens a reed must have been inserted into the mouth-hole or no sound would have been obtained.
The high antiquity of a lateral embouchure in Europe is generally admitted; the flute evidently penetrated from the East at some period not yet determined. A transverse flute is seen on Indian sculptures of the Gandhara school showing Greek influence, and dating from the beginning of our era (fig. 3). But although the transverse flute was evidently known to the Greeks and Romans, it did not find the same favour as the reed instruments known as auloi. We have no evidence of the survival of the transverse flute after the fall of the Roman empire until it filtered through from Byzantine sources during the early middle ages. Instances of the flute occur on a group of caskets16of Italo-Byzantine work of the 9th or 10th century, while of purely Byzantine origin we find examples of flutes in GreekMSS.17preserved in Paris, at the British Museum and elsewhere. There is moreover in the cathedral of St Sophia at Kiev18an orchestra depicted on frescoes said to date from the 11th century; among the musicians is a flautist.
The first essentially western European trace of the transverse flute occurs in a German MS. of the 12th century, the celebratedHortus deliciarumof the abbess Herrad von Landsperg.19Fol. 221 shows a syren playing upon the transverse flute, which Herrad explains in a legend astibia; in the vocabulary the latter is translated swegel. In the 13th century it occurs among the miniatures of the fifty-one musicians in the beautiful MS.Las Cantigas de Santa Mariain the Escorial, Madrid.20Eustache Deschamps, a French poet of the 14th century, in one of his ballads, makes mention of the “flute traversaine,” and we are justified in supposing that he refers to the transverse flute. It had certainly acquired some vogue in the 15th century, being figured in an engraving in Sebastian Virdung’s celebrated work,21where it is called “Zwerchpfeiff,” and, with the drums, it already constituted the principal element of the military music. Agricola (op. cit.) alludes to it as the “Querchpfeiff” or “Schweizerpfeiff,” the latter designation dating, it is said, from the battle of Marignan (1515), when the Swiss troops used it for the first time in war.
From Agricola onwards transverse flutes formed a complete family, said to comprise the discant, the alto and tenor, and the bass—respectively. Praetorius22designates the transverse flute as “Flauta traversa’ Querpfeiff” and “Querflöt,” and gives the pitch of the bass inthe tenor and alto inand the discant inas varieties then in use. A flute concert at that time included two discants, four altos or tenors, and two basses. The same author distinguishes between the “Traversa” and the “Schweizerpfeiff” or fife (which he also calls “Feldpfeiff,”i.e.military flute), although the construction was the same. There were two kinds of “Feldpfeiff,” inandrespectively; they were employed exclusively with the military drum.
Mersenne’s23account of the transverse flute, then designated “flûte d’Allemagne” or “flûte allemande” in France, and an “Air de Cour” for four flutes in his work lead us to believe that there were then in use in France the soprano flute inthe tenor or alto flute inand the bass flute descending to. The museum of the Conservatoire Royal of Brussels possesses specimens of all these varieties except the last. All of them are laterally pierced with six finger-holes; they have a cylindrical bore, and are fashioned out of a single piece of wood. Their compass consists of two octaves and a fifth. Mersenne’s tablature for fingering the flute differs but little from those of Hotteterre-le-Romain24and Eisel25for the diatonic scale; he does not give the chromatic semitones and the flute had as yet no keys.
The largest bass flute in the Brussels museum is inat the French normal pitch A 435 double vibrations per second. It measures 0.95 m. from the centre of the blow orifice to the lower extremity of the tube. The disposition of the lateral holes is such that it is impossible to cover them with the fingers if the flute is held in the ordinary way. The instrument must be placed against the mouth in an almost vertical direction, inclining the extremity of the tube either to the right or the left. This inconvenient position makes it necessary that the instrument should be divided into two parts, enabling the player to turn the head joint that the embouchure may be most commodiously approached by the lips, which is not at all easy. The first and fourth of the six lateral holes are double in order to accommodate both right- and left-handed players, the holes not in use being stopped up with wax. The bass flute shown in fig. 4 is the facsimile of an instrument in the Museo Civico of Verona. The original, unfortunately no longer fit for use, is nevertheless sufficiently well preserved to allow of all its proportionate measurements being given. The lowest note, E♭, is obtained with a remarkable amplitude of sound, thus upsetting a very prevalent opinion that it is impossible to produce by lateral insufflation sounds which go a little lower than the ordinary limit downwards of the modern orchestral flute.26
The bass flute cited by Mersenne should not differ much from that of the Museo Civico at Verona. We suppose it to have been in, and that it was furnished with an open key like that which was applied to the recorders (flûtes douces) of the same epoch, the function of the key being to augment by another note the compass of the instrument in the lower part. A bass flute in G similar to the one in fig. 5 is figured and described in Diderot and D’Alembert’s encyclopaedia27(1751). According to Quantz,28it was in France and about the middle of the 17th century that the first modifications were introduced in the manufacture of the flute. The improvements at this period consisted of the abandonment of the cylindrical bore in favour of a conical one, with the base of the cone forming the head of the instrument. At the same time the flute was made of three separate pieces called head, body, and tail or foot, which were ultimately further subdivided. The body or middle joint was divided into two pieces, so that the instrument could be tuned to the different pitches then in use by a replacement with longer or shorter pieces. It was probably about 1677, when Lully introduced the German flute into the opera, that recourse was had for the first time to keys, and that the key of D# was applied to the lower part of the instrument.29The engraving of B. Picart, dated 1707, given in Hotteterre’s book, represents the flute as having reached the stage of improvement of which we have just spoken. In 1726 Quantz,30finding himself in Paris, had a second key applied to the flute, placed nearly at the same height as the first, that of the, intended to differentiate the D# and the E♭.31This innovation was generally well received in Germany, but does not appear to have met with corresponding success in other countries. In France and England manufacturers adopted it but rarely; in Italy it was declared useless.32About the sametime flutes were constructed with the lower extremity lengthened sufficiently to produce the fundamental C, and furnished with a supplementary key to produce the C♯. This innovation, spoken of by Quantz,33did not meet with a very favourable reception, and was shortly afterwards abandoned. Passing mention may be made of the drawing of a flute with a C key in theMusic-Saalof J.F.B. Majer (Nuremberg, 1741), p. 45.
The tuning of the instrument to different pitches was effected by changes in the length, and notably by substituting a longer or shorter upper piece in the middle joint. So wide were the differences in the pitches then in use that seven such pieces for the upper portion of it were deemed necessary. The relative proportions between the different parts of the instrument being altered by these modifications in the length, it was conceived that the just relation could be re-established by dividing the foot into two pieces, below the key. These two pieces were adjusted by means of a tenon, and it was asserted that, in this way, the foot could be lengthened proportionately to the length of the middle joint. Flutes thus improved took the name of “flûtes à registre.” The register system was, about 1752, applied by Quantz to the head joint34and, the embouchure section being thus capable of elongation, it was allowable to the performer, according to the opinion of this professor, to lower the pitch of the flute a semitone, without having recourse to other lengthening pieces, and without disturbing the accuracy of intonation.
The upper extremity of the flute, beyond the embouchure orifice, is closed by means of a cork stopper. On the position of this cork depends, in a great measure, the accurate tuning of the flute. It is in its right place when the accompanying octavesare true. Quantz, in speaking of this accessory, mentions the use of a nut-screw to give the required position to the cork.35He does not name the inventor of this appliance, but, according to Tromlitz,36the improvement was due to Quantz himself. The invention goes back to 1726.
When theMethodof Quantz appeared there were still in use, besides the orchestral flute in D, the little fourth flute in G, the low fourth flute in A, and the flûte d’amour a note higher; in France they had, moreover, the little octave flute in D (octave). A bass flute in D had also been attempted (see fig. 5). When Ribock published hisBemerkungen über die Flöte37the flute had already the five keys here shown.This author states that the inventor of these new keys is not known to him, but that either Kusder, a musical instrument-maker in London, or Johann Georg Tromlitz of Leipzig was the originator, since he has not been able to trace those keys on the flutes of any other maker. Although Tromlitz does not claim for himself the invention of the keys for F, G♯ and B♭, he states that “he had occupied himself for several years in applying these keys so as not to augment the difficulty of playing, but on the contrary to render the handling of them as easy as possible.”38In the later work published in 1800,39however, he seems to attribute the invention of these keys to Richard Potter of London; he says that he has never yet been fortunate enough to come across a good flute by that maker—“the flute has certainly gained by the addition of the keys for F, G♯ and B♭, but this is not everything, for on such a flute much must perforce be left unattempted.... Only a flute with eight keys according to my invention is capable of everything.” It would seem, moreover, from circumstantial evidence stated clearly and on good authority by Rockstro40that the keys for F, G♯ and B♭ must have been used first in England and made by Richard Potter before 1774. The higher key of C adopted from 1786 by Tromlitz, we believe to have been first recommended by Ribock (1782).41Tromlitz inÜber Flötendescribes at length what may be termed the first systematic effort to overcome the difficulties created by the combination of open holes and closed keys. He attempted to solve the question by determining the positions of the holes according to the exigencies of fingering instead of subordinating them to the more arbitrary theories connected with the musical scale.
In 1785 Richard Potter improved Quantz’s slide applied to the head joint as well as to the register of the foot by a double system of tubes forming double sliding air-tight joints. In the document42describing this improvement Potter patented the idea of lining the holes with silver tubes and of adapting metal conical valves to the keys. Potter’s patent conical valves were an adaptation of the contrivance first invented by J.F. Boie or Boye of Göttingen,43who used pewter for the plugs, and silver for lining the holes. The keys mentioned in the patent were four—D♯, F, G♯, A♯. The idea of extending the compass of the flute downwards was taken up again about the same time by two players of the flute in London named Tacet and Florio. They devised a new disposition of the keys C and C#, and confided the execution of their invention to Potter. In Dr Arnold’sNew Instructions for the German Fluteoccurs a tablature, the engraving of which goes back to the end of the 18th century, and bears the following title, “A Complete Drawing and Concise Scale and Description of Tacet and Florio’s new invented German Flute, with all the additional keys explained.” It explains the use of six keys—C, C♯, D♯, F, G♯, A♯—that are not always figured, because the employment of so many keys was at once admitted. Tromlitz himself, who, however, made flutes with nine keys—adding E♭, another F, and C♮, declared that he was not in favour of so great a complication, and that he preferred the flute with only two keys, D♯ and E♭, with a register foot joint and a cork nut-screw at the head joint. This instrument met all requirements. He was always much opposed to the use of the old keys for C♮ and C♯, because they altered the recognised quality of tone of the instrument. When Tromlitz published his method, the family of flutes had become modified. It comprehended only the typical flute in D, the flûte d’amour a minor third lower, a “third” flute a minor third higher, and, finally, the little octave flute.
While Tromlitz was struggling in Germany with the idea of augmenting the compass of the flute downwards by employing open keys for C♮ and C♯, an Italian, Giovanni Batista Orazi,44increased the scale of the instrument downwards by the application of five new keys, viz. B, B♭, A, A♭, and G. At the same time that he produced this invention45he conceived the plugging of the lateral holes by the valve keys then recently invented by Potter. But it was hardly possible to obtain a perfect plugging of seven lateral holes with the aid of as many keys, for the control of which there were only the two little fingers, and therefore this invention of Orazi proved a failure.
In 1808 the Rev. Frederick Nolan,46of Stratford, near London, conceived an open key, the lever of which, terminating by a ring, permitted the closing of a lateral hole at the same time the key was being acted upon. The combination in this double action is the embryo of the mechanism that a little later was to transform the system of the flute. Two years later Macgregor,47a musical-instrument maker in London, constructed a bass flute an octave lower than the ordinary flute. The idea was not new, as is proved by the existence of the bass flute mentioned above. The difference between the two instruments lies in the mechanism of the keys. That employed by Macgregor consisted of a double lever, a contrivance dating from before the middle of the 18th century, of which the application is seen in an oboe of large dimensions preserved in the National Museum at Munich.48
In 1811 Johann Nepomuk Capeller invented the extra D[natural] hole and key, which is still in constant use on every flute of modern construction.49
About 1830 the celebrated French flautist Tulou added two more keys, those of F♯ and C♯, and a key, called “de cadence,” to facilitate the accompanying shakes.
To increase the number of keys, to improve their system of plugging, and to extend thescale of the instrument in the lower region,—these had hitherto been the principal problems dealt with in the improvement of the flute. No maker, no inventor to whose labours we have called attention, had as yet devoted his attention to the rational division of the column of air by means of the lateral holes. In 1831 Theobald Boehm, a Bavarian, happening to be in London, was struck with the power of tone the celebrated English performer Charles Nicholson drew from his instrument. Boehm learned, and not without astonishment, that his English colleague obtained this result by giving the lateral holes a much greater diameter than was then usually admitted. About the same time Boehm made the acquaintance of an amateur player named Gordon, who had effected certain improvements; he had bored the lateral hole for the lower E, and had covered it with a key, while he had replaced the key for F with a ring. These innovations set Boehm about attempting a complete reform of theinstrument.50He went resolutely to work, and during the year 1832 he produced the new flute which bears his name. This instrument is distinguished by a new mechanism of keys, as well as by larger holes disposed along the tube in geometrical progression.
Boehm’s system had preserved the key of G♯ open; Coche,51a professor in the Paris Conservatoire, assisted by Auguste Buffet the younger, a musical-instrument maker in that city, modified Boehm’s flute by closing the G♯ with a key, wishing thus to render the new fingering more conformable to the old. He thus added a key, facilitating the shake upon C♯ with D♯, and brought about some other changes in the instrument of less importance.
Boehm had not, however, altered the bore of the flute, which had been conical from the end of the 17th century. In 1846, however, he made further experiments, and the results obtained were put in practice by the construction of a new instrument, of which the body was given a cylindrical bore, while the diameter of the head was modified at the embouchure, the head-joint becoming parabolic (see fig. 2). The inventor thus obtained a remarkable equality in the tones of the lower octave, a greater sonorousness, and a perfect accuracy of intonation, by establishing the more exact proportions which a column of air of cylindrical form permitted.
The priority of Boehm’s invention was long contested, his detractors maintaining that the honour of having reconstructed the flute was due to Gordon. But an impartial investigation vindicates the claim of the former to the invention of the large lateral holes.52His greatest title to fame is the invention of the mechanism which allows the production of the eleven chromatic semitones intermediate between the fundamental note and its first harmonic by means of eleven holes so disposed that in opening them successively they shorten the column of air in exact proportional quantities.53Boehm (Essays, &c.) published a diagram or scheme to be adopted in determining the position of the note-holes of wind instruments for every given pitch. This diagram gives the position of the intermediate holes which he had been enabled to establish by a rule of proportion based on the law of the lengths of strings.
The Boehm flute, notwithstanding the high degree of perfection it has reached, has not secured unanimous favour; even now there are players who prefer the ordinary flute. The change of fingering required for some notes, the great delicacy and liability to derangement of the mechanism, have something to do with this. In England especially, the ordinary flute retains many partisans, thanks to the improvements introduced by a clever player, Abel Siccama, in 1845 (Patent No. 10,553). He bored the lateral holes of E and A lower, and covered them with open keys. He added some keys, and made a better disposition of the other lateral holes, of which he increased the diameter, producing thus a sonorousness almost equal to that of the Boehm flute, while yet preserving the old fingering for the notes of the first two octaves. But in spite of these improvements the old flute will not bear an impartial comparison with that of Boehm.
A flute constructed on a radically new system by Signor Carlo Tommaso Georgi and introduced in 1896 places the technique of the instrument on an entirely new and simple basis. The principal features of this flute consist in an embouchure placed at the upper extremity of the tube instead of at the side, which allows the instrument to be held in a perpendicular position; no tuning cork is required. There are eleven holes mathematically placed in the tube which give the semitones of the scale; there are no keys. The eleven holes are fingered by the fingers and thumbs, the C♯ hole being closed by the side of the left fore-finger. All the notes are obtained by means of simple fingering as far as G♯ of the third octave, the remaining notes of which are produced by cross-fingering. For the convenience of players with short fingers keys can be added, and the head of the Georgi flute can be used with any cylinder flute. The compass of the Georgi flute is almost the same as that of the concert flute; viz.If the lower C and C♯ are required, extra holes and keys can be added. Everything that is possible on the Boehm flute is possible on the Georgi and more, owing to the simplicity of the fingering; each finger having but one duty to perform, all trills are equally easy. The tone is the true flute tone, brilliant and sympathetic.54
The old Englishfipple flute, orflûte à bec, is described under the headingsRecorderandFlageolet.