Histoire de la flûte
Voici une liste des facteurs de flute au cours de l’histoire, ce sont des notes que j’avais pris quand j’étais à l’école de lutherie à partir de sites internet et de livres. Elle n’est pas traduite en Francais, desolée. Merci de me signaler toute erreur ou renseignements, il y à beaucoup à rajouter.
This is a list of some events I’ve noted whilst researching the history of the flute - It’s still not finished and can never be. I researched on the net and in books…So any mistakes or additions are welcome and appreciated. I hope this helps understand the transition from the Baroque flute through to what we consider the Irish flute to the modern Classical. This is not a Dictionary of flute makers. If you wou like a good dictionary buy "The Langwill Index" by William Waterhouse / Tony Bingham. Tony Bingham offers it on his site.
I am currently updating and putting photos. Feb 2009.
CLICK on small images to enlarge
2007 Today most professional flutes are made to the specifications to the Cooper scale, with B foot extending the range.
1967 J. MOORE A. Murray collaborates with G.Moore, well known maker with the Armstrong company. In 1972 they bring out production model flutes and piccolos.Other advances : - duplicate G# lever “gizmo key”, split E key.
1961 J. MOORE Murray’s next model, - the “MARK I” appears.
1948 A. COOPER Murray, - flutist and teacher collaborates with Cooper and ELMER COLE, based on the Cooper scale with corrected C# key.
1930 BOOSEY & HAWKES Merge together.
1917 – 1956 BUTLER London Large quantities of flutes, - mostly fifes. Also Irish warpipes !!!!!!
1914 MARIGAUX Paris Worked with LOREE in 1940. Joined STRASSER & LEMAIRE. Many well made flutes.
1900 CASOLI Milan Inventive maker of keywork. Worked for flute maker BARLASSINA.
End of the 19th Century The flute appears in the orchestral scores of Brahms, Strauss and Tchaikovsky. Solo literature expands rapidly with virtuosic showpieces becoming the fashion. Flutes are able to play music that was technically demanding for pre. BOEHM instruments. The extended range used by composers of the romantic era, demands a flute which can play an excess of three octaves.
circa 1890 C. Whitaker specialised in Siccama system flutes. See SICCAMA, there is an image of a WHITAKER. There are more than one WHITAKER. Amongst others there was an H. WHITAKER who worked for RUDALL & ROSE, and who also made flutes under his own name.
1890 SCHAFFNER Italy - Florence Made experimental end blown flutes for GIORGI. Plated metal.
1880 HAYNES U.S.A. Boston First to introduce drone toneholes. (Saddles drawn from the flutes body). In 1914 made aluminium bodied flutes. In 1935 they made a gold flute for G. Barrère. One of the leading flute makers this century. 1878 BERGONZI Italy He patented an end blown head joint flute. Normal lip plate with a spherical plug mounted on the head. Held vertically.
1877 BOEHM Perfects his “modern silver flute” the Macauley flute is silver with gold embouchure, gold springs, a B foot and is “unsurpassed by any of BOEHM’s creations”
1877 -1899 RIVE & cie. Paris Won many medals in Paris.
1870 RUDALL & CARTE Liverpool Made Radcliffe’s own model.
1862 LAFLEUR London Importers of musical instruments. Taken over by BOOSEY & HAWKES in 1940.
1860 BOEHM Flutes adopted as the official instruments of the Conservatoire de Paris.
1860 HAWKES London Woodwind and brass maker merged with BOOSEY in 1955, took over RUDALL & CARTE in 1930 and aquired BUFFET CRAMPON in 1981.
1855 CLINTON a teacher at the Royal Academy of music. Later a flute manufacturer. He begins to make a BOEHM system in 1862 : Model with cylindrical bore and equally graduated tone holes, diminishing in size towards the head joint. The idea had already been tried with BOEHM who had decided not to include it in his final models.
1855 BOEHM BOEHM Flute wins gold medal at Paris exhibition, to general acclaim. New players make great advances thanks to BOEHM’s mechanical breakthrough.
1852 – 1868 SICCAMA / BOOSEY & Co. In 1848 PRATTEN (A musician) changed his 8 keyed RUDALL & ROSE for a SICCAMA. PRATTEN designed his own flute in 1852, and had them made by BOOSEY & Co. in 1856. They were little different from the common 8 keyed flute. As he had an aversion to extra keywork, believing it had a detrimental effect on the tonal qualities, however he later developed flute with a cylindrical bore, large tone holes and with up to 17 keys ! This was his “Perfected flute”. In spite of it’s clumsyness it was a popular model. PRATTEN Experemented with interchangeable body sections. Attempted to solve problems of varying pitches. He is reputed for a very powerful tone and execution.
1851 FRERES MARTIN France New F# key. Helped by the musician CARTE.
1849 RUDALL & ROSE BRICCIALDI’s Bb thumb plate.
1848 - 1928 WALLIS Joseph London. Established his firm in London 1848. Father and the later son made patent "Giorgi" flutes and piccolos.
1847 BOEHM Sells rights of manufacture to RUDALL & ROSE, GODFROY & LOUIS LOT in Paris. Published the famous “Flute and Flute playing in acoustical technical and artistic aspect”. BOEHM Flute imported to New York.
1845 Doctor BURGHLEY London Angled wood head joint Flute in Mahogony and decorative wood. Keys made of wood ! Angled head joint made to be played at 45 degrees across the body.
1845 GAUTROT Paris Made many French style BOEHM flutes. In 1884 business merged with COUESNON.
1846 BOEHM Experiments with cylindrical bore, based on a “parabolic curve”, (17mm diameter in top of instrument to 19mm in middle of body). Enlarges the embouchure to quadrangular shape, producing fuller, clearer tone. Compiles his Schema for finger hole placement. Pads are improved by covering the inside of closed key with felt and the rims of open keys with skins which are held together by screws and washers. He experiments with different metals, decides on silver for the best tone quality and least fatiguing to play.
1844 – 1882 BLACKMAN London Made several 8 keyed flutes
1844 – 1874 BRETON Paris Learned from LAURENT, many flutes in glass highly prized by collectors
1841 SICCAMA London SICCAMA patented a model with 2 extra keys operated by the third fingers of each hand. These keys allowed the holes to be better placed. (10 keyed flute - an evolution on the simple system - The SICCAMA system, was an alternative to the relatively new BOEHM system. RICHARDSON (a student of Charles Nicholson junior), & PRATTEN another soloist composer, Played his model but soon opted for BOEHMS models. MAHILLON made his models in Brussels in 1850 and HUDSON too.
1840 – 1872 PASK London Woodind and Brass maker. Associated with composer KOENIG. Made a flute of plated brass. Bore extremely conical, 8 keys. Foot joint with pewter plugs made in 1850.
1840 MUSICAIANS The Flute payers Ribas (Spain) and Richardson (London) Ribas played 8 keyed flutes all his career, (1796 – 1861), with powerful tone. Richardson (1814 – 1862), studied with Nicholson. Played on SICCAMA Diatonic flutes, - called “THE ENGLISH DROUET”. They were both famous for double tongueing, and production of glide effects by sliding fingers on toneholes.
1840 RUDALL & ROSE Begin Manufacturing BOEHM flutes in London along with C. GODFROY in Paris.
1839 WARD Liverpool Manufactures BOEHM’s flute in London.
1838 – 1880 WYLDE London Flute and oboe maker. He worked for RUDALL & ROSE in 1831.
1838 BUFFET Paris BUFFET and collaborator COCHE (Paris). COCHE studied flute under TULOU, one of the first to adopt BOEHM’s system. BUFFET add D# trill and DORAS another maker ads G# key.
1837 BUFEET Paris Improves on BOEHM. Changing axles, hole placements, lugs, rods, sleeves. (The latter holds rods and axles together).
1834 BOEHM BOEHM’s flute gains popularity in France and Germany with professional flutists.
1833 – 1839 GORDON Paris Experimental diatonic flute. Crescent shaped touch-piece. Studied flute under DROUET in 1831. RUDALL & ROSE made models to his design. GORDON had probably influenced BOEHM for linkages.
1832 - 1836 WOOD George. London. George WOOD made various woodwind instruments. Later became WOOD & IVY 1837 - 1847.
1832 BOEHM Inspired by hearing Nicholson junior. Changes from standard covered holes to ring keys, (See F. NOLAN 1808), - “open holes” producing clearer tone and better intonation. He also aids finger action by adding a thumb crutch for the left hand.
1831 BOEHM Presents his new model in Paris and London Performances.
1830 BOEHM New model finished.
1829 BOEHM Finger holes still too far apart, new fingering system, builds his own machine for boring holes. He uses pillars, posts, flat gold springs and rods.
1829 GOODLAD Ascotiation of WILLIS and GOODLAD
1828 – 1850 KOSH Vienna Excellent flute maker.
1826 – 1856 BILTON London Good workmanship.
1821 – 1827 KAUFFMANN London 8 keyed flutes in Ivory. 7 keys in bone. His mark is a birds head.
1824 POTTGIESSEN Germany He added ring keys to 7 keyed model. His first model was with 1 key, larger bore, shorter length. Second model included ring key for C# hole. It was a ring and crescent design, reduced the size of C# hole improving intonation of forked F natural. He also suggested roler for thumb keys. It was rejected but used later.
1821 RUDALL & ROSE Made flutes we now use and copy for Irish music. Usually 8 keyed with bore expanding on the tenons. They made small holes for uniformity of sound. (Ex. No 592 edinburgh made in 1845). Second model with bigger holes for more power (Ex. Bate collection no. 132 made in 1830).
1821 WILLIS Made their first flute.
1820 PROWSE & CLEMENTI Enlarged embouchure for more volume of sound. “NICHOLSON’s improved” sold by CLEMENTI & Co. and PROWSE.
1814 – 1842 BELLISENT Paris Made a flute for TULOU with 8 keys in silver (keys).
1813 – 1826 WHEATSTONE London Maker and teacher. Designed a mouth piece for directing the air o the cutting edge, later he took TOWNLEY’s Idea to play the flute vertically.
1815 -1821 TREXLER Vienna Many of his flutes were of unusual design. He produced a 17 key model – “Panaulon”. Many had keys to low G.
1814 – 1847 J. WOOD London Makes 3 telescopic tuning slides for for changing pitch by a semitone. The tube was marked with sharp (#), natural and flat (b) calibrations. He associated with IVY.
1810 HUSSEY Dublin There is a Patrick HUSSEY recorded as making musical instruments at this date.
1810 MILLER London Starts making metal flute.
1809 – 1839 MONZANI London Tuning slide in the barrel and introduce a new pad fixed in place with a washer and a nut like modern classical flutes. This made the pads easier to seat. He also composed duets and trios for the flute.
1808 – 1845 GEROCK London He made a quantity of instruments with WOLF.
1808 F. NOLAN Essex Invents open holes (Rim only, finger pad covers hole). Constuction of open standing keys, with a single lever or a linked pair.
1808 TOWNLEY He made 2 levers operated by the left hand thumb, to lengthen and shorten the tuning slide whilst playing. He also made a mouthpiece to be fitted at the end of the flute to play it vertically. Extra key to close small hole when sounding low D, to assist the tone.
1806 – 1848 LAURENT Paris Makes 3, 4 and 7 keyed glass flutes. One of the first to use forged steel springs. Glass for the tube, silver strengthening tenon for the joints. Longer springs and pillars, mounted on plates, screwed to the glass tube.
1805 – 1870 WARD Liverpool Worked with MONZANI before setting up his own workshop in 1842. Made a flute with needle springs, 5 keys operated by the left thumb to assist the tone. Creative and good instruments.
1802 CLEMENTI an Italian in London. Excellent quality instruments. In 1830 it becomes CLEMENTI COLLARD & COLLARD. Later in 1818 he enlargers the holes for NICHOLSON. CLEMENTI were also a publisher and dealer.
1800 Flutes start appearing in Beethoven’s symphonies
1763 – 1836 MILHOUSE Newark ! Highly important woodwind maker in Nottinghamshire. Later he went to London. Good instruments.
Working circa 1800 Thomas D’ALMAINE. The business was taken over by his nephew Thomas Mckinley in 1847 when he retired. 1798 – 1866 D’ALMAINE London was asso. with GOULDING. 1834 - 1867 became DALMAINE & Co. - The music seller and publisher, maker and dealer. They made and/or dealt in woodwind, brass, pianos and even string instruments.
1790 – 1838 ASHE (A musician from Ireland) Played a 1 keyed flute and after a POTTER. Great soloist and teacher.
1790 METZLER London With his son G. RICHARD, the firm became one of the biggest music houses in London until the 20 century.
1790 Four keyed flutes appear in the symphonic orchestra of MOZART and HAYDN.
1789 WILSON Scotland A Shoe maker in Glasgow made a flute out of leather !
1777 – 1795 PROSER London T. BOEHM started playing his flute when he was a boy. 1 keyed in boxwood.
1782 J.H. RIBOCK Germany Adds closed C key.
1785 – 1848 W. POTTER London Made a moveable tuning slide on the foot joint. His son W.H. POTTER made sliding keys to enable glide effect used by NICHOLSON. His Son took the business. They made enormous quantities of flutes with 8 keys. The firm S. POTTER now in Hampshire may be related but now they specialise in Military instruments. Charles Nicholson Junior liked Potter flutes, (and Astor), even though at the time Monzani were considered to be the best quality.
1778 – 1836 ASTOR London Made good instruments with a strong clear sound. Charles Nicholson senior enlargened the tone holes of an Astor flute. This was the flute preferred by Charles Nicholson Junior up until he designed a new model with Clementi. He played this flute when he came back from the Napoleonic wars and set up as a flute teacher in London.
1765 – 1793 COLLIER London Good quality instruments succeeded by J. HALE
1760 – 1794 COTTON London Well made and good playing quality instrument.
1760 – 1795 FLORIO Italy. The first musician to adopt the 8 keyed flute. Great player and rival of J. TACET. His name is stamped on the flute but it’s not sure that he was the maker.
1754 – 1769 C. GEDNEY London Sucsessor of STANESBY. He produced the earliest version of six keyed flutes in 1769.
1755 – 1816 CAHUSAC FATHER & SON
1750 D. NOBLET Paris Founder of the famous woodwind making firm. Flutes by F. Noblet bear the mark of a Nightingale. Business sold to G. LEBLANC in 1904.
1744 ROTTENBURGH Brussels Important family of woodwind makers. High quality flutes and recorders.
1741 – 1726 VILLARS Paris
1736 HALLET London
1726 – 1756 SCHUCHART London
1726 BIGLIONI Rome Made a flute with a C# key on footjoint, - Quantz considered this key to be detrimental to tone and tuning.
1726 QUANTZ (died 1773) Had added to his flute whilst in Paris the Eb and D# key, plus a screw stopper to help when playing softly instead of covering the hole with the lips.
1722 QUANTZ Hanover (musician) Adds tuning Corks in the head joint and C# key on the foot joint. Corps de rechange. As many as 7 sections were provided by some makers, - to change pitch. Two keys added.
1716 – 1752 BIZEY France Important Woodwind maker in Paris. He made four section flutes in Ivory.
1720 HOTTETERRE Normandy Corps de rechange. The first to make flutes in sections. (Development from their bagpipe making days). The bore has broken profile. Cone and cylinder may meet end to end, or bores of two joints may meet in an abrupt step. Renaissance turnery was applied to the thickenings left in the wood or Ivory to give strength to the sockets where the various joints meet.
1700 – 1724 BRESSAN England Important flute and recorder maker. High quality and greatly prized by collectors and recorder performers.
1700 – 1754 STANESBY England Important woodwind maker. Fine instruments including Bassoons recorders, oboes and flutes. Taken over by C. GEDNEY in 1754.
1690 – 1715 RIPPERT France Worked with HOTTETERRE and produced some very fine instruments.
1670 CHEVALLIER France Earliest known example of 1 key fitted D#. Conical bores. Tapers down to middle, placing holes closer together and smaller finger holes.
1636 Flute Allemandes (German) appear. Keys of G and D with new Cylindrical bore.
1619 “Syntagma Musicum” German composer PRAETORIUS earliest work to show transverse flute in differing size. Portrays “3 Querflotten” with two octave ranges.
1529 DESCANT Alto, Tenor and Bass versions appear.
1511 Zwerchpfeiff Popular flute in alpine regions. Extended body length mostly at head joint.
1320 Early one piece wooden flute appear in drawings.