> With the renaissance flute, > as a bass to a flute consort, the compromise over power and intonation > has > to be put up with.
This perpetuates a common misunderstanding. The flute often called "bass" in Renaissance consorts descended only to g, and is therefore equivalent to the modern alto flute, and not truly a bass at all. TTBOMK, there was never any such thing as a Renaissance (or Baroque or Classical or Romantic) bass transverse flute in the true sense, for the reason I gave: when built straight, it exceeds the player's reach. Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press On the contrary, it is we today who have got the nomenclature of flutes wrong. Prior to the redesign of the flute (and recorder) in the late 17th century, the flute and recorder were generally treated as transposing instruments, sounding an octave higher than written. (Indications of flutes/recorders playing at 8-foot pitch usually expressed, indicating it is not the norm.) Therefore, the standard, modern flute is in fact a tenor instrument. This is down primarily to the harmonic constitution of the flute sound, with a lot of energy in the fundamental but not so much in higher harmonics when compared with oboe, bassoon or clarinet. Even with the baroque flute and recorder, it was only the tenor flute and treble and tenor recorders that were notated at the sounding pitch (although it is quite clear that many composers clearly understood the nature of the sound and notated the music an octave higher than the voice leading would demand (e.g. Bach Brandenburg Concerto no. 2). And further to my earlier comment, the baroque redesign enabled the flute (and recorder) to play the top range with a clear sound at the expense of the bottom of the range, which is another reason it would be a bit pointless making a baroque 'bass' flute. Regards, Michael Lawlor -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com - Microsoft® Exchange solutions from a leading provider - http://link.mail2web.com/Business/Exchange _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
