Flute
Flute History – Part 1
While the term “flute” refers to a broad number of instruments which are found in many different cultures, we will be exploring the history of our modern flute.
There are many names for this special kind of flute.
These names include: cross flute, German flute, transverse flute and flauto traverso. What is important about all of these names is that they define an instrument that is held horizontally while being played. A flute dating back to approximately 900 B.C. was found in China and called a ch’ie. To date, the oldest flutes have been found in the Swabian Alb region of Germany, and are said to have been from about 43,000 to 35,000 years ago.
200 B.C.
Pre-Christian drawings of the early flute appear on Greco/Roman artifacts. Additional works of art, including two Etruscan reliefs which date from the second and third centuries B.C., clearly show cross flutes being played.
200 A.D.
While history is scarce from this era, there is enough information to suggest that our instrument was played by the Romans and Etruscans, but not by the ancient Greeks.
1000 A.D.
It is interesting to note that the flute seems to disappear with the fall of Rome and only begins to reappear in the 10th and 11th centuries. It is probable that the instrument was introduced into Western Europe by way of Germany from Byzantium. By the 14th century, the flute began to appear in non-Germanic European countries, which included Spain, France and Flanders.
1400 A.D.
By the beginning of the 15th century, flutes are shown in various sorts of pictures in all parts of Western Europe.
1500 A.D.
Throughout the 16th century flutes were one of the most popular instruments of the Italian musical scene. This popularity was also echoed in England as was obvious from Henry VIII’s large collection of flutes. These instruments were extremely simple in construction, consisting of a cylindrical tube with a cork stopper in one end, a blow hole and six finger holes. Their range was limited, as they were constructed in different sizes in order to handle the complete range of the music being performed.
1600 A.D.
It is the middle-sized instrument of this group pitched in “D” that is the direct ancestor of our modern concert flute. This instrument went out of favor during the first half of the 17th century because it could not compete in playing the new expressive style which the violin had made popular. Woodwind makers responded to this challenge by making many improvements to the flute during the second half of the 17th century.
As found on the Gemeinhardt Website Flute History – Part 1