In involves recording two works of J.S. Bach, one in B-flat minor, and one in C-sharp minor, on Baroque flute, the 6-key Hamilton flute, and the modern Boehm-system (silver) flute as a comparison of the feel and the sound of the music first on the Baroque flute, which was the kind of flute that J.S. Bach composed this music for, then on the 6-key flute similar to the flutes of the nineteenth century, and on the modern orchestral flute.
I would welcome all comments and criticisms which anyone would care to provide.
Oh, many are those who speak in praise of J.S.Bach.
Yet, who could be aware that J.S.Bach is known to have pilfered numerous of the popular tunes of his day, while changing the lyrics, to thereby pad his reputation?
As evil incarnate, moreover, no less than J.S.Bach put the final touches on equal temperament, the death knell of just intonation, and of the Baroque era!
And then there is that equal temperament clown W.A.Mozart, who was to have said that if there is anything worse than one flute, it is two!
Sorry for my ignorance, but do you have the sheet music so that I can look at the dynamics?
Also, (to show that I am utterly tone deaf) were those all played with equal temperament?
Sorry for my ignorance, but do you have the sheet music so that I can look at the dynamics?
Also, (to show that I am utterly tone deaf) were those all played with equal temperament?
There should be legal copies of this music available on line, let me poke around and see if I can come up with a legal way to put the “dots” on my page.
The Boehm is equally tempered, and the Hamilton somewhat so.
The Baroque flute is not, of course, and I’m not actually a “well-behaved” traverso player, as I tend to use the fingerings that make the passage sound the best to me without concern for the key I’m in. So I’ll freely admit I sacrifice some authenticity to try to make the music sound as good as I can.
For the benefit of those on this forum who may not be Boehm players, I’d like to modify your statement, please, in that the Boehm can be equally tempered, yet it is also fully capable of “just” intonation.
For instance, Boehm players have been pilfering (OK, stealing) from Baroque music, probably since the time the Boehm flute was invented, and the Baroque never was equally tempered.
Perhaps I am not understanding exactly what you mean?
Boehm-system flutes are tuned to an equally tempered scale.
The player can bend the pitch and a skilled player can use this to play in other tempers, including just…but that’s the player, not the flute, and it requires a deliberate effort to bend the pitch to where you want it.
A Boehm-system flute is inherently equally tempered; this is how Boehm’s schema is laid out.
Technically, you are correct, that a Boehm flute is by design equally tempered. However, I attempted to modify your statement, for the benefit of those who are not Boehm players, to say that a Boehm flute is not restricted to equal temperament.
Well, the flutes aren’t identical either, I would say that playing a Baroque flute is enormously complex in one way, yet the Boehm-system flute is even more in another way because on the Boehm-system the flute doesn’t do much to make the sound interesting, so the player has to…
I really don’t know how to answer this.
I suppose in one real way, with any musician you listen to, you don’t really know this. Maybe it’s up to the listener to make up his or her own mind; I really don’t know a better answer.
I remembered playing them in my conservatory days and believe I still have the music laying around somewhere. As I recall, though, perhaps mistakenly after all these years, that the sonatas were written for recorder and harpsichord.
Have you thought about using that instrument as well?
I don’t believe the Bach sonatas were written for recorder. Some of his cantatas WERE written with flauto dolce parts = recorder. I could be wrong about the sonatas… but I don’t think so.
Speaking of Bach flute sonati, does anyone have the dots to the Am Partita (BWV 1013)? I played this one on sax in college, and have long since lost the music. It starts like this:
This is one of those pieces that sounds awesome in a stairwell, or some other very echoic location, where the arpeggios can ring out, and the harmony just evolves in the airspace around you. Very cool stuff. If anyone has it, or knows where I might find it (For free?) 'twould be very cool.
Generally, it’s my understanding that if a composer prior to Bach wrote “flute,” recorder (flauta dolce) was the instrument called for. If he wanted an actual transverse flute, he would write either “traverso,” or “querflote,” or a similar term. Perhaps that’s what you are remembering?
I do play recorder, and once upon a time I played it reasonably well, but that’s been years ago. I can do some Telemann and a bit of Handel and such, but Bach on recorder is pretty much way out of my league now.
