Just on the off-chance someone has such a thing kicking around in their too-hard basket, I’m interested in getting hold of a German Reform Flute, the kind of thing started by Schwedler and propagated by Monnig, etc. I’d like something moderately well developed (more than an 8-key with a few trills added) - I’m hoping to get some feeling for where the movement was heading. Catch is, I’m looking for something a lowly flute-maker could afford, so something in pretty bad shape would be fine, providing it’s mostly there and not been hacked about.
And/or if you happen to have a Radcliff flute in similar condition, I could assist in this matter also!
Ack! I was thinking to myself just 10 minutes ago that it would be tops to get a Reform flute off Ebay. Spooky!
I’d be keen on having a Radcliffe too although I don’t think it’s crucial to playing in the flat keys ala Paddy Carty. Just how much easier do these system flutes make playing in the odd keys anyway?
And what exactly is a “Split E”?
Go here to hear Eli Hudson playing Variations sur un air allemande, Op. 22 (Theobald Boehm) on a Radcliffe flute.
Well, after the spectacular success of the Grey Larsen Preferred, I though I should come up with a new model based on the German Reform Flute for the Lutheren communities in the St Paul Minnesota region. Perhaps call it the “Pastor Inqvuist Reluctantly Permitted” model?
Heh heh, only kidding! Actually, no real ambitions, just wanting to get some experience of that sort of flute. For those unfamiliar with it, this was a flute developed in the late 19th century in reaction to Boehm’s new-fangled metal flute. If the English (who were used to Nicholson’s big-holed flutes) had some difficulty with Boehm’s new design, the Germans (who preferred the sound of small-holed flutes) were horrified. But their 8-key flutes lacked the facilities and tuning that the Boehm flute offered, so Schwedler brought out his Reform flute to incorporate these features without loosing the tone of the old flute. Rather like Clinton and Pratten in England and Tulou in France. I think a comparison between the various non-Boehm developements might highlight some interesting stuff about the differing National tastes at the time. “Regional Styles” didn’t just apply to the music!
Ardal Powell describes the various reactions to the Boehm flute in great detail, including the development and reasoning behind the Schwedler reform, Tolou flute perfectionee, etc. A common objection was that the Boehm, particuarly the metal variety, didn’t blend in well with the rest of the woodwinds - note Nicholson’s remarks about obtaining a tone with characteristics of the hautboy and clarinet. English players persisted with their wooden system flutes until the 1960s!
What became of the ex-Rudall Carte employees who “founded an English Flute Guild”?
No, that’s a so-called “old-system flute”. If you look closely at one of these you’ll see it doesn’t actually have a “system” of keys at all - the keys are all independant. They just look interlocked because they are co-located on the same axles.
The Radcliff is a variant of Carte’s 1851 or 1867 Patent flute and, like the Boehm, has a complex interlinking of the keys to give added functionality. Unlike the Boehm, the basic fingering pattern favours D rather than C.