17th Century


Fiona M Simpson	9705782s@student.gla.ac.uk

When the expressive and technical demands within the music became greater, the simple flute fingering made playing very difficult.
Its use declined, and more technical instruments, eg. the violin, rose, during the Baroque Era in the early 17th century, although it was still used in large ensembles.

With the rise of the Baroque style in the 17th century associated with the rise of the popularity of the violin, use of the flute declined. This was because the simple Renaissance instrument cross fingerings could not cope with the new technical music.
Although flutes were still scored for larger ensembles, no solo or chamber music seems to have been composed especially for the instrument during the entire 17th century. In contrast to this, the recorder was very prominent, both solo and in groups of four or five (sopranino, descant, treble, tenor and bass).

Sonata for Recorder and basso continuo in B flat major, HWV 364 - George Frideric Handel

All flutes were made of wood, usually boxwood, with a round mouth hole (the oval mouth hole did not appear till about 1724) and only six finger holes. It was pitched in the diatonic scale, and had no keys. Additional holes, requiring keys to close them, began to appear about 1660-70, when the flute was first introduced to the orchestra by composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687). Around 1670, a (now unknown) inventor added a D# key.

This was the first really important step in the development of the flute.

It would appear that as the expressive and technical demands within the music became greater, the simple flute fingering made playing very difficult. It is said in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians that its use declined and more technical instruments, for example the violin, rose, during the Baroque Era in the early 17th century, although the flute was still used in large ensembles.

This lack of technical efficiency caused its first transformation.

The body was divided into three short sections, allowing more shape control and making it easier to drill the tubes, aiding the control over the shaping of the bore. This division also resulted in easing the tuning of the instrument, as pulling the joint between the head and body fractionally lowered the pitch. While the head section was cylindrical, the middle and foot sections were conical to allow closer finger holes. The foot key, added around 1670, usually made of brass or silver, produced the lowest semitone (E flat on the D flute). Philibert (often credited with its invention) took up this improvement, as did Michel de la Barre and Jacques Hotteterre. In Hotteterre's Principes de la Flûte Traversière (1707) it is said that the key was supported by a raised wooden ring around the tube. This ring allowed the key, which moved on an axle, to be kept closed by a spring under the finger.

All in all, these modifications had the effect of producing the pure, sweet tone that became characteristic of the Baroque flute. While the lower register was slightly weaker than its Renaissance counterpart, the upper register was fully responsive and had a beautiful tone. The addition of the key also meant that the flute was now a fully chromatic instrument, as all chromatic notes became more precise.

A new repertoire for the music grew towards the end of the 17th century, following closely the transformation of its structure at that time.

Cinquieme Suitte (Premier Oevre) - Pierre Danican Philidor, 1717

Although the Hotteterre's are generally credited with the transformation of the flute, the flautists Michel de la Barre and Pierre Danican Philidor (see sound clip above) had a part to play.