This instrument should probably be
referred to as a "19th
century English simple system flute.” But most musicians who
play this flute play Irish music on it, so we'll just call it,
as most of the world does, an “Irish Flute.” English
flutes and flute players of the early 19th century were the most notable
in Europe at that time for
their power and clarity of tone. However, the “simple-system” of
fingering these instruments left much to be desired, especially when playing
the Romantic era's difficult flute passages. Theobald
Boehm, a German flute maker and player, was a big fan of
the English players who recognized the strengths
and the weaknesses of the English flutes. Boehm set about inventing the
modern classical flute that we know today: loud, clear tone and MUCH more
facile system of keying. By the end of the 19th Century, Boehm's flute
had won over the classical world, which left a large number of these
flutes lying unused around the British Isles. The now-inexpensive simple-system
flutes found a home in Ireland where its
open-hole system fit well with traditional Irish music which is based on
(open-hole) bagpipe music. Until the 1970s, Irish players used only antique
English simple-system flutes, but today, there are much improved instruments crafted in recent decades by makers who've
improved upon the ancient art of making wooden flutes. A few
Irish players use modern Boehm flutes today, but the warm, “woody” tone
of the Irish flute gives Irish music much of its unique character.
One of the best of the new makers of Irish flutes, Chris
Wilkes, made this particular flute in the early '90s for one of the finest Celtic flute
players in the world, Jean-Michel
Veillon, who happens to be a good friend of mine.
It is a “Pratten” model (large holes, broad sound). At the
same time, Chris also made Jean-Michel a “Ruddal-Rose” model
(smaller holes, more focused tone). Most Irish flute players play one style
or the other, and find it difficult to cross over. Jean-Michel is a Ruddal man, so he didn't play this Pratten nearly as
often as his Ruddal. I prefer Pratten, and knowing it didn't get much use (not to mention the fact that Wilkes
has a 6-8 year waiting list), I'd been pestering Jean-Michel for
years to sell it to me. In December
of 2001, Jean-Michel decided it needed to be played instead of sleeping
in it's case, and I became the proud owner
of one of the finest flutes of is kind in the world. View a detailed slide show of this rare instrument
Larry Rone
Links: A
Guide to the Irish Flute, Woodenflute.com |
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