The Music in the Baroque era and the History of Baroque Flute

The term “Baroque” is widely used by music historians to refer to a broad range of styles from a wide geographic location, particularly in Europe. In the early 1600s, a new style of music began to evolve, which was later called Baroque. This style of music was unique, and different from the other music before its time such as the medieval and the early renaissance music. The development of the new melodic, and harmonic lines added flavor to the baroque music via the use of flutes, and such developments paved the way for a new pace, and variations in the development of the modern flute. The structure of the music also changed because of the events of different forms such as the cannons and fugues.

The introduction of various instruments necessitated such developments. Many composers contributed to the development of modern flute during the baroque era. Others made more significant contributions than the others, but each was providing large amounts of flute development during the period. The era extended from 1600 to 1750, and whose music was characterized by complexity, emotions, and ornaments. Baroque flute the music was homophonic in texture, melody combined with bass chords or accompaniment, and a single high voice or instrument. The music during the Baroque era was unique due to the different stylistic approaches and features employed by the various composers in this period. One of the instruments widely used by the composers of this period was the flute. The baroque flute was unique in its features and musical qualities.

Historical Development of Baroque Flute

The earliest record of a flute was in the 9th century BC when a Chinese poet Shih Ching’ used the first flute. However, the first pictorial evidence of a transverse flute came into appearance in the second century BC. The recorder was the predecessor of the transverse flute before it finally became dominant in the baroque period. The early baroque music and the use of flutes can be traced back to the periods between 1580 and 1630[1]. One major composer during this period was Abel Bach who widely used the flutes. During this time, a group of poets, musicians, humanists, and intellectuals in the late renaissance gathered to deliberate on the trends, which would guide arts, especially music and drama[2]. The group primarily based their ideas on the perception of classical musical drama, which placed much value on the discourse and oration. In so doing, the use of the polyphony and instrumental music faced high rejection.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the baroque flute was crucially changed. The changes touched on the structures, where the inner cylindrical borehole was transformed into a conical shape in the middle and the lower joint by the 18th century[3]. As the finger holes of the flute were placed, the finger holes had a very small diameter and placed at a closer distance. The resultant effect was poor sound effects. Nevertheless, upon reducing the diameter of the inner hole, while maintaining the diameter of the tube, the sound would be better. At this time of the development of the flute, they were three-part. Each flute came with several middle joints with various lengths for exchange purposes. These features made adjustments possible to the locally differing tuning.

The six finger holes of the baroque flute were made of different diameters, which allowed the playing of major scales. During this time of the baroque flute evolution, the gamut covered ranges from done to a three. In this range, the highest suitable tone was the e three. Different holes were appended to play new tonalities. This prompted the closure of the new seventh hole by constructing the first key. The changes enhanced the intonations, and the gamut became broader. Jacques Hotteterre published the book “Les Principles de la Flute Traversiere (1707)”, which helped the baroque flute make milestones in its historical development[4]. By 1715, the baroque flutes were built in four pieces, an idea which originated from France. The four-piece flute had the middle joints easier to change, and there was increased efficiency for the flute makers.

Between 1720 and 1820, many composers tried to enhance the flute. They invented additional keys and finger holes. Nevertheless, the changes were more disadvantageous and did not bring the much-anticipated changes. Such changes were soon forgotten. Some of the enhancements were the register developed by a sliding lower joint for pitch adjustment. Composers such as Quantz made further adjustments by introducing the sliding head joint, and the tuning cork. Some of these inventions have been preserved till today alongside the prolongation of the flute with open keys for c sharp and c. In 1751, the bass flute was invented in France, in what today would be conventionally known as the alto flute. The fingers could not directly close it holes due to its length leading to the construction of more keys. Perhaps this influenced the development of the concerto flute as well.

The inventions in 1770 attempted to extinguish the fork fingerings by more holes and keys. The attempt was successful, and the cross fingering only had C remaining. Johann Goerg later closed this gap. Ideally, this flute was hard to play in the fast and pitch. All the enhancements and additions comprised of eight keys and covered three octaves. The baroque flute of 1770 had one main disadvantage. The span width of the fingers could only determine the distance between the finger holes. The most useful material for the making of the flutes was the boxwood, which would expand due to the moisture content of the breath but the pitch was still mediocre. The onset of the 18th century was a breakthrough for the baroque flute. The flute was loved, and the French court made the instrument presentable across Europe.

Baroque flute versus the Modern flute

The transverse flute was the predecessor of the baroque flute. However, during the baroque period, four main types of flutes were in use. These included the alto, tenor, bass, and treble flute. Each flute was pitched a perfect fifth apart with about two octaves. The bass flute had a weak sound and small range. In 1660 Quanta added D# keys because the seventh hole of the baroque flute was distant apart from the sixth hole. The baroque flute was more cylindrical, but the modern flute is more conical. The modern flute has six keys and eight fingerless compared to the baroque flute.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the flute was made of wood and the keys made of brass. The baroque flute requires less breath and responds slowly to breath producing pear-shaped notes with mellow tones[5]. The modern flute was designed to ease fingering and tuning required by the modern composers. The modern flute lost quality between the sounds of each tonality. It is capable of three octaves while the baroque flute had two and a half octaves. The soft notes from the modern flute resulted in the building of the melodic lines due to the addition of the color to an ensemble rather than be a soloist.

Composition elements and musical examples

There are a million composers of flute music. The first composer for the baroque flute was Johann Sebastian Bach after he visited the opera in Dresden in 1720 followed by Abel Carl Friedrich in 1723[6]. His works were always written for recorder or flute may be because the same musician used the instruments. From the historical perspective, one evident fact is that before the beginning of the classical period, baroque music was written in many forms[7]. Over 150 composers including the above mentioned, employed the use of basso continuo, self-expression, open forms, degrees of ornamentation, and the formation of counterpoint to contribute to the development of the baroque music. However, these many approaches in the styles significantly contributed to the inconsistency witnessed in the development of Baroque music. The baroque period seems like a funnel collecting all the available musical ideas. As time progresses, the funnel reduces in size and consequently, the room for trial and error. Popular musical ideas in the baroque era are picked up and expanded. There are hundreds of works in the sea of baroque music, which shine like beacons in the light.

The 17th century was accompanied by the addition of the major or minor key system development, which led to the invention of several new forms and designs such as the opera, fugue, sonata, suite, concerto, and oratorio. During this, the orchestra started to take shape and violins became the dominant musical instruments. The major composers of the period were Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Stanley, Bach, Monteverdi, and Handel.

Composers widely used some of the composition elements such as the baroque sonatas. The ingredients of the composition culminated to the characteristics of baroque music. The music was characterized by one mood throughout the entire piece. Baroque music was also characterized by the Basso Continuo, important string section, energetic rhythms, and the replacement of the modes by the major or minor keys system.

Musical examples

Vivaldi: Four Seasons Flute

The four seasons is a set of violin concertos and flute composed in 1723. The Four Seasons is also among the most famous works during the Baroque music history. It is also the best-known flute music by Vivaldi[8]. Four Seasons was a music that was composed to depict a narrative of the three siblings whose colorful pastoral scenes is wonderfully portrayed by the composer in a piece of original music.

Some of the affiliate composers who have used the piece have however developed the difficulty in distinguishing between Vivaldi and Scarlatti, both pieces don during the baroque era. “What is at the higher level of meaning of consciousness is like a hyperspace. His flute work was inspired by an Italian sonnet. Each sonnet is broken down into three sections and there is an underlying theory that Vivaldi wrote the sonnet himself. Each section of the sonnet corresponds to the movement of the flute trio.

Stanley: Six Solos for a German Flute, Op4

This example represents a perfect piece done during the Baroque period. John Stanley uses flute to form musical rhythm that resembles that of a musical dialogue between a large orchestra and small soloist groups. Stanley was the first composer in the Baroque era who was able to write music in that style. He used the flute, second violin[9]. The continuo, violas, and flutes were the model for the later publications in 1718[10]. Stanley did not compose the Op. 4 from scratches before publications. He revised all his music composed up to 1723 to bring up his standards, and make his compositions more compatible with the modern taste rather than sticking to the old baroque flute. He cast his first eight of Op. 4 into four-movement sonata forms. His unique stylistic approaches employed by the use of flutes ensured his music was played as though it was a trio sonata[11]. Stanley’s performance ensured there was the preservation of the musical authenticity.

Conclusion

Baroque music permeated entire Europe and influenced how music was developed and played. The principal ancient composers such as Vivaldi, Bach, Scarlatti, and Stanley greatly influenced the development of baroque music. The historical development of baroque music paved the way for future musical development. The various musical examples provided in this essay exhibit the baroque music features as used by the composers. Stanley, Vivaldi, and Bach have all utilized the various musical methodologies in developing their pieces of composition. The development of the early opera created firm bases for the development of the various musical designs such as choreography, costume design, and scene design. The baroque period was majorly characterized by a strong desire for heightened expression through harmony. The desire led to the development of the most chromatic chord progressions. Eventually, there was a precipitation of the total abandonment of the traditional polyphony during the monodic experiment.

References

King, J. B., K. G. Jones, E. Goldberg, M. Rollins, K. MacNamee, C. Moffit, S. R. Naidu et al.     “Increased Functional Connectivity After Listening to Favored Music in Adults With Alzheimer Dementia.” The journal of prevention of Alzheimer’s disease 6, no. 1 (2019): 56-62.

Sachs, Curt. The history of musical instruments. Courier Corporation, 2012.

Wang, C. (2018, July). The Development of Chamber Music in Baroque Period and Its Style        Deduction. In 4th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education        (ICADCE 2018). Atlantis Press.

Wood, Glenn. “Violin Cases of the Baroque Period.” Violin Society of America Papers 27, no. 1   (2018): 20-26.

[1] King, J. B., K. G. Jones, E. Goldberg, M. Rollins, K. MacNamee, C. Moffit, S. R. Naidu et al.           “Increased Functional Connectivity After Listening to Favored Music in Adults With Alzheimer Dementia.” The journal of prevention of Alzheimer’s disease 6, no. 1 (2019): 56-62.

[2] Sachs, Curt. The history of musical instruments. Courier Corporation, 2012

[3] Sachs, Curt. The history of musical instruments. Courier Corporation, 2012

[4] King, J. B., K. G. Jones, E. Goldberg, M. Rollins, K. MacNamee, C. Moffit, S. R. Naidu et al.           “Increased Functional Connectivity After Listening to Favored Music in Adults With Alzheimer Dementia.” The journal of prevention of Alzheimer’s disease 6, no. 1 (2019):      56-62.

[5] Wang, C. (2018, July). The Development of Chamber Music in Baroque Period and Its Style Deduction. In 4th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2018). Atlantis Press.

[6] Wang, C. (2018, July). The Development of Chamber Music in Baroque Period and Its Style Deduction. In 4th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2018). Atlantis Press.

[7] Wood, Glenn. “Violin Cases of the Baroque Period.” Violin Society of America Papers 27, no. 1   (2018): 20-26.

[8] Wood, Glenn. “Violin Cases of the Baroque Period.” Violin Society of America Papers 27, no. 1   (2018): 20-26.

[9] Wood, Glenn. “Violin Cases of the Baroque Period.” Violin Society of America Papers 27, no. 1   (2018): 20-26.

[10] Wang, C. (2018, July). The Development of Chamber Music in Baroque Period and Its Style Deduction. In 4th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2018). Atlantis Press.

[11] Wood, Glenn. “Violin Cases of the Baroque Period.” Violin Society of America Papers 27, no. 1 (2018): 20-26.