Marc-Antoine Charpentier and the Flûte

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1702) is now recognized as the greatest French composer of the 17th century. He wrote over 120 works, mostly vocal, in which he called for flûtes, mostly in pairs, as well as about 80 further works in which he might have intended the unmarked treble parts to be played on flûtes. But which instruments did he have in mind? Recorders (and of what sizes)? Renaissance flutes or Baroque traversos (and of what sizes)? Drawing on the latest research by...
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Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1702) is now recognized as the greatest French composer of the 17th century. He wrote over 120 works, mostly vocal, in which he called for flûtes, mostly in pairs, as well as about 80 further works in which he might have intended the unmarked treble parts to be played on flûtes. But which instruments did he have in mind? Recorders (and of what sizes)? Renaissance flutes or Baroque traversos (and of what sizes)? Drawing on the latest research by Charpentier scholars, David Lasocki has surveyed the entire corpus of the composer's works written, or possibly written, for flûtes, looking at the characteristics of the parts as well as the ensembles and occasions for which the works were written-the Guise Music, the Dauphin's Music, the Jesuits, and the Sainte-Chapelle. He has therefore been able to reach more reliable, and more surprising, conclusions about the flûtes than earlier scholars. If you love Charpentier, if you play Charpentier, if you want to get to know this wonderful composer's works better, or if you are interested in the history of the recorder and flute, this book is a must-have for you. The text is accompanied by no fewer than 48 musical examples, most of them of playable length.