The Renaissance flute in mixed ensembles: surviving instruments, pitches and performance practice
Boaz Berney is a maker and player of transverse flutes, specializing in the performance and history of the Renaissance flute. boaz{at}berneyflutes.com
This article examines the use of the transverse flute in early 17th-century German music for mixed vocal-instrumental ensembles and tries to resolve the problem of the pitches of the flutes used for this music. Most surviving Renaissance flutes are at a lower pitch than other surviving woodwind instruments, although they were used in combination with other woodwinds in the examined original repertory. A survey of surviving flutes as well as evidence from contemporary documentation points to two conclusions: that flutes were made at high pitches, and that sets of instruments existed with flutes and other woodwinds at the same pitch. These sets of instruments could have been used for the concerted music in question. Additionally, the music itself is examined in order to evaluate the possibilities for transposition in the event that flutes at different pitches were used. In some cases such transpositions were possible, indicating that the music could have been performed with instruments pitched a tone or a minor 3rd apart, but in other cases a transposition was impractical, suggesting performance on instruments at a single pitch level.
Key Words: Augsburg Futteral • Michael Praetorius • Manfredo Settala • Renaissance flute • Renaissance pitch standards • transverse flute