Flute
flute. (Italian Flauto, French Flûte, German Flöte). Wind instrument of ancient origin formerly made of wood but now of silver and other metals. From medieval times two methods of producing sound were used: (a) blowing across a round mouth-hole as on the panpipes or transverse (side-blown) flute; (b) blowing into a whistle mouthpiece (end-blown) as on the recorder or flageolet. The word flute was used indiscriminately to denote both types during medieval times, but in the baroque period flute or flauto specifically meant the end-blown recorder. The modern flute is descended from the German (transverse) flute. Whereas today it is cylindrical in bore, stopped at one end, until the early 19th century it was conical. The player's breath sets in vibration the column of air inside the tube. Acoustically, the tube acts as an open one; the mouth-hole serves to prevent its acting as stopped and thus sounding an octave lower. The body orginally had one thumb-hole and from four to eight finger-holes. The first key was added in 1677, the second in 1726 by Quantz, flute teacher of Frederick the Great. The great flute virtuoso of the Bavarian Court Orchestra, Theobald Boehm, used an eight key flute, but revolutionized the instrument in 1832 with his 'ring key' system. In 1847, he produced a fifteen hole metal instrument with 23 keys and levers.
Oboe
Oboe. The oboe is a woodwin instrument blown through a double reed and with a compass from the Bb below middle C upwards for over 2 1/2 octaves. Standard orchestra instrument, also in chamber music and military bands. It is the note A sounded on the oboe to which the rest of the orchestra tune their instruments. Many concertos have been written for its solo use, e.g. by Vivaldi, Albinoni, R. Strauss, Vaughan Williams, Martinau, etc. Derives from the shawm and the curtal. Known in France and England in the 17th century as hautbois and hautboy. There also exists:
Oboe d'amore : pitched a minor 3rd below normal oboe. Has pear-shaped bell, which gives it its mellow and individual tone-colour, and is midway in size between oboe and cor anglais. Was favoured by Bach, but subsequently neglected. In 20th century, has been used by R. Strauss in Symphonia Domestica, Holst in Somerset Rhapsody, Ravel in Bolero, Janacek in several works, including operas, and John McCabe has written a concerto for it (1972).
Oboe da caccia : obsolete predecessor of cor anglais.
Bassoon
bassoon (It. fagotto). Bass member of the double reed family, pitched in C, with a range from Bb upwards for about 3 1/2 octaves. Made of wood and with a conical bore. Dates from 1660s. Came to prominence as solo instrument in 18th century. Vivaldi composed 39 concerti for it. Others to use it as solo instrument include J. C. Bach, Telemann, and Boismortier. In 1774, Mozart wrote his concerto (K. 191). Modern instruments made by Heckel (Ger.), Buffet-Crampon (Fr.), and Fox (Amer.). Often used for comic effect but its capacity for melancholy has not been overlooked by composers.
Contrabassoon
contrabassoon (double-bassoon; Fr. 'Contrebasson'; Ger. 'Kontrafagott'). Wind instrument an octave deeper than bassoon and notated an octave higher than it sounds, though Wagner and Debussy sometimes wrote for it at pitch. Some Baroque examples were made but standard modern design is Heckel's (1876). Conical bore tube is 18' long, with 5 parallel sections connected by 5 U-bends. Crook fits into metal tube. Brahms scored for it in his 1st Symphony. In Strauss's Salome there is a long solo for the instrument when Jokanaan descends into his cell. It is the lowest-pitched instrument in the orchestra.
Recorder
recorder. (French flûte ā bec; German Blockflöte; Italian flauto diretto; Spanish flauta de pico). Woodwind instrument of ancient lineage, made without reed. Forerunner of the flute, but end-blown through a whistle-mouthpiece. In medieval times, the recorder was known under the Latin name fistula, hence 'fipple-flute'. It had seven finger-holes in front and a thumb-hole behind, and a beak-shaped mouthpiece. The antiquity of the instrument is hard to determine because its playing position is so like that of similar instrument (other whistle types), that contemporary illustrations are of little help. But it has been estimated as being in existence in the 12th century, although the word 'recorder' first appeared in a document in 1388. A recorder tutor was published in Venice, 1535. By the 15th century, there were several sizes of recorder. Praetorius lists 8, i.e. great bass, quint bass, bass, tenor, alto, two soprano, sopranino. Thus, recorder consorts were a common feature of Renaissance music life. The instrument has been widely revived in the 20th century both as an easy instrument for children and as a part of the revival in performing early music on authentic instruments. Modern composers have written for it, e.g. Britten, Arnold Cooke, and Rubbra. The most common size today is the descant (soprano), but there are also sopranino, treble (alto), tenor, and bass.