The flute that began this thread almost certainly is a late model one-key instrument. It presumably cross-fingers reasonably well, because there would be little point fitting an E-flat key if you can't get a decent F, B-flat and A-flat. That is certainly the case with a 19th-century one-keyer that I have.
But there is a remote possibility that the flute was an early attempt at a baroque flute reproduction, for use in performances of Bach etc. The first people to produce “replicas” of old instruments were often more concerned with the visuals than subtleties of construction. My first “renaissance flute”, purchased new in 1985, was a Moeck instrument that could have seen service as a baseball bat. Only later did Moeck, following the example of specialist makers who had properly measured the surviving specimens, start to emulate the light and elegant originals, with their deceptively complex bore profiles. I imagine that the same was the case with early “baroque” repros.
Can anyone identify this old flute? RESTORATION PIX POSTED!
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will marshall
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MNMiker
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- Tell us something.: I found an old flute on this board that exactly matches mine, interested in finding out more. It is reputed to be a Civil War flute carried by an ancestor; normally you would think that would be fife but I've found other Civil War flutes that must have been used in military bands.
Re: Can anyone identify this old flute? RESTORATION PIX POST
I'm leaning toward the idea that this flute belonged to our Civil War musician, but was owned by him later in life; i.e. it's unlikely he actually used it during the war. He was assigned to a specific company and AFAIK not part of a military band, so most likely he was a fifer.