(Strasbourg, c.1800) Boxwood original in the
Miller Collection, Washington. Also available in ebony, following
the one in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. a=420.
The Instrument
The workshop flourished in Alsace, that twilight
zone between France and Germany, from c1802-c1844,
making clarinets, bassoons, oboes, and flutes. The Miller
Collection's example of its work is still in excellent playing
condition, with excellent intonation and an easy, agile sound.
The Music
Classical music is the most suitable for this
flute: it can take in stride 19th-century studies and solos,
such as those of Kuhlau and Drouet, with their wide leaps
and flurries of notes.