...some more flute history....

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GreenWood
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Tell us something.: To add to the renaissance flute discussion that is under way. Well, the rest of this field is going to be taken up by a long sentence, which is this one, because a hundred characters are needed before it is accepted.

...some more flute history....

Post by GreenWood »

TLDR: there are flute videos in the last two links.

Though wider flute history is maybe not directly related to Irish flute tradition, definitely it converges at some point in time. Whether in the uptake of 19th century designs and therefore the history behind those, or simply as a reminder that local flutes have existed throughout history and even to this day remain poorly documented, implying that the recorded music we are now familiar with is likely partly based somehow on these older forgotten instruments and their music or style.


So to start at the top, that is to say what is known and documented. This essay


From Swiss Flutes to Consorts:
History, Music and Playing Techniques of the
Transverse Flute in Switzerland, Germany and France ca. 1470-1640 Nancy Hadden

https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/2581/1/ ... D_2010.pdf


provides a very clear account of the evolution of the renaissance flute, as well as a disambiguation of names used in Europe, as well as exemplifying where ambiguity still exists. It is based on documented history, and traces from the use of the flute in Swiss military setting through to royal and consort playing, and that eventually to baroque and so the conical flutes of the 19th century, such as Rudall or Pratten designs, which most will likely know of.


A parallel kind of account of the recorder is found here.


https://www.recorderhomepage.net/instru ... eferences/



It might be remembered that this is documented history, and that only the most privileged circumstance tend to have been noted down. I don't think that there is much doubt that the rennaisance flute gave lineage to the modern flute, the question is though what other flutes were being played before and during that time, the design or playing of which might have been assimilated into newer instruments. To quote Robert Blench

"Using iconography as evidence for societal practice faces a common problem across the world, that pictorial art of typically created by social or religious elites, and so typically reflects their taste and practices. As with other categories of representation, musical instruments played by the elite, both secular and religious, are over-represented in the art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Only with Praetorius’ Syntagma Musicum (De Organographia 1618) do we get an overview of instruments at all levels of society (and the first acknowledgment of the music of other cultures)."

https://www.academia.edu/44760746/Ident ... _in_Europe

As far as archaeologically documented flutes are concerned, wooden transverse flutes before the 15th century have not survived but for a very very few examples that cannot provide much of a basis for wider understanding, beyond that they existed. Similarly, early texts rarely give enough detail to draw any conclusion or even to be able to differentiate what instrument exactly is being talked of, whistle or flute for example, and are also sparse.

So exactly what transverse flutes were at hand in any given teritory at any point in time is a large question, and I feel certain that they must have existed in some form everywhere throughout history.

For example, even today finding a recording (previously linked... somewhere) of pastoral tradition of flute in Portugal was not only hard enough to come by, but also product of a concerted effort to document the few remaining players. Without that, it would simply have remained unknown, even while still being practiced.

Even Bletch, possibly an academic researcher more orientated towards including variety, briefly questions the existence of transverse flute in Europe before twelfth century. Yet we certainly have viking transverse flutes, and he himself suggests a moorish tradition, which possibly overlaps with earlier presence of the instrument. The rennaisance is often described as an exit from the dark ages, is often framed alongside the reconquest of Iberia and so it is not a surprise maybe that the most prominent account, that of the rennaisance flute, eclipses other detail, and is suggested as originating via Byzantine Roman channels.

So for a bit of a walk on the wild side, there are if I remember early egyptian transverse (not end blown) flutes, at least one etruscan example, ambiguous Roman descriptions, and Viking examples mentioned above. Pre-Roman Iberia is not very rewarding in terms of wooden objects although contacts with North Africa existed for thousands of years B.C. , the Germanic tribes that briefly ruled before the moors also might have brought instruments from northern Europe. Funnily, early Arab flutes almost all seem to be end blown. Reynaldo Fernández Manzano is possibly the most prominent Spanish author of the Andalus period, but seems slightly ambiguous on this, naming end blown as transvere in various texts and not being able to provide any clear example of transverse proper, as far as I know. Various of his works are available clicking through at

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/autor?codigo=39019

Maybe this is where Blench took his information from for

"It appears that there are no transverse flutes currently played in North Africa
at present, to judge by surveys such as Collaer & Elsner (1983). However,
they do picture (p. 173) a remarkable transverse flute, gaṣba (Pictured Above),
from Westsahara, the former Spanish Sahara, now a disputed territory
annexed by Morocco. No details are given in the text and the morphology of
the flute is unclear from the photograph. However, its presence does raise the
possibility that it is a survival of the
old North African transverse flutes
that made their way into Spain in
the Moorish period. "

Roger Blench

The transverse flute: its worldwide
distribution and organology found at

http://www.rogerblench.info/Ethnomusico ... s/General/


I don't know, but so far I find no clearly depicted or described Arab transverse flute proper from that time at all. Though

https://www.academia.edu/54554117/Los_i ... ss_IX_XIII

also describes Arabic words used for specific flutes, some of which might be transverse...or end blown...or whistles...or not. For example there are distinct Arabic words for reed flute, cane flute, flute, axabeba, shepherd's flute, shepherd's aerofone.



While

http://www.vallenajerilla.com/berceo/po ... ellana.htm

Says in early Spanish sources Ajabeba is used for all transverse (and end blown) flutes, though he mentions cane flutes with a knot as stopper, hence transverse proper.

"La axabeba (ajabeba, exabeba, o Xabeba) es la denominación con la que, desde el s. XII, empieza a ser conocida en territorios occidentales la flauta travesera. Aunque su origen etimológico es árabe (arabebbah), en realidad llegó a Europa a través del imperio bizantino desde donde pasó a territorios germánicos por lo que, durante mucho tiempo, también fue conocida como fistula germánica para diferenciarla de la fistula anglina (flauta vertical y de pico); en las fuentes literarias hispánicas se opta por la simplicidad y se habla de axabeba (travesera) o de flauta (de pico). Construida habitualmente con caña, lo que permitía aprovechar uno de sus nudos como 'tapón, fue frecuentemente utilizada con finalidad militar junto con el tambor, algo que se mantuvo hasta la Edad Moderna."




What I find interesting is the possible paths of North African transverse flutes that actually are known. Not only because that is potentially a shared culture with early Iberia but also other parts of Europe. The periods of peace and exchange that took place with northern Europe at the northern borders moorish Iberia at various points in time, or via Sicily for example, Vikings bringing "black Irish" to Ireland from raids in Iberia and North Africa or desert monks or monks travelling to Holy Land via North Africa are mentioned, these are all possible routes of exchange. Obviously the reverse also is possible, where Iberian or Roman Iberian, or northern European instruments might have travelled to North Africa at various points in time. After the reconquest of Iberia, North Africa was generally hostile to Spain up until the 19th century at least , many hundreds of thousands of Europeans were captured making southern Spain inhospitable for a long time, the following is set in the 18th century for example

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/411475.White_Gold

European "privateers" were known to work from North Africa also, and so that whole scene is a possible route for the rennaisance flute design or influence to have made its way to North Africa, and as there are so few examples of early instruments it is hard to say which direction influences might have occurred. What also stands out to me is that both the grip (to left, right hand on topnotes) is often depicted in early Europe as well as being currently used in North Africa, as well as the various early depictions show very long flutes with toneholes placed low as various North African flutes seem to have (see below).



The transverse flute seems more common in the sub-Sahara, but that might actually indicate only that the Arab Nay end blown flute replaced wider transverse flute culture in North Africa from 8th century on, a culture somewhat shared between Iberia and Africa previously, originating in either, or both independently. If you go back in time the notion of "Africa" or "Iberia" does not have the same connotations as today, the early Greeks describing southern Iberians as Ethiopians for example, "Ethiopians" being a people they were familiar with as southern Egyptians at that point (not Ethiopia proper) , i.e. similar to north Africans.

Either way, searching for information on flutes in north Africa has been fun. The pdf by Blench above shows a "Western Saharan" flautist, but western Sahara is "quite a big place". Mauritania borders with Sub Saharan Africa and has a "black moor" population, the Fula people are quite dispersed also across the region, and apparently are not always at peace with the Tuareg, who are Berber I think... not sure, but modern tribal or ethnic history in north Africa is not something I have studied much and so follow own research instead of listening to me on that. Arab arab population in North Africa is estimated at around one or two in ten of the population.

Bearing the above in mind, that possible overlap between these people and sub Saharan instrumentation might or does exist, here are further examples of transverse flute from the region.

Starting with late 19th century, depictions of moorish flute players

https://onevisionart.printstoreonline.c ... 70996.html



http://www.artnet.com/artists/rudolf-er ... CRXrXF5ww2


And an even more recent earlier 20th century collection of Algerian "Tuareg"... flute or whistle ?

https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM135565


Which takes us to existing examples, beyond that in the paper by Blench. Here is an
Algerian "nomad" gasba, from M'sila or Hodna

https://www.aps.dz/culture/93333-m-sila ... n-du-hodna

Which is lacking in close description but seems similar to the Haritan Neifara at video example 6 [oops meant 7] at

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/10 ... ifara.html

which also seems to be ocarina-flute. Well worth watching example 6 [meant 7] imho. Other videos there, for example 4, show a flute similar to Blench's gasba, and the player seems to cover the end at times ?

Then at

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/10 ... music.html

are clips of Fula transverse tambin flute, which are possibly closer to sub-saharan tradition than the Haritan instruments... or not.

That's all I know.
Mizmar
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Tell us something.: I'm a late starter in music. Other then a year of clarinet age 10. Started sax age 55 and added a little piano but Nay is my proper second installment. Now I'm exploring the whistle. I like fora because it's like chatting in a pub and you learn stuff socially.

Re: ...some more flute history....

Post by Mizmar »

Hi
(As a new member trying to post 3 times without it looking weird) and as a student of Nay, that's a really interesting rubdown.
GreenWood
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Tell us something.: To add to the renaissance flute discussion that is under way. Well, the rest of this field is going to be taken up by a long sentence, which is this one, because a hundred characters are needed before it is accepted.

Re: ...some more flute history....

Post by GreenWood »

Mizmar wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:28 am Hi
(As a new member trying to post 3 times without it looking weird) and as a student of Nay, that's a really interesting rubdown.
Thanks Mizmar, and I wouldn't worry too much about seeming weird... well, they put up with me anyway.
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