Edward R.

Reilly

Quantz and the transverse flute

Some aspects of his practice and thought regarding the instrument

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pitches, the end which Quantz wished to reach with
The low tuning of Quantz is no longer used; departed with it
are Quantz's flutes, Quantz's concertos, and the true art of
his second key, is characteristic of his approach to
playing them, without which they suffer indescribably. Now
that flute. At a time when woodwind instruments
there are perhaps no more than three people in Berlin who
still know the way to play them. were often played badly out of tune,3 he was anxious
to achieve an extraordinarily acute distinction be-
HIS brief statement, which appeared in the tween pitches. The kind of distinction at which he
T last volume (1792) of the Anekdoten von Konig aimed, however, may at first puzzle some modern
Friedrich von Preufien, edited by Christoph Friedrich performers, since it is based on conceptions that dif-
Nicolai (1733-1811),1 suggests the vital relationships fer from those widely held today. Quantz accepted a
that exist between pitch, the characteristics of a per- so-called mean-tone system of tuning, in which en-
former's instrument, the style of a composition, and harmonic forms of a pitch were clearly distin-
the manner in which it is played. As a composer, a guished. DS differed perceptibly from EkThe new
performer, a teacher, and a manufacturer of flutes, key was named after the former pitch to set off its
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) was directly usage from that of the earlier El- key. Contrary to
concerned with all of these matters. When we come modern notions, however, E!> was slightly higher
to consider his activity in the sphere of flute making, (specifically by the interval of a comma) than Dl.
his goals as an accomplished performer and as a Quantz's views in this regard coincided with many
knowledgeable composer must be kept constantly in of his predecessors and contemporaries.4 This cen-
mind. tral concern with pitch (and temperament) was to
remain a dominant factor on several levels in his
Quantz's contributions to the development of the subsequent attempts to further improve the instru-
flute ment. But one must remember that the bases then
Quantz himself notes in his Versuch einer accepted for tuning often differed fundamentally
Anweisung die Flote traversiere zu spielen (1752) and from modern views.
in his 'LebenslauP (1754, published 1755), that his In his autobiography Quantz reports that it was in
concern with improving the properties of the flute the year 1739 that 'because of the lack of good flutes,
initially showed itself in Paris in 1726, when he 'had I began to bore and tune them myself.5 In the same
the second key added to the transverse flute for the work he also mentions that in 1752, the year in which
first time'.2 Although the idea was his, it is clear the Versuch appeared, he discovered a tuning slide
from the manner in which he reports the develop- which could be introduced into the headpiece.6 Out-
ment that he had the work done at that time by wardly the second key, together with this tuning
someone else. slide and a movable plug in the headpiece, the in-
Improved discrimination between enharmonic vention of which is attributed in another source to

Edward R. Reilly is the author of a variety of studies on Quantz, Mahler and Musorgsky.

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997 429

Quantz's teacher Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin (c.1690- when removed from the headpiece. The movable
1768),7 remained the most obvious characteristic fea- plug was felt to be essential for both good tone and
tures of Quantz's instruments, or instruments built correct intonation. As we can see from some of
to his specifications. Quantz's surviving flutes, at the time that he wrote
We are fortunate in having an excellent 18th- the Versuch six different middle pieces were often
century engraving of a Quantz instrument with an made for a single instrument, so that the flautist
accompanying illustration of the plug and tuning could choose to play in any of the many different
slide. These pictures were prepared for an article on pitches then in use. Quantz notes that 'Six middle
Quantz's instruments by F. D. Castilon (dates un- pieces now form an interval a little larger than a
known), published in 1777 in volume 3 of the Supple- major semitone, which the construction of the flute
ment to the historic Encydopedie of Denis Diderot permits with no detriment to true intonation; and
(illus.2). Thus far, all that is known about Castilon if it is necessary, two more middle pieces can be

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(also spelled Castillon) is provided in the Avertisse- added'.10 Without some adjustment in the length of
ment of the Supplement. There he is cited as the son the headpiece, however, both tone and intonation
of J. Castillon, and both are mentioned as members suffered with some of the middle pieces. The pur-
of the Akademie in Berlin; this suggests how he came pose of the movable plug was to permit the necessary
to know of Quantz's flutes, but does not explain how correction in the length of the instrument to pre-
the flautist's name is systematically misspelled serve good intonation and the best possible tone.
'Quautz' in the article. J. Castillon is most probably Quantz indicated, as did Castilon, that the plug was
Jean Francois Salvemini de Castillon (1709-91), who made of cork, but Castilon suggested the substitu-
was born in Castiglione in Italy, studied in France, tion of several discs of leather, since they were less
and was ultimately brought by Frederick the Great to likely to wear out and require replacement.
Berlin, where he became director of the mathematics The tuning slide was in reality a device to extend
class at the Akademie. His son's article and its illus- still farther the total available pitch levels on the in-
trations—first discovered by the late Erich Half- strument, or to avoid the use of so many middle
penny8—are,' in spite of the curious misspelling, pieces. Quantz knew of earlier attempts to introduce
extraordinarily valuable sources of information. In such a slide in the foot of the instrument, but con-
Fig. 15 in the illustration the larger curved key covers cluded that it produced serious problems with re-
the hole which produces DS; the smaller straight one gard to the pitch of many notes. By shifting the slide
covers the Et hole. Each key is also employed in fin- to the head, however, he believed that the problems
gerings for other sharpened or flatted notes in the were solved: "... with it one can make a flute a half
scale, as shown in Quantz's fingering charts.9 Fig. 16 tone higher or lower without changing the middle
shows the plug and the tuning slide as they appear pieces and without damaging pure intonation'.11

./• n;

2 Engravings illustrating F. D. Castilon's article on Quantz's flutes in vol.3 (1777) of the Supplement to the Encydopedie

430 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1 9 9 7

Castilon, however, notes that 'M. Quantz usually
made two heads for each flute',12 one with the slide
and one without, which suggests that Quantz felt
that the one without the addition still had certain
advantages. Castilon also comments:
The divided head which may be lengthened saves the trouble
of having to carry so many upper middle joints. Three, used
in conjunction with the sliding head should suffice for all
practical conditions and enable one to play the instrument in
pitch anywhere. But observe that, since the tuning-slide does
not alter the proportions of the rest of the instrument, the
less one uses it without changing joints, the better will be the
intonation.13
Thus the device would seem to require more care
than Quantz suggests.
Quantz's role in the manufacture of flutes
The specific wording of Quantz's statement about
boring and tuning his instruments indicates that he
did not consider himself an instrument maker in the
usual sense. Rather he was a musician who under-
took the most difficult and critical phases of the
work, but left the more mechanical aspects to skilled
craftsmen whom he supervised. Perhaps because he
did not want to be exclusively connected with the
trade of instrument making, or because much of his
work was especially for the king, his instruments
bear no maker's stamp or sign. In a manuscript ac-
count of his life that he wrote for the historian and
theorist Padre Martini (1706-1784), Quantz reports
that the 'flutes which the king uses, and my own, I
have manufactured in my own fashion and tune
them myself. It should also be remembered that be-
cause of his other activities as a composer, performer
and teacher, Quantz scarcely had the time to devote
himself completely to flute making.
If the majority of his instruments were intended
for the king and himself, however, other customers
were also found. In a letter to an unidentified noble,
dated 11 February 1756, the contents of which are pre-
served in part in a dealer's catalogue, Quantz offers
'a transverse flute of the kind described in my Ver-
such die Flote zu spielen [sic], bored and truly tuned
by me, and indeed made of boxwood with six middle
pieces, [which] may be had for 7 louis d'or. Of ebony
I have thus far let none go except to His Royal
Majesty.'15
A further account in Nicolai's Anekdoten of
Quantz's activities in the field of flute making con-
firms the procedure already outlined, and provides
some details about his preferences in woods.
Already in Dresden Quantz had made many observations on
the true tuning of the notes of the flute. He knew how diffi-
cult it is to play in tune on this instrument. He sought to
remedy this defect [and] had his flutes turned [as on a lathe]
with great care from the best wood, then himself very care-
fully measured off the tuning, and bored the holes of the
flute himself. But he also maintained that the flute then must
be and must remain truly tuned in itself.16 At times the King
ordered trunks of all kinds of foreign hardwoods for Quantz;
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Quantz tested every kind and found ebony the best; and yet
he distinguished carefully between ebony of different kinds
with regard to its usability for flutes. He assured me that a
trunk of ebony which the King had received from Portugal in
the year 1766 and had presented to him as a gift was the best
that he had ever had.17
Quantz's liking for ebony, which he says 'produces
the clearest and most beautiful tone', is also made
clear in the Versuch, where he lists all the woods then
commonly used.18
In the light of the above evidence from Quantz
himself and from a source who was obviously close
to him, it is difficult or impossible to lend credence
to the assertions of Johann Georg Tromlitz (1725-
1805) in his (Jber die Flbten mit mehreren Klappen
(1800, and thus later than Nicolai). He states flatly
that Quantz 'himself never did any work on flutes,
but only indicated what he wanted to the instru-
ment maker who worked for him'; and later 'I have
already said that Quantz made no flutes with his
own hands, but only indicated his ideas'.'9
Although, after the selection of the wood, Quantz
did not take care of the preliminary turning, Trom-
litz clearly seems to have erred in denying him a
direct role in the flute making process. All other
earlier sources agree that he measured and bored
the holes himself.
Other sources, notably Frederick the Great
(1712-86) and his sister Wilhelmine (1709-58), the
Margravine of Bayreuth, confirm Quantz's continu-
ing activity as a manufacturer and seller of flutes,
and his responsibility for the quality of his instru-
ments.
Wilhelmine, in a letter dated 16 May 1741 to her
brother, reports that 'Quantz is also here. [He taught
Wilhelmine's husband, the Margrave of Bayreuth as
EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997 431

3 A Quantzfluteformerly in the collection of the Margrave of Baden, now in the Leipzig Instrumenten-Museum (photo:
E. Dehne-Nieman)
well as Frederick.] His embouchure has grown much
stronger. He makes his flutes himself; that may well
contribute [to the improvement].>2° Frederick's let-
ters while he was on campaign during the second
Silesian War in 1745 indicate how specific and
demanding he was with regard to the qualities of his
instruments. They also confirm that different char-
acteristics were expected in different instruments. In
October from the Sohr he wrote to his servant, Fred-
ersdorf: 'Quantz is to make me two new flutes—but
very special ones—one with a strong tone and one
that is easily blown and has a sweet high register, and
he is to keep them until my return.'21 On 7 October
he noted 'here [I] send some pieces of my good flutes
which have been found again. Give them to Quantz,
so that he can replace the others.'" And on 9 Octo-
ber, 'I have received Quantz's flute, but it is not very
good. I have given Quantz one that is better to keep
for me. Give it to me in Berlin.'23
Another of Nicolai's anecdotes about Frederick
and Quantz has to do with the quality and care of
one of the latter's instruments.
432 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1 9 9 7
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In the forties, when the King was still at his liveliest, he had
received a new flute from Quantz. It did not seem to quite
satisfy him, and after he had played on it several times he
told Quantz that the flute was not quite in tune. This was to
attack Quantz from the side on which he was most sensitive.
Quantz was Inwardly annoyed, but defended the flute. The
King seemed satisfied, but the following day renewed his
complaints. Quantz took the flute from the King's hand,
played on it himself, and affirmed that the flute produced all
of the tones truly. The King maintained that it was untrue
even when played by Quantz himself. This was more than
Quantz could endure. He lost his self-control; a little
exchange developed, and at last Quantz said vehemently. 'If a
great lord could bear to hear the truth, Your Majesty would
know that [the fault] does not lie in the flute, and where it
[actually] does lie'. The King took a couple of steps backward
and said rather violently. 'What's that? I am not supposed to
be able to endure the truth? Tell me what is "true"'. Very
dryly and crossly Quantz said: 'I havefrequentlybegged Your
Majesty not to hold the flute in your hand or under your arm
after you have played it, but to lay it on the table; but you
still do the former, and the flute sounds untrue because it is
warmed unequally, not because it is out of tune in itself'.
Very piqued, the King replied: 'That is not true!' and turned
around.
In the following days the King played on another flute,
but did not look at Quantz or say a word to him. Quantz, on
his side, gave the King no 'Bravo!' So it went for about eight
days. Then at the beginning of the concert the King came up
to Quantz and said with a friendly air: 'My dear Quantz, I
have tested the flute in various ways for eight days, and have
found that you are right. I will no longer allow the flute to
become warm in my hand.' Quantz himself told me this
story. As insignificant as it may seem, it still may be rather
characteristic. — The situation in which great lords are told
the truth point-blank and bluntly, and the manner in which
they behave in such rare circumstances, suggests many con-
clusions about their disposition.24
Among the special conditions with which Freder-
ick attracted Quantz from Dresden to his service in
Berlin in 1741 (when the flautist was 44 years old) was
a separate payment of 'one hundred ducats for each
flute that I supply'.25 That he actually received such
payments is confirmed by two surviving receipts, the
earlier of which is now in the Dayton C. Miller Col-
lection at the Library of Congress. Dated 23 Novem-
ber 1751, it is for 1,100 Reichstaler for four flutes. (At
the time, according to J. Zimmermann, 100 ducats
equalled about 300 talers.) Another receipt, dated 25
October 1754, is for 1,000 talers for three flutes and
seven concertos.26 The specific amount for the in-
struments as compared to the music is not indicated.
Quantz's preferences as to pitch and sonority
While the more overt special features of Quantz's in-
struments, such as the second key and the tuning
slide, reflect his concern about obtaining the best
possible intonation, the overall size of his flutes,
which are considerably greater than most other in-
struments of the times, and their larger interior bore,
reveal his preference for a low basic pitch and a vocal
ideal of flute sonority. F. D. Castilon begins his de-
scription of Quantz's flutes by noting: 'Firstly,
Quantz's flutes are longer, of wider bore and thicker
in the wood than ordinary flutes. Consequently they
have a tone of more weight, lustiness and sonority,
but a more limited compass.'27 The dimensions of
surviving instruments offer a concrete record of the
inner and outer structure of his flutes.28
Quantz himself provides a considerable amount
of information about his views of pitch standards
and sonority. In discussing the pitch that should
be used in tuning an orchestra, he recommends
the 'so-called German A chamber pitch' as a mean
between 'the very low French chamber pitch and the
very high Venetian pitch'.29 His recommendation,
however, is a pragmatic one, to maintain the best
qualities of the majority of instruments in the en-
semble, rather than the ideal pitch for each different
type of instrument. As a flautist Quantz's preference
is for the lowest available standard. In choosing a
pitch for an orchestra, 'I do not wish to argue for the
very low French chamber pitch, although it is the
most advantageous for the transverse flute [emphasis
mine], the oboe, the bassoon, and some other in-
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struments; but neither can I approve of the very high
Venetian pitch, since in it the wind instruments
sound much too disagreeable ... the very high pitch
would finally make a cross-pipe again of the trans-
verse flute ...'3° Earlier, Quantz in fact credits the
lowering of the old German choir pitch to the intro-
duction of new standards 'after the French had
transformed the German cross-pipe into the trans-
verse flute, the shawm into the oboe, and the bom-
bard into the bassoon, using their lower and more
agreeable pitch .. .'31 Thus the then rather new addi-
tion of a key to the transverse flute was associated
from birth with a lower pitch standard; and although
'It is undeniable that the high pitch is much more
penetrating than the low one, ... it is much less
pleasing, moving, and majestic.'32
Another aspect of Quantz's concern with pitch is
linked to the actual tuning of the instrument, a mat-
ter in which he again differed somewhat from his
contemporaries. Castilon once more provides a suc-
cinct summary of Quantz's preferences and their
justifications.
M. Quantz's flutes differ from all others in their tuning. Usu-
ally the F on the transverse flute is notflatenough and the FS
is correct; in his, on the contrary, the F is true and the FS a
little flat. ...
Rarely, if ever, is music written in the key of Fi, either
major or minor, but very often in F major and minor. The Fi
appears but seldom as a tonic, and it is much better to have
the F in tune, since it is the keynote of a tonality not only
much used, but one of the most beautiful on the flute. Fi,
when it appears, could easily be tempered by the
embouchure; but as it stands [i.e. on the one-keyed flute] ?'.
remains a bad note.33
Quantz's liking for a low tuning is connected in
turn with other deliberate choices that affected the
strengths and limitations of his instruments. Some
EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997 433
of the basic elements in his teaching centre around
the importance of vocal ideals and models. Holding
up good singing as a guide for instrumental perfor-
mance was certainly not peculiar to Quantz; both
predecessors and successors urged a similar course,
and arias with obbligato flute parts concretely sug-
gest the fusion of vocal and instrumental ideals. But
Quantz advocated the instrumental embodiment of
vocal models in much more specific ways than most
other teachers. For the kind of sonority that he
wanted from the flute, he indicated the ideal of a
lower voice:
In general the most pleasing tone quality [sonus] on the flute sings masterfully; yet they themselves crowd the Adagio with
is that which more nearly resembles a contralto than a sop- so many graces and wild runs, that you would take it for a
rano, or which imitates the chest tones of the human voice.
You must strive as much as possible to acquire the tone qual- Adagio in it any more.37
ity of those flute players who know how to produce a clear,
penetrating, thick, round, masculine, and withal pleasing
sound from the instrument.34
Sonority, however, was only one aspect of the vocal
ideal. Quantz also felt that the natural range of the
flute was one that did not far exceed that of the
human voice. Quantz's upper limit in his composi-
tions was e"\ although his fingering chart extended
to a"", and he provided fingerings for additional
notes up to e"" in his response to his Danish critic
Joachim von Moldenit.35 Unlike later flautists and
flute makers, Quantz had no desire to extend the
upper limits of his instrument. He criticized the
excessive use of the upper register even on the
violin, where the high notes could be sounded
with a much more agreeable quality than on the
flute. Speaking of contemporary Italian violinists,
he said:
They seek the greatest beauty at the very place where it is not
to be found, to wit, the extremely high register, or at the end
of the fingerboard; they climb about in the high register like
somnambulists upon the rooftops, and meanwhile neglect
the truly beautiful, depriving the instrument of the gravity
and agreeableness which the thick strings are capable of
giving it.36
After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of
Vivaldi and Tartini, Quantz summarized his criti-
cism in a way that showed how specifically he held
to the ideals of good singing in many other aspects
of performance.
I have not cited these two celebrated and, in more than one
respect, worthy men to assess their merits, or to disparage
434 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997
the genuinely good things they have done. My only purpose
has been to reveal to some extent the reason why present-day
Italian instrumentalists, particularly violinists, have adopted
a style so contrary to good singing style, although a style
which is good and true ought to be universal. Some among
them do not lack either knowledge of, or feeling for, that
which pertains to good singing; yet they do not try to imitate
it upon their instruments, finding that which they hold
excellent among the singers too poor and too slight upon
their instruments. They praise the singer if he sings distinctly
and expressively, but consider it good to play obscurely and
without expression upon their instruments. They approve of
the singer's modest and flattering execution, while their own
is wild and eccentric. If the singer makes no more embellish-
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ments in the Adagio than the melody permits, they say he
jocular Allegro, and can scarcely perceive the qualities of an
Quantz's autobiography confirms that he was
speaking out of extensive personal experience. In
that work he provides many more detailed descrip-
tions of notable singers than he does of instrument-
alists. And in acknowledging the influence of the
violinist Johan Georg Pisendel (1687-1755) in the
formation of his own style, Quantz notes that
Pisendel had studied as a young boy with the
great Italian teacher of singing Francesco Antonio
Pistocchi (1659-1726).38 In addition to Pisendel's
influence, he points out that he 'owes not a little
to the attention that I have always paid to good
singers, especially in matters of taste'.39 Speaking
of the wealth of his musical experiences in Dresden,
he adds: 'The beautiful church music, the excellent
operas, and the exceptional virtuosos in singing
which I could hear in Dresden brought me ever new
pleasures and constantly set me on fire.'40
Changing views after Quantz
Some of Quantz's teachings transcend the time in
which he lived, and remain as pertinent today to
performance as they were when he wrote them.
Certain of his ideals with regard to flute sonority,
pitch, range and style of performance, however,
were already under attack in the latter decades of
the 18th century. The clearest and most vehement
challenges are found in the Bemerkungen iiber
die Flote, und Versuch einer kurzen Anleitung zur
besseren Einrichtung und Behandlung derselben
(1782) by Justus Johannes Heinrich Ribock
(1743-C.1785), a physician who also took a serious
interest in possible improvements in the flute.
Ribock criticizes Quantz's instruments on virtually
all grounds. Their tone is 'hollow and like a hunting
horn', and is mistakenly called 'full'.41 The actual
fullness of the tone is variable and inconsistent. The
instruments have no very high register, and 'speak
with difficulty above e'".' 'Herr Kirst in Potsdam
[i.e. Friedrich Gabriel Kirst (c.1750-1806)], although
he is supposed to be a pupil of Herr Grenser [prob-
same vocal ideal as that espoused by Quantz and the
singers of the earlier part of the century.
Tromlitz also differed from Quantz in a number
of specific matters connected with the structure of
the flute, such as the use of a tuning slide in the head-
piece. He claimed that one could be better used in
the foot.44 He continued to advocate Quantz's sec-
ond key, and went on to experiment with the addi-
tion of many other keys. His flutes, too, mark a new
era. What is perhaps surprising, however, is that
Quantz's Versuch was reissued in a second edition in

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ably Carl Augustin Grenser (1720-1807)] now works
wholly in accordance with Quantzian manner and
measure',42 and his instruments have most of the
same problems. Although Kirst has attempted to
improve the Quantz model by making the rim of
the mouth hole less blunt, a tendency to hiss or
'whisper' has resulted.43
Ribock shows a clear preference for a high basic
pitch, and for the flutes of Grenser and Tromlitz. Al-
though some of his comments, such as that about
the range of Quantz's flutes, have some actual basis,
one must approach Ribock's statements with care.
His views obviously reflect changes in taste with re-
gard to flute tone, pitch, the use of a more extended
upper register and—not least—new styles of com-
position in the latter part of the 18th century. Ribock
still upholds a vocal ideal, but it is no longer the
1780, two years before Ribock's study, and in a third
edition in 1789. Tromlitz's Ausfiihrlicher und
griindlicher Unterricht die Flote zu spielen, the most
important new work on the flute from the end of the
century, appeared only in 1791, and still owed a very
substantial debt to its predecessor, in spite of the
many changes that had taken place in the instrument
and its music in the intervening years.
Although it is tempting to see the history of
instruments in terms of mechanical 'improvements'
in their manufacture—and there has been a strong
tendency to link these developments with techno-
-logical progress—Quantz's flutes suggest that at
times musical ideals and goals may be much more
influential, and may guide the shaping of instru-
ments more specifically and concretely than is often
realized.

This article was begun some years ago
for a proposed catalogue of the Dorothy
and Robert Rosenbaum Collection, in
Scarsdale New York, which included a
Quantz flute. It draws on my earlier
discussion in E. R. Reilly, Quantz and
his Versuch: three studies (New York,
197')-
1 'Die Quanzische [sic] tiefe Stimmung
wird nicht mehr gebraucht; weg sind
mit ihr sind Quanzens Floten,
Quanzens Koncerte [sic] und die wahre
Art sie zu spielen, ohne welche sie
unbeschreiblich verlieren. Vielleicht
sind jetzt nicht mehr drey Personen in
Berlin, welche die Art sie zu spielen
noch kenne.' C. F. Nicolai, Anekdoten
von Kb'nig Friedrich II. von Preufien,
und von einigen Personen, die um ihn
waren, 6 vols. (Berlin and Stettin: F.
Nicolai, 1788-92), vi, §70. Quantz and
Nicolai were familiar with each other
through their membership in a Friday
evening club, which also included the
poet Ramler (1725-98) and the greatest
literary figure of the period, Lessing
(1729-81). A letter from Quantz to
Nicolai is reproduced in the article
on Quantz by Fritz Bose in Musik in
Geschichte und Gegenwart, x (Kassel,
1962), cols. 1,799-1,800. It is not
certain, however, whether Nicolai
is always reporting from his direct
experience in his references to Quantz,
or whether he obtained some of his
material from other members of the
circle or the court musical establish-
ment.
2 '... liefi ich zum erstenmale, der
Flotetraversiere die zweyte Klappe
zusetzen.' 'Herrn Johann Joachim
Quantztens Lebenslauf, von ihm selbst
entworfen', in F. W. Marpurg, Histor-
isch-kritische Beytrage zur Aufnahme
der Musik, i (1755), p.239. A facsimile
of this work appears in W. Kahl,
Selbstbiographien deutscher Musiker des
XVIII. Jahrhunderts (Cologne, 1948),
pp.104-57, and an English translation
in P. Nettl, Forgotten musicians (New
York, 1951), pp.280-319. The references
in this study, however, are newly trans-
lated. For Quantz's report on the addi-
tion of the second key in his Versuch,
see Quantz, On playing the flute, ed.
and trans. E. R. Reilly (London,
2/1985), pp.31, 46. For an extensive list
of the various editions and translations
of the Versuch, see part 1 of the biblio-
graphy of this translation. Since
reprints of the Versuch are numerous
and easily obtainable, 1 have not repro-
duced the original German texts of the
passages that I quote here.

EARLY M U S I C AUGUST 1997 435


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Our QUANTZ flute
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, in Berlin, Hamamatsu,
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436 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST I 9 9 7
3 Quantz himself reports that when he
first attempted to become acquainted
with Alessandro Scarlatti that Scarlatti
told their mutual friend J. A. Hasse
'My son ... you know that I cannot
endure players of wind instruments:
they all play out of tune.' ('Mein Sohn
... ihr wisset, dass ich die blasenden
Instrumentisten nicht leiden kann:
denn sie blasen alle falsch.') After hear-
ing Quantz, however, he wrote a pair
of flute sonatas for him. See Quantz,
'Lebenslauf, p.228.
4 For a helpful introduction to matters
of pitch during Quantz's day and in the
following period, see J. H. Chesnut,
'Mozart's teaching of intonation',
Journal oftheAmercian Muskological
Society, xxx (1977), pp.254-71. Unlike
many other discussions of pitch, that of
Chesnut does not limit itself to the
consideration of keyboard instru-
ments. On the persistence of this
approach to tuning in the work of
Tromlitz, see also Ardall Powell's com-
mentary to his translation of Johann
Georg Tromlitz, Ueber die Fldten mit
mehrern Klappen; deren Anwendung
und Nutzen (Leipzig, 1800), as The
keyedflute(Oxford 1996), pp.42-4,53.
5 'Wegen Mangels guter Fldten fieng
ich im Jahre 1739 an, selbst welche zu
bohren, und abzustimmen...':
Quantz, 'Lebenslauf, p.247.
6 Quantz, 'Lebenslauf, pp.248-9.
7 A. Mahaut, Nieuwe manier om
binnen korten tyd op de dwarsfluit to
leeren speelen I NouveUe Mithode pour
apprendre en peu de temps a jouer de
la flute traversiere (Amsterdam: J. J.
Hummel, and Paris: La Chevardiere,
1759; R/Geneva, 1972); trans. P. E.
Durichen in Divisions: a journal of the
art & practice of early musk, i/i (Sep
1978), pp.19-34. and i/2 (Dec 1978),
pp.28-46; also trans. E. Hadidian as A
new method for learning to play the
transverseflute(Bloomington, IN
1989).
8 E. Halfpenny, 'A French commen-
tary on Quantz', Music and letters,
xxxvii (1956), pp.61-6.
9 Quantz, On playing the flute,
pp.42-3. An autographfingeringchart
by Quantz, used by Frederick the
Great, is reproduced in the article in
MGG by F. Bose, cited in n.i above,
cols. 1,803-4.
10 Quantz, On playing theflute,p.32.
11 '... vermittelst dessen man dieselbe,
ohne Wechselung der Mittelstucke,
und ohne der reinen Stimmung Ein-
trag zu thun, um einen halben Ton
defer oder hdher machen kann'.
Quantz, 'Lebenslauf', pp.248-9.
12 Quoted in Halfpenny, 'A French
commentary on Quantz', p.65.
13 Halfpenny, 'A French commentary
on Quantz', p.66.
Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ at Simon Fraser University on May 30, 2015
14 'I Flauti dei quale il Re [sijserve,
ed i miei proprii ho fabrricati a modo
mio, e gli intono io medesimo'.
Quantz, untitled autograph account of
his life for Padre Martini, dated Berlin,
14 April 1762, in the Civico Museo
Bibliografico Musicale, Bologna.
Item 4234 in A. Schnoebelen, Padre
Martini's collection of letters in the
Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale in
Bologna (New York, 1979). Although
this account coincides in part with the
'Lebenslauf, there are some differ-
ences between the two works.
15 '... eine, von mir ausgebohrte und
rein abgestimmte Fldte traverso, wie
selbige in meinem Versuch die Fldte
zu spielen, beschreiben, zu bekommen
ist, und zwar von Buchsbaum mit 6
Mittelstucken a 7 Louisd'or [sic],
Vom Ebenholtz, habe ich noch bis
dato, aufier an Sr. K. Maj: keine weg
gegeben.' Listed as item 775, p.89, in an
auction catalogue for 21-3 May 1909 by
the Berlin dealer Leo Liepmannsohn.
16 That is, by properly selecting the
appropriate middle piece, and adjust-
ing the plug and tuning slide.
17 'Quanz hatte schon in Dresden viele
Bemerkungen liber die reine Temper-
atur der Tone auf der Fldte gemacht.
Er wufite wie schwer es ist, auf diesem
Instrumente rein zu spielen; er suchte
diesem Mangel abzuhelfen, liefi seine
Fldten aus dem besten Holze mit
grosser Sorgfalt drehen, theilte
nach[h]er die Stimmung selbst sehr
genau ab, and bohrte die Ldcher der
Fldte selbst. Aber er behauptete als-
denn auch, das mit einiger Vorsicht,
die Fldte in sich selbst rein gestimmt
seyn und bleiben musse; (Der Kdnig
liefi fur Quanzen zuweilen Stammer
von allerhand Arten fremden harten
Holzes kommen; Quanz probierte alle
Arten, und fand das Ebenholz als das
vorziiglichste; und noch unterschied er
sehr unter Ebenholz und Ebenholz in
Absicht der Brauchbarkeit zu Floten.
Er versicherte mir, dass ein Stamm
Ebenholz, den der Konig im J. 1766 aus
Portugal erhalten und ihm zum
Geschenk gemacht hatte, der beste
ware, den er je gehabt habe.)' Nicolai,
Anekdoten, vi, § 71. The parentheses are
Nicolai's.
18 Quantz, On playing the flute,
PP-34-5-
19 '... selbst hat nie etwas an Floten
gemacht, sondern er sagte nur seine
Meynbung den Instrumentenmacher,
der fur ihn arbeitet...' 'Ich habe schon
gesagt, dass Quanz keine Floten mit
eigener Hand gemacht sondern seine
Gedanken nur angegeben habe.'
Tromlitz, Ueber die Floten mit
mehreren Klappen, pp.132-3, and The
keyed flute, pp.168-9. The translation
in the text, however, is mine. Ardall
Powell, in The keyed flute, pp.239-42,
has uncovered and translated another
article by Tromlitz, 'Abhandlung
iiber den schonen Ton auf der Flote'
(published in the Allgemeine musika-
lische Zeitung, Jan 1800), in which
Tromlitz goes so far as to say 'Since
Quanz was not an educated man, he
cannot have written his book: Essay of
a Method of Playing the Flute himself,
but he had to entrust it to a man of
letters who had much musical know-
ledge' (p.242). It seems quite likely that
Quantz would ask for advice and criti-
cism when writing the Versuch, but to
suggest that he had to entrust the
actual writing to someone else because
of the lack of formal education says
more about the arrogance of Tromlitz
than the actual facts of the matter.
20 'Auch Quantz ist hier; er ist im
Ansatz viel starker geworden. Seine
Floten macht er sich selbst; das mag
wohl dazu beitragen.' Quoted in Kahl,
Selbstbiographien, p.276.
21 'Quantz Sol mihr doch 2 Neiie
Flothen Machen, aber recht extraordi-
naire, eine Mit den Starken Thon, und
eine die Sich Leichte blasset und eine
Douce hohe hat, und Sol sie behalten
bis zu Meiner Retour.' Friedrich II,
Briefe an Fredersdorf (Berlin, 1926),
p.56.
22 'Hihr schike [ich] Dir einige Stiicke,
So von Meiner guhten flote wieder-
FLUTES
gefunden worden, gebe es an quantz,
dass er die andern [TheileJ dazu
after
wieder-mache.' Friedrich II, Briefe an
Fredersdorf, p.58. QUANTZ
23 'Die Flote von quantz habe [ich]
gekrigt, sie ist aber nicht recht guht. ich
habe quantzen eine in Verwahrung and
gegeben, die ist besser. Gib sie mihr
in berlin ...': Friedrich II, Briefe an many other
Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ at Simon Fraser University on May 30, 2015
Fredersdorf, p.58.
24 'In der vierziger Jahren, wo de
masters
Konig noch am lebhaftesten war, hatte
Er von Quanz eine neue Flote bekom- ofthe
men. Sie schien Ihm nicht recht zu
gefallen, und nachdem er einigemal 18th century
darauf gespielt hatte, sagte Er zu
Quanzen, die Flote sey nicht recht rein. S©
Das hiefi Quanzen von der Seite Ange-
griffen, wo er am empfindlichsten war. made to
Quantz argerte sich innerlich, aber ver-
theidigte die Flote. Der Konig schien your order
zufrieden zu seyn; aber den folgenden
Tag erneuerte er die Klage. Quanz
nahm dem Konige die Flote aus der
with
Hand, spielte selbst darauf, und ver-
sicherte, die Flote gebe all Tone rein I • care
an. Der Konig behauptete, selbst von
Quanzen gespielt, sey sie unrein. Diess by
war mehr als Quanz vertragen konnte.
Er kam aufier Fassung; es entstand ein FRIEDRICH
kleiner Wortwechsel, und Quanz sagte
endlich mit Heftigkeit: "wenn ein von
grosser Herr es vertragen konnte die
Wahrheit zu horen; so wurden Ew. HUENE
Majestat gleich wissen, daS es nicht an
der Flote liegt, und voran es liegt." Der
Konig trat ein paar Schritte zuriick und
sagte etwas heftig: "Wie? Was? Ich
sollte die Wahrheit nicht vertragen
konnen? Sage Er was 'wahr' ist". Quanz
sagte ganz trocken und verdrieBlich:
"Ich habe Ew. Majestat mehrmals
gebeten, Sie mochten die Flote, nach-
dem Sie gespielt haben, nicht in die
Hand, oder unterm Arm nehmen, son- 65 Boylston Street
dern sie auf den Tisch legen; Sie thun
aber jenes doch, und die Flote klingt Brookline, MA
unrein, weil sie ungleich erwarmt wird, USA 02146
nicht weil sie an sich unrein ist". Der
Konig, sehr pikirt, antwortet: "Es ist Tel. 617.277.8690
nicht wahr!" und kehrt sich um.
Fax 617.277.7217
'Der Konig spielte die folgenden
Tage auf einer anderen Flote, sah aber
EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997 437
Quanzen nicht an und sprach kein
Wort mit ihm: Quanz hingegen gab
dem Konige kein Bravo! So ging es
ungefahr acht Tage. Da kam der Konig
beym Anfange des Konzerts auf
Quanzen zu, und sagte mit freund-
licher Miene: "Mein lieber Quanz, ich
habe die Flote seit acht Tagen auf ver-
schiedene Art untersucht und habe
nun gefunden, dafi Er Recht hat. Ich
werde die Flote nicht mehr in der
Hand warm werden lassen". Diese
Geschichte erzahlte mir Quanz selbst.
So geringfugig sie scheinen mochte,
konnte sie doch vielleicht ziemlich
charakteristisch seyn.—Der Fall, dafi
grofien Herren geradezu und derb
die Wahrheit gesagt wird, und die
Art, wie sie sich in so seltenen Fallen
benehmen, lafit viel auf ihre einnere
Besinnung schliefien'. Nicolai,
Anekdoten, vi,§7i.
25 '... hundert Dukaten fur jede Flote
die ich liefern wiirde ...': Quantz,
'Lebenslauf', p.248.
26 J. Zimmermann, 'Die Flotenmacher
Friedrichs des Grofie', offprint from
the Zeitschrift fur Instrumentenbau
(Breslau, 1940), p.13. The receipt men-
tioned is reproduced in the same work,
p.12, and also in H. Kolbel, Von der
Flote (Cologne, 1966), p.149. The loca-
tion of the second receipt is unknown
to me. It was advertised in a sale
catalogue for 20—21 November 1978
at Sotheby's.
27 Quoted in Halfpenny, 'A French
commentary on Quantz', p.65.
28 On surviving flutes by Quantz, see
G. Miiller. 'Die Quantz'schen Konigs-
Floten', Zeitschrift fur Istrumentenbau,
lii (1932), pp.248—41; Reilly, Quantz and
his Versuch, pp.103-4; the manuscript
notes of Dayton C. Miller in the
Library of Congress on the Quantz
instruments that he examined (and in
one case purchased) in Europe before
World War II; F. von Huene, 'Six
Quantz flutes', Continuo, an early
music magazine, x/3 (Feb 1980), pp.9ff.;
M. Seyfrit, Musical instruments in
the Dayton C. Miller Collection at the
Library of Congress: a catalogue, i:
Recorders,fifes,and simple system
transverse flutes of one key (Washing-
ton, DC, 1982), Quantz flute listed as
438 EARLY M U S I C AUGUST
no.208, with bore graph and X-ray; and
J. Solum, The early flute (Oxford, 1992),
pp.39-49. The Rosenbaum Quantz
flute mentioned in n.i above was
acquired as part of the Rosenbaum col-
lection by a Japanese consortium and is
now in storage in Hamamatsu. For the
dimensions of that instrument, as well
as photographs of it, see L. Libin and
R. A. Lehman, Historic flutes from pri-
vate collections (New York, 1986). In
1995 a previously unknown Quantz
flute appeared in an auction of the col-
lection of the Margrave of Baden; it is
described together with another flute
in the Leipzig Instrumenten-Museum
in E. Dehne-Nieman, 'Zum 300.
Geburtstag: zwei unbekannte Quantz
Floten neu entdeckt', Tibia, xxii (1997),
pp.365—6. In a supplementary report in
the following issue of Tibia, the same
author further identifies the Leipzig
flute as one that before World War II
was in the Hohenzollern-Museum in
Berlin. Some modern makers of rep-
licas of Quantz-style flutes include
Friedrich von Huene, Folkers and
Powell, Philippe Allan-Dupres, Stefan
Beck and Jean-Francois Beaudin.
29 Quantz, On playing the flute, p.268.
30 Quantz, On playing the flute, p.268.
31 Quantz, On playing the flute, p.267
32 Quantz, On playing the flute, p.268.
33 Quoted in Halfpenny, 'A French
commentary on Quantz', pp.65-6. The
keys of Quantz's sonatas and concertos
confirm Castilon's remarks about the
frequency of F major as compared to Ft
major and minor. F minor, however, is
not used 'very often'.
34 Quantz, On playing the flute, p.50.
See also M. Zadro, 'Quantz and flute
tone in Prussia', Divisions, i/4 (no
month, 1980), pp.32-6.
35 Quantz, 'Hrn. Johann Joachim
Quanzens [sic] Antwort auf des Herrn
von Moldenit gedrucktes so genanntes
Schreiben an Hrn. Quanz nebst einigen
Anmerkungen iiber dessen Versuch
einer Anweisung die Flote traversiere
zu spielen', in F. W. Marpurg, Histor-
isch-kritische Beytrage zur Aufnahme
derMusik, iv (1759), p.187.
1997
36 Quantz, On playing the flute,
pp.325-6.
37 Quantz, On playing the flute, p.325.
38 Quantz, 'Lebenslauf, pp.210-11.
39 Quantz, 'Lebenslauf, p.211. 'Die
Aufmerksamkeit, die ich jederzeit auf
gute Sanger gewendet, habe ich gleich-
fals in dem, was den Geschmacke
anbetrifft, nicht wenig zu danken.'
40 Quantz, 'Lebenslauf, p.245. 'Die
schbne Kirchenmusik, die vortreflichen
Opern, und die ausnehmenden Virtu-
Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ at Simon Fraser University on May 30, 2015
osen im Singen, welche ich in Dresden
horen konte, brachten mir immer
neues Vergniigen , und setzeten mich
immer in neues Feuer'.
41 'Sehr hohl und waldhornisirend ...';
'... fiir voll misskannt': Ribock,
Bemerkungen iiber die Flote (Stendal:
D. C. Franzen und Grofie, 1782), p.32.
For additional information on Ribock,
see Ardall Powell's introduction to
Tromlitz, The keyed flute, pp.20-22
42 Ribock, p.32."... Und vom e'"an
schon schwer anspricht ..." 'Herr Kirst
in Potsdam, ob er zwar ein Schiiler von
Herrn Grenser sein soil, arbeitet ietzt
ganzlich nach quantzische Art und
Mesur.' Other possible members of
the Grenser family are Carl Augustin
Grenser jun. (1756—1814) and Johann
Heinrich Welhelm Grenser (1764-
1812), although the last seems improba-
ble because of his age. Once again, for
further material on the Grenser family
and on Kirst, see Ardal Powell's essay
'Flutemaking in the late eighteenth
century', in Tromlitz, The keyed flute,
pp.177-218. It is by far the most
important recent exploration of the
subject.
43 Ribock, p.33, 'Lispeln'.
44 J. G. Tromlitz, Ausfiihrlicher und
griindlicher Unterricht die Flote zu spie-
len (Leipzig: A. F. Bohme, 1791; RJ
Amsterdam, 1973), p.23. For further
references to specific aspects of
Quantz's flutes, see especially pp.14,19.
An excellent English version of the
entire work appeared as The virtuoso
flute-player, trans. A. Powell with
an introduction by E. Hadidian
(Cambridge, 1991).
 JOHANN J. QUANTZ 1697 -1773
TITLES FEATURED IN THE MUSICA RARA EDITION, FRANCE
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CONCERTO IN D MINOR

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EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997 439

 Announcing a new series
IT ORPHEUS IT ORPHEUS
TASTAR DE CORDE
il liuto traslitterato per tastiera EDIZIOM

First publication
GIOVANNI GIROLAMO KAPSPERGER
INTAVOLATURA DI LIUTO. LIBRO PRIMO (Roma, 1611)

Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ at Simon Fraser University on May 30, 2015

transliterated into staff notation by
Kenneth Gilbert
This important work, essential to
an understanding of Italian instru-
mental style in the early XVIIth cen-
tury, has been available until now
only in facsimile editions of the origi-
nal lute tablature. It contains eight
IL LIUTO TRASLITTERATO PER TASTIERA
toccate, twelve galliarde and twelve
correnti, constituting Kapsperger's
only surviving lute book.
Kenneth Gilbert, using a newly
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger elaborated technique of transcrip-
tion, has sought to make the work
Intavolatura di liuto available for study and performance
on keyboard instruments (harpsi-
Libro primo chord, clavichord, Lautenwerk) as
well as on baroque harp and bass
a cura di Kenneth Gilbert viol.
The Preface (in Italian, English
and French) outlines the transcrip-
tion method used throughout the
series and provides a brief note on
the composer and the work, together
with critical notes, facsimiles, trans-
.EDIZIOM literation tables and a selected bib-
liography.
Lit. 35.000

UT ORPHfcUS ED1ZIONI
Palazzo de' Strazzaroli - Piazza di Pona Ravegnana 1
40126 BOLOGNA - ITALY
TEL. 39/51/225468
FAX 39/51/239295
www.utorphcus.com

440 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1997