The Virtuoso Flute-Player

by Johann George Tromlitz, Ardal Powell, Eileen Hadidian

Overview

This is an English translation of Tutor for Playing the Flute (1791) by Johann George Tromlitz. The most explicit of the eighteenth-century tutors for flute-playing, it now serves as a record of instrumental practice as well as a useful guide to the performance of German classical music. The Tutor covers all aspects of flute playing, including intonation, articulation, flute maintenance, posture and breathing, dynamics, ornaments, musical style, cadenzas, and the construction of the flute. This edition will be an indispensable manual for players of baroque and modern flutes, and the information it contains will be invaluable for all musicians, students, and specialists interested in the historically informed performance of German classical music. The text is annotated with critical notes and all of the original music examples are newly printed in modern notation. The volume also contains a fingering chart and a historical introduction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521399777
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/03/1991
Series:	Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.85(w) x 9.76(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Translator's note; Introduction; Foreword; 1. The flute and its character; 2. Holding the flute, and the embouchure; 3. Fingering; 4. The notes and rests, their values and denominations, and the other musical signs; 5. Time-signatures, and how the notes are divided and counted in them; the beat itself, or counting time according to an appointed tempo; 6. Tone and pure intonation; 7. Modern key-signatures; 8. The articulation proper to this instrument, or the means of governing the wind suitably, as well in slow as in moderately quick movements; also called the single tongue; 9. The technique for executing fast and very fast passages clearly and roundly; also, though improperly, called the double-tongue; 10. The ornaments; 11. The trill; 12. Fermatas and cadenzas; 13. The taking of breath in flute-playing; 14. The discretionary ornaments; or how to vary a simple melody according to the rules of harmony, and to use these variations in a good and suitable way appropriate to the material; 15. Summary of the whole, together with a few remarks for pupils and masters.

Editorial Reviews

"This translation is a valuable resource for any wind player, musician or interested reader. We are indebted to Ardal Powell." Jean Kershaw, Early Music Newsletter

"Ardel Powell's translation of Johann George Tromlitz's Detailed and Thorough Tutor for Playing the Flute...presents an accessible view of musical performance in 1791. It is valuable to modern flutists, one-keyed spcialists, and scholars and performers of late eighteenth-century music. Further, Tromlitz's strong opinions on a variety of musically related topics permit us to share in the life of one of Germany's most prominent flutists, teachers, and instrument designers. Powell's translation is in a comfortable, informal, and tightly-paced style; it is quite readable and very clear...." Leslie Ellen Brown, The Eighteenth Century

From the Publisher