Renaissance transverse flute

history, construction and experiment with Brazilian woods

Authors

Keywords:

Renaissance transverse flute, Renaissance music, Musical instruments making, Brazilian woods in instrument making

Abstract

Originated from the German Querflöte from the 12th century, the Renaissance transverse flute reached its highest popularity between the 16th and 17th centuries. Like several other acoustical musical instruments, the Renaissance transverse flute has its material selection, as well as its construction technique dictated by tradition and intuitive generalization rather than by scientific empirical research. This paper presents a brief history of Renaissance flutes and their making. We also have evaluated, in a qualitative way, the relevance of material selection for the instrument features. So far, it was possible to show the feasibility of a nontraditional wood choice, as Brazilian woods (such as imbuia and sucupira) were chosen to build and yielded good exemplars of this instrument.

Author Biographies

  • Rodrigo Bueno Ferreira, University of Paraná (Brazil) - (UFPR)

    Rodrigo Bueno Ferreira is graduated in Luteria (2011) and in Letters (2009); Master in Linguistics (2013); and doctoral student in Linguistic Studies at the Federal University of Paraná. He is a member of the research groups Language and Culture UFPR/CNPq and Luteria UFPR/CNPq. He has works related to luthier, fictional communication and Pragmatics.

  • Henry Maas, University of Paraná (Brazil) - (UFPR)

    Henry Maas is graduated in Technology in Luteria by the Federal University of Paraná (2012), with habilitation in electric instruments. He is interested in musical instruments design, color theories and auxiliary software in woodworking.

  • Luiz Cesar Savi, University of Paraná (Brazil) - (UFPR)

    Luiz Cesar Savi graduated in Technology in Luteria (2011) and Statistics (2000) from the Federal University of Paraná and in Economics (1986) from the Federal University of Santa Catarina; he is a specialist in Finance from the Business Development Center of the School of Business Administration and Economics (1993). He served as a professor in the Economics department of the Itajaí Valley Education Foundation, as a maintenance systems analyst at Centrais Elétricas do Suldo Brasil S. A. and as Financial Administration superintendent at Itaipu Binacional.

  • Thiago Corrêa de Freitas, University of Paraná (Brazil) - (UFPR)

    Thiago Corrêa de Freitas holds a bachelor's degree in Physics (2007); a master's degree in Physics (2009); and a PhD in Physics (2012) from the Federal University of Paraná. An amateur violinist, he participated in courses such as the Curitiba Music Workshops and was a member of the UFPR Philharmonic Orchestra. He is vice-coordinator and professor of Acoustics in the Technology in Luteria course at UFPR and researcher in the Luteria research group UFPR/CNPq, in the Acoustics and Musical Instruments Functioning line.

  • Aloísio Leoni Schmid, University of Paraná (Brazil) - (UFPR)

    Aloísio Leoni Schmid is a mechanical engineer (1990), with master's degree (1993) and doctorate (1996) in Engineering, working at UFPR since 1997. He teaches scientific methodology and subjects related to heat, illumination, air and acoustics in buildings in the undergraduate course in Architecture and Urbanism, and Master in Civil Construction Engineering. He has also worked in the coordination of the Luteria course, and is currently head of the Department of Architecture and Urbanism at UFPR. At UFPR, he researches building simulation and has developed his own applications, which include analysis and auralization in room acoustics. He has a long extensionist practice, working in projects and events related to the dissemination of chamber music. 

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Published

2015-06-10

Issue

Section

Articles in Portuguese/Spanish

How to Cite

“Renaissance Transverse Flute: History, Construction and Experiment With Brazilian Woods”. 2015. Per Musi, no. 31 (June): 1-15. https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/permusi/article/view/38651.

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