One-handed flute
The one-handed flute is a longitudinal flute that is played by the fingers of only one hand. The fingers of the other hand are free to play a rhythm instrument , usually a drum , in the Pyrenees often a tambourin à cordes .
The sound generation corresponds to that of the recorder and other beaked flutes . The one-handed flute is played with the thumb, index and middle finger only, and then only uses the overtones from the octave upwards. The three finger holes serve like the valves of the trumpet to fill in the gaps between the natural tones .
The second type of game is with all five fingers of the hand. The finger holes for the thumb and little finger are at the back (basal), the others at the front (distal) of the flute. This type of flute uses the ground and second octave and is only widespread in Catalonia ( Flabiol ), all other western European areas of distribution - southern Spain ( Gaita charra ), Aragón (Chiflo, Gaita), Basque Country (Txistu, Xirula), southern France (Galoubet), England (Tabor-pipe) - have the three-finger variant.
Flabiol
The Catalan flabiol (also fluviol in the spoken language ) probably derives from the French flageolet . In ancient times, shepherds and wandering playmakers and drivers used flabiols, which were made of cane or boxwood. Today's flutes are made of ebony. The Flabiol has a length of 22-25 cm. The original Flabiol had two thumb holes on the basal part and four finger holes on the top. At the end of the 19th century the number of holes was increased to three on the base and five on the top. In addition, the flute was equipped with a key mechanism to generate semitones. The Flabiol is tuned in F major. It sounds 11 notes higher than it appears in the notation. Its range is two octaves from e3 to e5. The sound is produced by opening and closing the flaps. Chromatic halftones are achieved by partially closing the holes.
In the line-up of the Cobla , also known as the Sardana Orchestra , the Flabiol is simply represented. The player plays the flabiol with the left hand and at the same time a rhythm instrument , the tamborí (also called tambal ), with the right hand. This minstrel practice was still widespread across Europe in the 13th century. Today this variety can only be found in the retreat at the foot of the Pyrenees in Catalonia and in the Basque Country. The Flabiol is always used for the introduction and the counterpoint (an intermediate introduction) of the Sardana. Even if the flabiol does not play a leading role in the cobla, some sardana composers have included small flabiol pieces or solo passages in their works.
The Catalan idiom "anar darrera d'algú amb un flabiol sonant" refers to the sharp, penetrating tone of the instrument, which makes any verbal communication difficult.
literature
- Jeremy Montagu: Was the Tabor Pipe Always as We Know It? In: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 50, March 1997, pp. 16-30
- Brockhaus Riemann, Musiklexikon: Article "Einhandflöte" ("Flabiol"), Digital Library Volume 38, Berlin 2004, Directmedia, ISBN 3-89853-438-3 , Article "Einhandflöte", also "Flabiol" with forwarding to "Einhandflöte", there also a description of the whole of Europe from the 9th to the 19th century. popular musician's practice of the one-handed flute together with a snare drum or another percussion instrument
- Enciclopèdia Catalana (editor): Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1st edition, volume 7, Barcelona 1974, ISBN 84-300-6029-4 (for volume 7), page 499, article "flabiol"
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ after: Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1st edition, article “flabiol”; Literally in German: "Chasing after someone with a sounding Flabiol" or "Chasing after someone who plays a Flabiol" in the sense of: "Addressing someone in vain because they don't listen or don't want to listen"