F Flute
for squealing variations. These sparkling (but utterly trivial) compositions are usually in the polka or waltz form, and Bousquet, Donjon, and othersAs Solo
Instrument have written several pieces of this kind for two piccolos. But such things are only tolerable in a very large hall or in the open air, where they are often performed by military bands. A piccolo solo in the drawing-room is not to be tolerated save by those who are stone-deaf.
In military bands various other sizes of piccolo are used. The French use one in D♭, a minor 9th higher than the concert flute, whilst the Italians preferMilitary
Varieties one in E♭.[1] These are practically never used in orchestra, the only instances of which I am aware being Schumann's Paradise and the Peri, Berlioz's Symphonie Funebre (as originally written for a military band), and Spohr's overture The Fall of Babylon; in all of which the D♭ piccolo is used.
Flute being usually written in flat keys. The only variety ever found in orchestral works is the F flute, sometimes called the Tierce, or Third Flute, as it sounds a minor third above the concert flute. It is less piercing than the piccolo, and has more vigour than the C flute. It is introduced by Mozart in the original score of L'Enlevement au Serail, by Spohr in
85
- ↑ Jullien in his Zouave's Band (1856) had one piccolo in F♯, one in D♭, one F flute and two concert flutes.
