Appendix I.
Early Instruction Books for the Transverse Flute.
The earliest known book of instructions for the transverse flute is Hotteterre's Principés de la Flute Traversière ou Flute d'Allemagne, de la Flute-à-bec ou Flute Douce, et du Hautbois, first published by Christophe Ballard in Paris in 1707; this was re-issued in 1713, 1720, 1722, and again, with additions, in 1741. Several editions (some pirated) appeared in Amsterdam (1708, 1710, and 1728) and in London. This extremely rare little book gives full instructions, tables of fingerings, directions as to breathing, position of the player (whom he advises to practise before a mirror), and two pictures of flutes, but it contains no music. The author also wrote a number of sonatas or suites, rondos, and other short solos for one or two flutes (see p. 37 ante); trios for flute, violin, and oboe (some of which still exist in the Bibliotheque National in Paris and in Brussels, but none have ever been re-published); and "The Art of Preluding on the Transverse Flute" (1712)—probably the earliest book of studies for the instrument—and a Method for the musette (1737). Hotteterre's famous work was copied, with the addition of some music (simple airs and duets, the fingering of each note being given), by Michel Corrette in his Methode pour apprendre aisément a jouer de la Flûte Traversière (Paris,? 1710). This book is praised by Hawkins. Corrette had a school of music under the Jesuits in Paris, which Fetis tells us was not a success, his pupils being termed "les anachorétes" (i.e., "les anes á Corrette").
The earliest English instruction book now in existence appeared in 1730-31. It is entitled The Modern Musick-Master or the Universal Musician, containing the Newest Method for Learners in [inter alia] the German Flute as Improved by the Greatest Masters of the age (Peter Prelleur. London: Bow Church Yard). This curious work contains separate parts dealing with the violin, German flute, flute-à-bec, hautboy, and harpsichord, giving a collection of airs from Handel's operas, minuets, rigadoons, etc., and a duet, "Se il cor," from Ptolemy, arranged for two transverse flutes. It is illustrated with artistic pictures of players performing on each instrument, and the frontispiece shows a group of persons performing on them all, including one playing a long transverse flute. This instrument is treated of in vol. ii. The scale given "of all the notes and half-notes" extends from low D to high G, as in Hotteterre's book, the top F♮ being omitted as hopelessly imperfect. A table of beats or shakes is also included. The author recommends the syllables Tu-Ku for tongueing. At the end there is an advertisement of Handel's operas Julius Cæsar, Tamerlane, and Rodelinda transposed for the flute. It was evidently a popular work, as it ran through four editions in a few years.
In the same year Johann Christian Schickhard published Principes de la Flute, etc., in Amsterdam; and in 1759 A. Mahault, of that city, issued a tutor which Fetis describes as "one of the first truly methodical works for the flute." About the same period Francesco Geminiani published in London Rules for Playing in a true taste on the German Flute, etc., . . . as exemplified in a variety of Compositions. This work is mentioned by Burney.
The year 1752 was marked by the appearance of Quantz's famous Instructions for the Transversa Flute, with twenty-four pages of music. It was originally published in Berlin, and was dedicated to Frederick the Great. This work was at once translated into French, and in 1754 a Dutch translation by J. W. Lustig appeared in Amsterdam. It was reprinted in German in 1780 and in 1789, and has been recently re-edited by Dr. Arnold Schering, of Leipsic (1906). There is also an incomplete English translation. This was much the largest and most complete book of instructions that had as yet appeared, and it obtained a lasting and widespread celebrity. Quantz gives elaborate directions as to improving the tune of the imperfect notes on the old one-keyed flute, and he recommends every flute-player, if possible, to learn how to make a flute himself—which was all very well at that time, but would be rather difficult nowadays. His table of fingering is very peculiar: in addition to the use of the alternative D♯ E♭ keys, he often gives different fingerings for the same note—e.g, A♯ and B♭, B♯ and C♮, B♮ and C♭, etc. His system of tongueing was attacked by a Danish amateur flautist and composer named Joachim de Moldenit, to whom Quantz replied in Marpurg's essays. The very rare Italian book, A. Lorenzoni's Saggio per ben Sonare il Flauto traverso (Vicenza, 1779), was founded on Quantz, as were also most of the numerous tutors (English and foreign) which appeared towards the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. To give details of these would be wearisome to my readers; suffice it to say that the principal English ones were those of Wragg (1790), Gunn (1793), and Nicholson (1820).