Eighteen Preludes from Boismortier op. 22

performed by Rob Turner
 

The Vingt-deux.éme Oeuvre de Mr Boismortier, Contenant Diverses pieces pour une Flûte-Traversiere seule avec des Preludes sur tous les tons, et des Seconds Dessus adjoûtés, propres pour ceux qui commencent à jouer de cet Instrument; ou pour ceux qui sont dans le goût des Brunettes. [sic] was published in Paris by the author, Boivin, and le Clerc in 1728.  The preludes included in this work are actually in eighteen of the twenty-four possible keys.  Although playing in this range of tonalities may stretch the technical limits of many modern players of the one-keyed transverse flute, it was an ideal for eighteenth century professional players.

In his 1719 publication L’Art de Préluder Jacques-Martin Hotteterre suggests that flutists must be able to accompany voices in any key and therefore must learn to play in all keys, and he actually introduces all twenty-four keys.  Both works, however, indicate certain keys that are little used (peu usitè).  Hotteterre points out the little-used keys, while Boismortier seems tacitly to acknowledge them by the number of pieces in each key – the more familiar, “flute-friendly” keys have more dances and character pieces following the prelude, while some of the most obscure keys are represented solely by a prelude.

Boismortier’s op. 22 preludes also decrease in length from the “easiest” keys to the most “difficult” (twenty measures for D-Major, nineteen for G-Major, etc., but thirteen for B-Major, eleven for c-sharp minor, and only nine for f-sharp minor).  The intended use of this work as a practical tutor is also borne out by the “added” second voice, which serves as a tuning reference for the student, who would have played the “solo” melody.

The flute heard here is my own instrument based on the three-piece Chevalier flute in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Its pitch is ca. a=405.

N. B. I have followed the orthography of the original publications, which is not always consistent and which is often different from modern practice.
 

 D-major
 e-minor
 G-major
 b-minor
 A-major
 g-minor
 C-major
 d-minor
 F-major
 a-minor
 B-flatmajor
 c-minor
 E-major
 f-minor
 E-flat major
 f-sharp minor
 B-major
 c-sharp minor