Contrabass flute
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Woodwind instrument | |
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Classification |
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Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.121.12-71 (Side-blown Aerophone with tone holes and keys) |
Playing range | |
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Related instruments | |
Double Contrabass |
The contrabass flute is one of the rarer members of the
Sometimes referred to as the "gentle giant" of the flute family, the contrabass retains the facility for trills, as found elsewhere in the flute world. The contrabass' ease of arpeggiation is moderate and thus equivalent to the rest of the flute family. The contrabass flute requires a much greater air volume to produce sound than most other wind instruments, and a broader, slower air stream is needed to produce a solid tone. The upper registers (middle C and above) lack the tonal strength found in its cousins; the strongest register is arguably between G2 and G3. The low register (below G2) has similar qualities to the bassoon. [1]
Contemporary musicians using the contrabass flute include Paige Dashner Long,
The contrabass flute in C is produced by Jean-Yves Roosen (France),[2] by the Japanese firm Kotato & Fukushima, Eva Kingma, Pearl, Di Zhao, and Christian Jäger from Munich. Jupiter Flutes has created a student model for flute ensembles. Kotato & Fukushima is one of the few sellers of double contrabass flutes.
Contrabass flutes have also been made from PVC pipe by the Dutch flute maker Jelle Hogenhuis.[3] If the wall thickness is kept small, the PVC creates a louder contrabass. PVC can also sustain more rough treatment.
Repertoire
New solo and chamber music is being composed for this instrument. Performer Peter Sheridan has commissioned numerous works from composers worldwide, including Alex Shapiro, Patrick Neher, Vinny Golia, Bruce Lawrence, Adrienne Albert, and Sheridon Stokes.[citation needed] As a virtuoso solo instrument, some concertos have been composed for the contrabass flute. Catherine McMichael composed a concerto for low flutes and orchestra in 2006 entitled 'Three Philosophies', in which one of the movements features the contrabass flute. In April 2008, the well-structured[citation needed] concerto "Bantammer's Swing" for contrabass flute and chamber orchestra by Ned McGowan premiered in Carnegie Hall. In 2010, the 'Lyric Concerto' for contrabass flute and strings was commissioned by Sheridan from the late Australian composer Bruce Lawrence. 'Nola' by composer Benjamin Yusapov was commissioned by the international soloist Matthias Ziegler for multiple low flutes and orchestra. Numerous composers have written for the contrabass flute, including Wil Offermans, Robert Dick, Thomas Seelig, Andrew Downes, Catherine McMichael, Phill Niblock, Günter Steinke, Juan Cerono, Nicolás Medero Larrosa, Fernando Curiel, Mariano Rocca, Angeles Rojas, Jorge Chikiar, Esteban Sebastiani, Valentin Pelisch, and Ezequiel Menalled.[citation needed]
Furthermore, the contrabass flute is utilized more in the
Variations
One variation is a "contrabass flute in G," or a
In popular culture
The contrabass flute is one of the unusual instruments that were chosen to create the signature sound of the Horizon game series.[4]
References
- ^ "The Flutes – Flute Street". Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "Fabrication". Roosen.fr. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-19-537308-0.
- ^ MCV Staff. "Behind the music of Horizon Zero Dawn". MCV Develop. BizMedia. Retrieved 2 May 2023.