Joint Flute Playing

Author(s): Graham Wells

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Early Music, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul., 1976), pp. 369+375
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3125731 .
Accessed: 15/09/2012 16:06
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Early Music.

http://www.jstor.org

Our cartoonist repents

Your humble cartoonist apologizes for

the error so perspicaciously observed by
your reader. While I aim to achieve
authenticity at all times the detail to
which your correspondent refers had
unfortunately eluded me.
I hope to have made amends by
the final comment offered . . .
(below/above/left/right).

ROBERT J. KINDRED, 2 CuckfieldAve.,

St Andrew,Ipswich,Suffolk.
Rushmere

Amat's 'Guitarra Espafiola'

May I reply from this 'lumbering, inefficient' institution which Mr Tyler

takes to task on page 229 of your last
issue, and give the facts.
In 1876, the British Museum acquired an undated copy of Amat's
anonymous work, which was correctly
catalogued according to the rules under
the heading Spanish Guitar with a
reference from Guitarra Espanola. At that

time, the sources of Spanish bibliography were very limited, and the cataloguer assumed, not unreasonably,
from the preface which is dated 1639,
that this was an edition printed in that
year. This copy, as Pujol was rightly informed in 1950, was among the thousands of books destroyed in 1941.
Subsequent research has suggested that
the date in the catalogue [1639] was
probably wrong, and that the destroyed copy was printed at Gerona
some time after 1735, probably by
Antonio Oliva.
In 1955, the British Museum purchased a replacement copy of the book
with the imprint Joseph Bro: Gerona.

From modern bibliographical sources

this was dated [1763] and the book was
placed as at the pressmark of the destroyed copy: 7897.a.3. Amat's authorship was verified at this time, and his
name was added to the main entry
under Spanish Guitar with a reference

players in the group but having tried it

with a friend even this does not work
(although it was a very interesting experience!).
I am, however, still convinced that
there is some cryptic meaning in the
music and offer it to anyone with a
spare hour to see what they can make of

from his heading under Amat (Juan

Carlos). It is quite untrue to state, as Mr it.
I hasten to add that I may quite easily
Tyler does, that 'after 26 years the book
is still not properly entered in the cata- be mistaken but am encouraged by the
fact that another Meissen group is
logue'.
A. H. KING, Music Librarian, The British known which depicts a fox in female
Library, Music Library, Great Russell Street, dress playing a harpsichord. Again the
LondonWC1B3DG
music is carefully depicted, in this case
the Meissen factory was making gentle
James Tyler replies:
fun of a certain soprano by the name of
As recently as 14 December 1975, I
Fuchs and the music reproduced was
looked up Amat's book in the main
indeed the opening of the aria for which
catalogue, found it listed with the shelf she was best known.
mark 7897.a.3, filled in the order slip, GRAHAM WELLS,
SothebyParke Bernet &
waited two-and-a-half hours, and was Co.,34-35 New BondStreet,LondonW1A2AA
told that the book was destroyed. Other Seeillustrationon page375
researchers of my acquaintance have
also been told that the book was des- Boy:righthandon lowerjoint
left handon girl'supperjoint
troyed. If, in the last several months this
Aria
situation has been corrected, then I am
delighted and will certainly try again.

Joint flute playing

I recently had brought to my attention a
rather delightful Meissen porcelain
group which is due to be sold in Sotheby's sale of Important Continental
Porcelain on 13July. It consists of a girl
and a boy, each playing a one-keyed
flute and dates from c. 1760. I say that
each is playing but in fact it is a joint
effort, the boy is playing the lower joint
of his own flute and the upper joint of
the girl's and vice versa.
However, what is perhaps more
interesting is that each figure has before
it a music desk on which music is
printed.
The music is reproduced with great
care, such care that it seems inconceivable that it is not in some way playable. The piece is entitled 'Aria', the key
signature is given as D major and the
time signature as 3/4 (it is actually 3/8).
However, neither part makes immediate musical sense either separately or
as a duet. My first reaction was that it
would be necessary to reproduce the
shared instrument technique of the

Girl: as above

Aria
4.

*A
PON

(* Slightlydubiousnotesareindicated
in brackets)

369

one needs to study thoroughly all the See GrahamWells'sletteronpage369.

Franciolini's fertile
products of
imagination, as well as the genuine old
instruments that he sold to collectors
and museums. We had hoped that Ed
would be the man to untangle that
extraordinary story, but at least he has
made it immeasurably easier for
whoever undertakes the job.
In short, though Edwin Ripin is gone
-and the tragedy of his life was that he
could not finish what he had begun-he
was with us long enough to show us
how to solve a number of fascinating
on The Instrument Catalogs of Leopoldo and important historical problems. In a
Franciolini (Hackensack, New Jersey, real sense, then, he will be with us for a
1974) presents the primary material long time to come, not least of all in the
necessary to a study of one of the most corporate identity of the American
fascinating figures in the instrument Musical Instrument Society, the
world in modern times, the Florentine organization he helped to found and
dealer whose imaginative creations, which he helped to direct in its first
most of them incorporating some bits crucial years of existence.
and pieces of old instruments, may be
theJournal of the
Reprintedwithpermissionfrom
found in many of the world's most AmericanMusicalInstrumentSociety,Vol.2,
famous instrument collections. Some- 2, 1976.

the early clavichord led on to a fresh investigation of the nature of that

mysterious 14th- and 15th-century instrument, the chekker, and to a new
critical approach to the 16th-century
organologist, Sebastian Virdung, unfortunately an unsatisfactory man to
have to acknowledge as the father of
our discipline, since his understanding
of instruments was not alwayscorrect or
free from contradictions. Ed's years as
an instrument curator encouraged him
to consider the differences between
restoration and forgery, and his book

SAVALLI

Only Available Opera Recordings

L'ORMINDO LA IALISTO
John Wakefield

Anne Howells
Peter-Christophe
Runge
Hanneke van Bork
Allister
OJean
Cu6nod
Hugues
with supporting cast
ZNF 8-10
libretto)

(3 records boxed with

Janet Baker

Ileana Cotrubas
James Bowman
Ugo Trama
HuguesCu6nod
Owen Brannigan
Federico Davia
with The Glyndebourne Festival
Opera Chorus
ZNF 11 -1 2 (2 records boxed with
libretto)

both with The London Philharmonic Orchestra

conducted by Raymond Leppard

Argo A dovisionof The Decca Record Company Limited Decca House Albert Embankment London SE17SW

375