Four-part Naust 1710 ("the missing link")
I came across this unusual original in a private collection in Boston, MA. It is possibly the earliest surviving four-part baroque flute, and although it is made in four parts it shows some elements that are typical of earlier, three-part instruments, such as the long cap, the massive ivory ornament in the headjoint socket, and the foot profile with its extra little ornamental ring below the key flap. The division between the left and right hand joints is also unusual, with the socket found at the bottom of the left hand joint.
There is no ivory ring on this socket, possibly in order to hide the fact that this flute is made in four rather than three parts.
In many ways this is an instrument that is experimental and seems to be the “missing link” between three- and four-part baroque flutes. Made in an exotic wood, probably lignum vitae, the original plays wonderfully at A=398Hz.
In many ways this is an instrument that is experimental and seems to be the “missing link” between three- and four-part baroque flutes. Made in an exotic wood, probably lignum vitae, the original plays wonderfully at A=398Hz.
