Contrabass flute: Difference between revisions

Sometimes referred to as the "gentle giant" of the flute family, theThe contrabass retains the facility for [[trill (music)|trill]]s, as found elsewhere in the flute world. The contrabass' ease of [[Arpeggio|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 instrument|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]]. <ref>{{CitationCite web needed|title=The Flutes – Flute Street |url=https://flutestreet.ca/the-flutes/ |access-date=November2023-04-30 2022|language=en-CA}}</ref>

Contemporary musicians using the contrabass flute include Paige Dashner Long, [[Andy Findon]], Laura Hyder, [[Madeleine Bischof]], [[Pierre-Yves Artaud]], [[Matthias Ziegler]], [[Stefan Keller]], [http://www.nedmcgowan.com Ned McGowan], Peter Sheridan, Patricia García, [[Sérgio Morais]], [[David Lamont]], andPatrick Shaw Iversen, [[Vinny Golia]] and [[André 3000]]. Golia plays all flute sizes and recorded the CD ''Music for Like Instruments: The Flutes with a quartet of three other flutists''.{{cn|date=February Due2024}} to the price and rarity of this instrument, few people have explored this instrument.

The contrabass flute in C is produced by Jean-Yves Roosen (France),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roosen.fr/index.php/fabrication/|title=Fabrication|website=Roosen.fr|access-date=21 April 2021}}</ref> by the Japanese firm Kotato & Fukushima, Eva Kingma, Pearl, Di Zhao, and Christian Jäger from Munich. Jupiter flutesFlutes 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 [[polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] pipe by the Dutch flute maker Jelle Hogenhuis.<ref>{{CitationCite book |last=Toff |first=Nancy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NwENAG82r24C |title=The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers needed|date=November2012-09-13 2022|publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0-19-537308-0 |language=en}}</ref> If the wall thickness is kept small, the PVC creates a louder contrabass. PVC can also sustain more rough treatment.

New solo and chamber music is being composed for this instrument, and. performerPerformer 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|date=August 2019}} 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|date=August 2019}} 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 (composer)|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|date=August 2019}}

Furthermore, the contrabass flute is utilized more in the [[flute choir]], with most newer pieces including a part for the instrument. {{citation needed|date=August 2019}} Though the part is either a duplicate or simplification of the bass flute part for many pieces, some of the newest repertoires include an independent contrabass flute part. Composers of such pieces include Peter Senchuk, Toby Caplan-Stonefield, Lawrence Ink, Phyllis Avidan Louke, and Judy Nishimura, among others.

One variation is a "contrabass flute in G," or a [[contra-alto flute]] technically, as it is pitched a fourth below the [[bass flute]] and an octave lower than the [[alto flute]]. Another instrument is the [[subcontrabass flute|sub-contrabass flute]] in G, pitched one octave below the contra-alto flute or two octaves below the alto flute in G. Kotato & Fukushima also produce a "subcontrabasssub-contrabass flute in C", or [[double contrabass flute]] pitched a full octave below the contrabass flute.