Wonderful sound ...I knew a lady who had a Couesnon flute and it had a wonderful vibrant ring to the sound ..much of what we hear nowadays lacks the passionate resonance despite all sorts of vibrato technique. The Bizet is wonderful ...Thanks for upload.
My flute teacher actually studied with Marcel Moÿese for a brief period, so listening to these old recordings is quite interesting. Moÿse obviously plays the romantic repertoire very well - and maybe mot so much the baroque music. But back then, they probably didn't know any better, in terms of how to switch between different playing-styles. And I have to say, it's a somewhat strange experience for me to hear the Handel Minuet being performed almost like a Lullaby. Also, it's a bit peculiar to witness, how Moÿse in the following Handel Allegro seems to be deliberately avoiding the low register on his flute, and instead plays certain passages an octave higher than Handel wrote them. But in all fairness, this could easily have been the result of Moÿse playing from one of those horrible non-Urtext editions, that were available to flutists back in the day.
The Handel was written up the octave like that in the Schwedler Edition (Peters). I notice all sorts of strange things in the older editions, and back then they did not have such books as the Quantz treatise to study from.
Oh, yes - now I recall that I actually started playing the Handel flute sonatas from that dreadful Schwedler Edition. And I immediately trashed it, as soon as I got hold of the much better - and also more authentic - Waldemar Woehl Edition (Peters)
These early recordings were made when Moyse played a LEBRET flute...of Maillechort...not silver. You can hear the wonderful vibrancy in his tone in the upper middle and high registers.... where silver flutes go dead! Why do flutists all over the world spend fortunes on silver/gold/platinum when it is so clear from these recordings that to get a truly vibrant tone you need a vibrant metal? If you do not believe me then listen also to Gaston Crunelle. He played a Maillechort COUESNON.
i assume that... maybe flutists nowdays look for instrument that projects longer distance at a bigger volume, hence the denser metals. many modern compositions also seem to require such sonority. german silver, nickel silver, maillechort, all alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc etc.... call it by what you may, but i learned from searching that the very precise metal composition of that era, cannot be reproduced exactly the same. also, back in those times, flutes were virtually all handmade, after numerous hammering of the metal. (that process changes the alloy metal density) so that makes the remaining antique flutes treasured rarity. maybe the modern nickel flutes do not resonate as the antique maillechort flutes do. or do they? i really wonder. is it the metal, or is it the exquisite craft used in the making process? if you compare handmade nickel flute to a machine made silverflute, which would sound better? but the flute companies would not make exquisite handmade nickelflutes, (unless custom-made by order) because it won't sell as well as silver/gold flutes.
Quelle leçon de musique! Nous devrions nous en inspirer de nos jours. La flute est une voix qui doit vibrer et exprimer des sentiments. Le son pour le son n'a pas de sens.
Wonderful sound ...I knew a lady who had a Couesnon flute and it had a wonderful vibrant ring to the sound ..much of what we hear nowadays lacks the passionate resonance despite all sorts of vibrato technique. The Bizet is wonderful ...Thanks for upload.
Qué sonido tan impecable del maestro Moyse
Thank you for posting this!
My flute teacher actually studied with Marcel Moÿese for a brief period, so listening to these old recordings is quite interesting.
Moÿse obviously plays the romantic repertoire very well - and maybe mot so much the baroque music. But back then, they probably didn't know any better, in terms of how to switch between different playing-styles. And I have to say, it's a somewhat strange experience for me to hear the Handel Minuet being performed almost like a Lullaby.
Also, it's a bit peculiar to witness, how Moÿse in the following Handel Allegro seems to be deliberately avoiding the low register on his flute, and instead plays certain passages an octave higher than Handel wrote them. But in all fairness, this could easily have been the result of Moÿse playing from one of those horrible non-Urtext editions, that were available to flutists back in the day.
The Handel was written up the octave like that in the Schwedler Edition (Peters). I notice all sorts of strange things in the older editions, and back then they did not have such books as the Quantz treatise to study from.
Oh, yes - now I recall that I actually started playing the Handel flute sonatas from that dreadful Schwedler Edition. And I immediately trashed it, as soon as I got hold of the much better - and also more authentic - Waldemar Woehl Edition (Peters)
Bizet 3:06 Handel 6:42
These early recordings were made when Moyse played a LEBRET flute...of Maillechort...not silver. You can hear the wonderful vibrancy in his tone in the upper middle and high registers.... where silver flutes go dead! Why do flutists all over the world spend fortunes on silver/gold/platinum when it is so clear from these recordings that to get a truly vibrant tone you need a vibrant metal? If you do not believe me then listen also to Gaston Crunelle. He played a Maillechort COUESNON.
You are right.
There were a few around Dublin in the 1960 who played Couesnon...including a former Moyse pupil ..Andre Prieur (R I P ) whom I heard a few times
Incredible!
i assume that... maybe flutists nowdays look for instrument that projects longer distance at a bigger volume, hence the denser metals. many modern compositions also seem to require such sonority.
german silver, nickel silver, maillechort, all alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc etc.... call it by what you may, but i learned from searching that the very precise metal composition of that era, cannot be reproduced exactly the same.
also, back in those times, flutes were virtually all handmade, after numerous hammering of the metal. (that process changes the alloy metal density) so that makes the remaining antique flutes treasured rarity.
maybe the modern nickel flutes do not resonate as the antique maillechort flutes do.
or do they? i really wonder.
is it the metal, or is it the exquisite craft used in the making process?
if you compare handmade nickel flute to a machine made silverflute, which would sound better?
but the flute companies would not make exquisite handmade nickelflutes, (unless custom-made by order) because it won't sell as well as silver/gold flutes.
Quelle leçon de musique! Nous devrions nous en inspirer de nos jours. La flute est une voix qui doit vibrer et exprimer des sentiments. Le son pour le son n'a pas de sens.
Le son c'est d'abord le flûtiste.