If only Gustav Leonhardt had recorded the other movements of the Bach Partita! There's so much depth in this rendition, whether in terms of sound quality, understanding, and internalization of the music that I feel like you really get a glimpse of the universe.✨

While we can't play more notes than physically possible on the traverso, we can create some acoustical effects with the means that we DO have to expand our sound and expression. That means, understanding our instrument by experimenting with:

✅Slowing down the airspeed, reducing air pressure so that we get a pure tone with minimal noise around the sound.

✅Dropping the lower jaw and opening the nose to create more space and depth in the sound.

✅Training the lips to be flexible and knowing exactly how to move between registers. For example, the lips need to be a bit forward for the higher register, along with just a slightly higher air pressure. However, these are absolutely micro maneuvers which need to be internalized like a string player knowing exactly where to place the finger on the fingerboard. This feeling of security also requires great physical strength, which can only be built over time. Practicing with harmonics can be a good approach for this. Make sure you still create the best sound possible for the harmonic tones.
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✅At the end, it's like a singer who knows where each note is coming from in their body. You can test this by going over the piece of music inside you without your instrument, perhaps also fingering along. Can you recreate that sensation of playing, can you feel how the air would move inside you, how the embouchure would feel, how and where each note would resonate in your body?

I thought to use Bart Kuijken's recording of the Mozart C Major Flute Quartet as an example. Start from around 7:42 and listen especially to these phrases that involve only a few "simple" notes (the simpler the more difficult!). You'll hear that Bart's sound is completely calm, "straight" without the modern concept of vibrato, yet supple and flexible. It embodies musical tension which draws one's attention and leads you along note after note, phrase after phrase. Especially from the middle to higher register on the flute, we actually need an incredible amount of physical strength and support (strength in the embouchure and strength to manage the breath) so that it sounds elegant and deeply meaningful.  It is the way for us to bring out the essence of the expression AND to experience maximum joy and connection with this music. This is the way to create what I like to call a 3-dimensional sound.

As they say in German, "Strength lies in tranquility" (In der Ruhe liegt die Kraft)!

These are passages from J.S. Bach's St. John Passion. We often have to play in flat keys in this piece, and should you have problems with the high Bb that it's too sharp, especially when you want to accent it, try using a kind of tonguing that's further back in the mouth to minimize the "explosion". Use a "D" and experiment with how far back you'd tongue and compare the effects. Also, a very slight nudge or "pump" of air would suffice and imagine using "warm" air rather than just sheer blowing "cold" air (the point is to decrease unnecessary pressure). There's no need to make this huge and it's more fun to be in tune with your oboe colleague.👌
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Another option might be even using A#, which will be lower in pitch. It'll probably be less useful here, but keep it in mind in other places and find out what works for YOU. Everyone and every flute is different, but knowing your options and finding your solutions is what makes baroque flute playing so exciting!🥳

We are once again slowly approaching the Easter season! I thought it would be useful to share one alternate fingering which I feel is an absolute must-know for baroque flutists. Namely, the second octave B-natural fingered as such: xoo xxx x

X means the hole is closed, which means for the key, you must not press on it.

When fingering this B with the standard fingering xoo ooo o, this note can be a little flat. The alternate fingering gives a higher pitch, and also allows us to play it with very little air, which makes blending with other instruments a lot easier. Make sure to bring down the pitch somewhat (using slow air) and since it speaks very easily, it's a great fingering to enable playing pianissimo AND not worry about being flat. The B can sit relaxed on top in delicate situations.

​One such delicate situation is the opening chorus of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion, where the first flute part of both orchestras are in unison with the first oboe. We'll look at the bracketed passage specifically. Because of the quite exotic harmony and the presence of notes like A# and G#, this passage deserves special care in terms of intonation and sound color. It works best if you can imagine you're wrapping around the oboe sound or dissolving into it. I've found myself using the alternate fingering for all of the B's here, and sometimes also in m. 6. Practice this passage with a drone on B. If you can play it soft, well in focus, and in tune, you'll be on the good way to playing well with your oboe colleague. Your lips should feel overall soft, relaxed, and no need to squeeze or pinch. I imagine it might be similar to walking on a tight rope with much confidence. If your lips end up trembling (or also your airstream for that matter), it means that you haven't developed the necessary fine muscles yet. Be patient with yourself and just keep practicing to build up this inner strength, your body will need time to trust and internalize all this coordination between embouchure and air moderation.

I would also suggesting using Gb instead of F# when in combination with G#. (xxx oxx o, another great fingering to discuss another time!). This gives you the chance to use similar techniques for groups of notes so that you can play efficiently and not needing to adjust much. We can thus define this passage as generally needing very little air, slow air, drawing the lips forward for focus and bringing the pitch down. You may have to watch that the A# is not too low, it should suffice if you'd aim a little higher with your lips. Due to the nature of this note, keep it soft and diffused so that you're not competing with the oboe on it. It works best to just stay in the background. 

If you substitute the B natural with the regular fingering or use the regular F# along with G#, you'll have to make huge adjustments to compensate along the way, making this passage a clumsy act. We'd lose pureness, homogeneity, and flexibility in sound, which then causes difficulty to blend well with others. We always want to achieve the maximum with the minimum. 

With quick changes between the higher and lower registers, the key to this phrase is letting the air go so that we create that sense of movement. This needs to happen basically in every bar. Lighten up a bit as you play the 8th notes in kind of a bouncy staccato style, and really retract the breath as the notes go up in m. 2. The C should hardly sound and only needs a wisp of air. 

We'll also have to decide what are the various nuances within a dynamic range. The most "energetic" measures are 2 and 4, the two 16th notes really propel the music forward and up into the air. M. 2 is a leap out of our low register and m. 4 goes even higher, plus the rest gives another element of suspense. Thus m. 4 contains the most tension out of all. To create that intensification, make the D sound a little longer and do less of a diminuendo compared to the parallel note in m. 2. We'd still want to retract the breath somewhat, but at the same time there's an intensification of intention which is almost like a crescendo. Also, don't worry about "being on time" after the 8th rest - it's much desired and far more effective to let your listeners hang a bit before the music carries on. The entire sonata has this playful use of rests as a powerful expression.  Keep in mind that all this will also depend on the acoustics - you may need to lengthen notes in a dry location, or stretch the rest even longer in a resonant one. These are all nuances on the micro-level but they'll make a noticeable difference. 

To summarize, I'd say that my intention is to show how the energy bounces around in this phrase. My intention is to create suspense through the phrase and lead my listener from one place to the next. Continuing with my image from last time, each measure in this phrase is like a "strand" of water which makes up this entire waterfall. Each of them has a specific shape, but they all contribute to one form, one gesture, one story. 

Many thanks to those who came out to our NFA talk last night! And for those who had to miss it, I'll share the YouTube link when it's up.

Here's a snippet of my part of the presentation, where I talk about not being afraid of irregularities in baroque music:

Let's go back to the original meaning of the word "baroque", which has French and Portugese roots referring to an imperfect pearl. Although symmetry was important, baroque art also liked to celebrate a certain bizarreness. Take a look at that extravagant chalice from the Dresden royal treasures.

We can find this parallel in music too. So for example, towards the end of Bach's Bourrée Angloise in his A minor Partita, I would recommend separating the E from the 16ths and make it a pickup to the next bar. This may sound odd and abrupt at first, and goes against how it's visually presented on the page (notes barred together), but it's actually more reflective of the harmony. You'd be actually showing Bach's humour and also enhancing the character of a bourrée.

Compare playing this passage with that separation and without, and let me know what you think!