A dip into the world of 19th century flute playing reveals an astonishing level of variety. Flute music today is generally played on a uniform type of instrument based on the style invented by the instrument maker Theobald Boehm (1794–1881). However, during Boehm’s lifetime and for decades after his death in 1881, the silver flute with a cylindrical bore that he created in 1847 was by no means in universal use. Instead, a variety of construction types continued to be used, including another of Boehm’s inventions, the conical ring-key flute from 1832. It is this flute you can hear on this album.

Historically informed performance