Jean-François Beaudin: Borrowing from the Old World and the New Wendell B
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Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Faculty Research Music 4-1-2012 Jean-François Beaudin: Borrowing from the Old World and the New Wendell B. Dobbs Marshall University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/music_faculty Part of the Musicology Commons, Music Practice Commons, and the Other Music Commons Recommended Citation Dobbs, Wendell., “Jean-François Beaudin: Borrowing from the old world and the new,” Traverso, Vol. 23, no. 2: 5-8. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Music at Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TRTR AVERSO AVERSO Volume 23 ❖ Number 2 HistoricalFluteNewsletter ❖ Published Quarterly ❖ ISSN 1041-7494 ❖ Editor: Linda Pereksta ❖ Founding Editor: Ardal Powell ❖ Jean-François Beaudin: Borrowing from the Old World and the New Wendell Dobbs he modern flute world is full of innovation. Every year brings a new assortment of changes intend- eded to improve the design or functioning of the Tmodern flute—a new headjoint or a new material, a design innovation such as the vertical flute or a new contrabass flute. Much more subtle are changes to the design of 18th- century style flutes. Generally, modern makers of these instruments take careful measurements of particular antique flutes that are recognized for ease of playing and copy them. The innovations are most likely subtle—a new wood, gentle tweaking of the embouchure or a tone hole, or cosmetic refinements. Such is not the case with Jean-François Beaudin’s new world – old world flute, that is, his new style of 18th century, one-key flute—as he calls it, his “modern traverso.” With his new design he has thrown away the rulebook developing a one-key flute with more power and easier intonation. Jean-François grew up in the French-speaking com- munity of Montreal. His father was a photographer who loved jazz and his mother was a painter and wove tapestries. She also played recorder and introduced Jean-François to the recorder and its music when he was ten. “We were four children at home and very close in age and we took recorder lessons with my mother. Then she asked a teacher to come and we were all together taking lessons.” He enrolled in music courses during the two school years that preceded college and then when it came time to start making career choices he continued his path with early music. “I found beauty and harmony in that music and I wanted to keep that beauty in my life.” In the mid 1970’s he began studying with Jean-Pierre Pinson, a well-regarded recorder player and musicologist from Bourges, France who had immigrated to Montreal. Soon after, Pinson invited him to teach at a summer acad- emy in Poitiers. Jean-François continued his studies with him for the next two years at the University of Montreal (1976-77). In 1978 Jean-François was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in Holland where he studied recorder with Brazilian Ricardo Kanji. After a semester he Jean-François Beaudin with technical drawings (photo: Wendell Dobbs) Page 5 TRAVERSO added the flute class of Bartold Kuijken and work as a draftsman and craftsman mea- He spent six months studying with a flutist flute studies started to supplant his interest suring, drawing and making flutes. Flutes in Madras. Their flute or venu is made of in recorder. “Early music at that time was a by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) bamboo and had great power and projec- sort of modern musical adventure because became his specialty, and Beaudin mea- tion. Here was the genesis of Jean-François’ there was a lot to discover. It was exciting like sured and made drawings of Quantz flutes new one-key flute design. “The start of my archeology. In French we say, ‘like finding in Washington, D.C., Berlin, Köpenick and project was not the Boehm flute, but the beneath the dust the jewelry box of Cleopa- Paris. Though Quantz never put his personal south Indian bamboo flute.” tra.’” stamp on his instruments he did number In 1994 Jean-François received another Where his instruments were concerned them chronologically. By comparing differ- grant from the Canadian government to Jean-François was happy with his recorder ent instruments Jean-François was able to work for one year on his new design. Part of but was very dissatisfied with his flute. In draw certain conclusions about the evolution the grant proposal was a return to Madras for the Conservatory at The Hague there was a of Quantz’s flute making. In particular, he one month to collect instruments for study. small woodworking shop with a lathe and discovered that later instruments had subtle “I wrote to my flute teacher to contact his a few tools used mostly by the students of innovations such as a weighted footjoint to flute maker to bring me a bunch of flutes and oboist Bruce Haynes. Luckily, Australian compensate for the imbalance caused by I chose 15 of them, all sizes, and there was instrument maker Frederick Morgan was the added weight of Quantz’s tuning slide a long one as well. I measured all of them.” living nearby in Amsterdam (1978-80) in the headjoint. He also discovered a subtle Though the measuring was difficult, the at the request of Frans Brüggen where he swell in the middle of Quantz’s headjoints irregular nature of bamboo posing a great was making and drawing recorders. There (often obscured by the tuning slide). The challenge, Beaudin was able to draw valuable began Jean-François’ serious work as a flute feature improved intonation. Curiously, conclusions on bore size and tone hole size maker. He met Morgan while accompanying he discovered the same innovation in the and placement. He then revisited Boehm’s his teacher Ricardo Kanji on a visit to the Rottenburgh flute that dates from a later research regarding the headjoint bore profile. Morgan workshop. Later, on one of his occa- era. Jean-François’ drawings of the Quantz Indeed, the final design is similar to that sional visits to The Hague to teach classes in flute at the Library of Congress can be seen of Boehm’s—a conical headjoint bore that instrument making, Jean-François brought at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query becomes smaller at the embouchure, and a Morgan several pieces of ebony. Morgan (search for “Quantz” and click on the pho- cylindrical body. “So, I started my research reamed them with his Stanesby Junior design tograph). in 1994 and I was still discovering new things reamers that he had patterned after Frans Jean-François became sought after for this last year. Now, I consider it perfect.” Brüggen’s ebony original. Jean-François then his draftsmanship and received a number Jean-François Beaudin’s flute comes completed the flute, turning the outside on of commissions from museums and institu- in three pitch levels A-392 (one whole step the lathe and even adding real ivory rings. tions to measure and draw the instruments below modern pitch), A-415 (one half step He played that flute for the rest of his studies in their collections. “With a Canadian below modern pitch) and A-440 (modern at The Hague. government assistance, Beaudin went on pitch). Unlike conventional 18th-century During his second year at The Hague to study a series of ninety-six historic flutes flutes the pitch cannot be changed by replac- a secondary skill emerged. Jean-François by 1992.”2 His Quantz flute reproduction ing one middle joint with alternate corps de began making schematic drawings of flutes. became a favorite among the growing com- rechange. Instead, you must have three dif- Measuring antique flutes and making munity of baroque flutists. In particular, ferent instruments to address the three pitch accurate drawings is an essential part of Quantz scholar Mary Oleskiewicz produced levels. The headjoints are not interchange- the instrument maker’s craft. Kuijken rec- recordings of Quantz’s flute sonatas and able. He does anticipate several innovations ognized his potential and lent him his G.A. duets (Jean-François Beaudin performing as in the near future. First, a metal tuning slide Rottenburgh flute for four days to measure second flute) on Beaudin’s Quantz reproduc- will permit subtle changes in pitch. Second, and complete a technical drawing. “It was tion.3 a more rectangular embouchure hole will and still is the most famous baroque flute In 1983 Jean-François returned to add even greater reinforcement of the tone. in the world.” According to Ardal Powell, Europe for a year, performing with many A third innovation will be a piccolo in all “Jean-François Beaudin . helped establish great musicians in the emerging early music three pitch levels and a fourth will be a flute Kuijken’s Rottenburgh as an ad hoc stan- community there. He continued his flute pitched at A-430, a popular pitch for classical dard ‘baroque’ flute by freely distributing making in Paris, using the shop of a friend, era music. a detailed measured drawing of the instru- Olivier Cottet. Upon returning home his The design is reminiscent of the Hotte- ment (1979) for other budding makers to frustration with the softness of the 18th terre design flute with the long cap on the replicate.”1 century flute became acute, and he set aside end of the headjoint, a thick barrel joint, a Upon returning to Montreal in 1980 he his flute making around 1988 and became one-piece body and a thick footjoint.