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Transverse flutes Renaissance Rafi

Among these instruments celebrated by Clément Marot, it remains some ones in european museum in Belgium and Italy, and curiously not in Lyon, city of Rafi. The technical drawing of the Renaissance flute of Bruxelles serves of model for the consort which is composed of four elements :

Primalda : Piccolo in d

Alta : Alto in g

Trea : Tenor in d

Alba : Bass in g

Babillane transverse flutes Rafi

The bore, rigorously cylindric gives to the Renaissance flute a strong but soft sound.Due to its size, Bass is made of two parts, the small Piccolo is made of one part, Alto and Tenor can be made of one or two parts, as wanted. Historically, there is only one tenor in two parts. Holes are designed with ergonomics ; it is not useful to have hands of strangler ; music softens customs. Pitch of Renaissance was not fixed. Frequence measurements did not exist ! Apparently, actual musicians do not discuss about this question and accept well the standard of 440.

The Renaissance flute is rather mesotonic by nature and its tablature can also give rise to discussion. On the other hand, the ears and fingers of the 21st century have their habits. The Renaissance is a period of great intellectual and artistic abundance. AFNOR and ISO did not yet exist, nor did frequency measurements. Reference 415, our current Sol # is an approximation of the Baroque that appeared more than a century after Claude RAFI, and is now considered to be the ancient one. If the equal temperament also called temperate is universally adopted, it is also a convenience. For a given note, it is more pleasant to hear third, fourth, fifth chords, etc. in perfect mathematical proportions 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, etc. This ideal is mathematically impossible for all notes, all chords, hence the frightening "wolf’s flush", and the multiplication of mesotonic temperaments, supposed to approach the "middle way", a utopia. Would we drink the wine of our ancestors; would we listen to their music? Truce of controversy, two choices are proposed for the tuning fork: 415 and 440; two choices are proposed for the temperament: equal, so-called "classical" mesotonic, as reported by Philippe ALLAIN-DUPRE in his book "Les flutes de RAFI" published by J.M. FUZEAU. The tablatures themselves remain guides, possibly subject to the choices of flutists.

So two possibilities are proposed :

Classic mesotonic temperament with « historic » fingering :

Piccolo in d  Alto in g  Tenor in d Bass in g


Equal temperament with « conventional » fingering        :

Piccolo in d Alto in g Tenor in d Bass in g

Musical example for a Rafi mesotonic tenor flute         : "Une jeune fillette"


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 17 December 2020