Flutists in Paris. The School of Blavet in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century by Rien de Reede (review)

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• Flutists in Paris. The School of Blavet in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century by Rien de Reede
• Douglas MacMillan

Flutists in Paris. The School of Blavet in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. By Rien de Reede, translated by Gerald Mettam and André Broos. Amsterdam: Linus Edition, 2022. [143 p. ISBN 978-90-9036371-4. €29.50]

Compiled by Sandi-Jo Malmon and Colin Coleman

The much-lauded French flautist Michel Blavet was born in the year 1700 and died some sixty-eight years later. Self-taught on the flute, he was acclaimed as the finest flautist of his generation in France, possessing an impeccable tone combined with delicacy, sensitivity, and excellent intonation: it should be recalled that the one-keyed flute of Blavet's time was notoriously difficult to play perfectly in tune. Blavet also played the bassoon, was a composer of flute music, and, of particular importance in the context of the present book, a wellrecognised teacher whose students enjoyed distinguished careers as flautists. The entry on Blavet in the 'Annotated Lexicon' of De Reede's volume includes a comprehensive summary of the player's life and work, and for those unfamiliar with Blavet, a reading of these pages (pp. 72–75) is recommended before commencing a perusal of the text.

Following an 'Éloge de Monsieur Blavet', further chapters of the book focus on the careers of Blavet's distinguished pupils PierreÉvrard Taillart and Félix Rault before concluding with a comprehensive 'annotated lexicon' and bibliography.

The 'Éloge de Monsieur Blavet' is a facsimile of an eight-page extract from Le Nécrologe des hommes célèbres de France of 1770, giving an orthodox eulogy of the musician's life and culminating in an account of his death from complications of liver surgery in 1768. Inclusion in Le Nécrologe confirms the significance of Blavet in his native land but, unfortunately, no English translation of the eulogy is given.

Pierre-Évrard Taillart (c.1715–1782) was perhaps the most likely candidate to be labelled as Blavet's successor in his quadruple roles as flautist, teacher, composer, and publisher. He should not be confused with his brother, known as Taillard le cadet or le jeune, also a flautist but not of the standing of Pierre-Évrard.

Taillart succeeded Blavet at the Concert spirituel in 1751 and became known for his delicacy of expression, not only reflecting the traditional early eighteenth-century French style of flute-playing but also embracing the more virtuosic style of the increasingly popular Italian flautists. His high register extended beyond that of his predecessors (and of Johann Joachim Quantz) and he was regarded as one of Europe's finest flautists. As a teacher he was in demand from both amateur and professional students, publishing a now-lost method shortly before his death. Perceptive of the embouchure difficulties encountered by some players, Taillart devised an adapted mouthpiece—although his development did not achieve significant acceptance.

His compositions were mainly of chamberscale works for the flute in various combinations, interestingly without the florid embellishments of earlier French flautist-composers. His thirteen Recueils included music not only for the flute but also for stringed and keyboard instruments. Taillart published his own music as well as compositions by other notable composers, including Georg Philipp Telemann and Carl Stamitz. As the chapter summary (p. 31) indicates, 'Taillart was on a level almost equal to that of his teacher, Michel Blavet, the flutist [sic] who set the benchmark in the first half of the eighteenth century'. De Reede's chapter gives us an insight into this successor of his master in comprehensive detail, amplified in forty-five endnotes.

The second of Blavet's students to be accorded a chapter is Félix Rault, linking Blavet and Johann Georg Wunderlich (1755–1819). Born in 1736, Rault was clearly talented in his youth, [End Page 54] for at the tender age of seventeen Blavet introduced him to L'Académie royale de musique (L'Opera). Following in Taillart's footsteps, he became a member of the orchestra of the Concerts spirituels and other significant musical establishments. However, he appears to have been a man possessed of...