Description
The third in a series of books about the recorder and traverso in France in the late Baroque era (the other volumes will be published shortly).
David Lasocki, Marc-Antoine Charpentier and the Flute: Recorder or Traverso?(published December 2015).
Printed version available through amazon.com and other amazons around the world.
“Lasocki … gives the reader confidence in his close scrutiny of Charpentier’s flûte parts: there is not only detailed information here relating to the ranges of lines and the use of keys, but the author engages with the instrumental writing from the perspective of a player who is able to assess the ‘fit’ to one instrument type or another. He makes the point early on … that it is necessary to become steeped in ‘the totality of a subject,’ and there is a real sense of that here…. Lasocki incorporates an impressive amount of contextual detail…. the provision of two indexes—one allowing a search by work title, and the other by personal names—should assist anyone who wishes only to dip in…. for anyone intending to perform Charpentier’s music, engaging with the whole of Lasocki’s study should prove worth the effort, bringing as it does to existing scholarship the unique perspective of a woodwind specialist.”
From a review by Shirley Thompson, Newsletter of the American Musical Instrument Society 46, no. 1–2 (2017): 19–20.
All the books in [Lasocki’s French Baroque Flûte series] series bear witness to the author’s intensive and thorough research and provide important source material….. For anyone who is intensely concerned with an important chapter in the development and use of recorders and flutes in the 17th century, Lasocki’s book is a very important treatise! As in such research publications, the text section … requires intensive familiarization with the subject. But the numerous self-contained musical examples also represent a treasure trove for practitioners.”
[Alle Bücher der Reihe legen Zeugnis ab von der intensiven und gründlichen Recherche des Autors und stellen wichtiges Quellenmaterial zur Verfügung….. Für jeden, der sich intensiv mit einem wichtigen Kapitel in der Entwicklung und Verwendung von Block- und Querflöten im 17. Jahrhundert befasst, bedeutet Lasockis Buch eine ganz wichtige Abhandlung! Wie es solche, der Forschung verpflichteten Veröffentlichungen nun einmal an sich haben, liest sich der Textteil nicht gerade wie ein Krimi, erfordert vielmehr intensive Einarbeitung in die Materie. Aber die zahlreichen in sich abgeschlossenen Musikbeispiele stellen auch für den Praktiker eine Fundgrube dar.]
From a review by Michael Schneider, TIBIA 44, no. 3 (2019): 540–41.
“I have now read your book from cover to cover with the music examples open beside me. Thank you for answering a question I’ve been asking for decades! Now we know.” Recorder player, England
“Thank you very much for your book on Charpentier. I found it very interesting!!!” Recorder teacher, Italy
“Your book is great, you did a wonderful job.” Recorder player, The Netherlands
“Your excellent publication just arrived to begin a Happy New Year.” Recorder player, Switzerland
“I rushed to buy this book because I am dying to know the answer!” Recorder and traverso player, USA
“Thank you for such a valuable piece of work!” Traverso player, Switzerland
“Thank you so much. I have been a great fan of yours for many years and always enjoy reading and learning from you.” Recorder teacher, Austria
“I intend to stage La couronne de fleurs by Charpentier in the next few months, so your book has perfect timing!” Recorder player, France
“Your book on Charpentier’s use of the flute is a real masterpiece.” Traverso and flute player, Italy.
“Could please stop making the rest of us feel completely inadequate by your incredible scholarship and productivity…?” Recorder and traverso player, USA
