EarlyMusicNews.org

"Jean-Luc Boudreau has been making recorders since 1980, after having studied science and music! His main interest is the development of instruments inspired by early recorders found in various collections. These handmade recorders are classified into two families, baroque and renaissance, and allow all repertoire written for the recorder to be explored.

Two years ago we added a line of "whistles", diatonic instruments to play folk repertoire. And there's more to come...

As well, the workshop does a lot of research into manufacturing methods using the latest technology, and offers its expertise for specific projects related to the manufacture of wind instruments. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 03, 2008 | Hits: 2633

" Ray Sloan vividly remembers the day he first heard bagpipes other than the ubiquitous Great Highland Bagpipes. It was in 1964 as an 11 year old at school in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne when his Art Teacher emerged from the store room strapped in to an instrument driven by a flapping arm attached to bellows, that instrument was the Northumbrian Smallpipe. He remembers being absolutely smitten by the sound of the pipes at a time when the Beatles and Rolling Stones were the preferred sound of his generation, little did he know that 16 years later history would repeat itself when Ray himself became an Art Teacher and Piper/Pipemaker. That experience as a young boy never left Ray but it was not until as a young man of 24 that he was financially able to achieve his dream and buy a set of pipes.

It was as a fine maker of Northumbrian Smallpipes that Ray first established himself as a Pipemaker of International repute, but what really changed his life further was his introduction to the traditional music of Ireland played by the likes of ‘The Bothy Band’, ‘Planxty’ and ‘The Chieftains’, more specifically the wonderful and compelling sound of the Uilleann Pipes. After 10 years or so experience in making Smallpipes he embarked upon the next stage of his journey as a Pipemaker and started to make the Irish Uilleann Pipes eventually choosing to make these in preference to anything else.

Ray gave up Teaching to become a full-time professional Pipemaker in 1988 and to this day continues to develop his style and design in pursuit of perfection. The importance of his experience and training in Art & Design cannot be underestimated when it comes to making Pipes as his visual skills and attention to detail and design shine through in every aspect of his work. While being uniquely his own the design of his Uilleann Pipes is eclectic and broadly based upon the traditions and styles set by the old masters such as Coyne, kenna, Rowsome and Reid. Ray approaches each set of pipes he makes as completely individual and different in some small way to the previous, which means that you as a client will receive a set of Pipes hand-made for you personally.

Ray currently lives in SW France and is preparing to move to the West of Ireland this year – 2008. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 04, 2008 | Hits: 2587

"Folkers & Powell make professional-quality baroque flutes and other historical transverse flutes closely modeled on excellent original designs from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

We believe that music, instruments, and playing styles are all interconnected, so that music has the best effect when realized with sympathy, using instruments and performance conventions current when it was created.

For this reason we make every effort to capture the unique qualities of tone and intonation in the original instruments we copy. Since our partnership began in 1984 our flutes have earned a worldwide reputation for uncompromising accuracy and faithfulness of spirit. Our customers range all the way from beginners on the baroque flute to the world's leading exponents.

Research on contemporary music and playing styles also plays a large part in our work. We have built a separate educational site at flutehistory.com to give information on historical matters not directly related to the flutes we make.

If you are new to the world of historical flutes, begin at our start page. If you would like help staying in touch with the latest ideas and research, we suggest you subscribe to the quarterly newsletter TRAVERSO. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 22, 2005 | Hits: 2512

Recorder maker.

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 2486

“On this website you will find pages devoted to two types of wind instruments, quite different, but ultimately close in many aspects. These are my two passions which I now devote my life to creating and which I offer to you.

Firstly, there are the baroque transverse flutes, also called traversos or one keyed flutes.

I offer several hand-made concert flutes, the perfect woodwind instrument for playing baroque music, in it’s varied styles and typical of that period.

In my work, I am looking to recreate the unique sound peculiar to the musical individuality of each of the baroque flute models that I offer and to provide an individual musical quality, sympathetic to the original sound. ..“

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 2204

"Welcome to baroqueflutes.net, the homepage of Eugène Crijnen. Eugène was born in Holland in 1962 and started playing the flute at the age of 5 under the influence of Frans Brüggen and followed by master classes with Barthold Kuijken & Wilbert Hazelzet. Eugène started playing concerts all around the world at a young age and in 1983 he began making baroque flutes for himself. Many of the best flute players in the world now use his instruments. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 05, 2008 | Hits: 2090

"Thanks to our long-time cooperation with international musicians we have been able to continually improve the pitch and the efficiency of our instruments. We never forget about the characteristic sound and we are well aware that the perfect instrument has not been made yet. We see ourselves as mediators between the musician and his music.

Each of our instruments is 100% handmade and unique. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 13, 2008 | Hits: 1962

“Terry McGee makes wooden flutes for Irish, early and classical music based on the best of original instruments, including the popular Rudall & Rose and Pratten's Perfected models.  Based in Malua Bay, New South Wales, Australia, Terry has been a flute maker since the mid seventies and exports his instruments to the four corners of the globe.

Terry's instruments are one-off craftsman-built instruments using the finest materials and a combination of traditional and modern techniques.  They show the benefit of the vast and continuing research he has undertaken in Australia and in collections around the world. The most rigorous attention to tuning makes his instruments the most precise and vibrant available, and incorporation of new techniques makes them far more rewarding to play than the best of the originals. On the practical side, he has developed a new tuning slide which does not cause splitting as did the traditional slide, and new key shapes to improve ease of playing.

Terry also makes replacement parts and carries out repairs and rebuilds for original instruments. This site includes extensive information on flute care, history, research, choosing a flute, fingering charts and links to other important flute resources. ..“

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Added on: Nov 01, 2009 | Hits: 1955

"Born in 1956, I am a north-american francophone from Montréal, Québec, Canada. I am part of the pioneering group of musicians, who, here and in France (1975), participated in the first development of the performance of early music on period instruments. After my studies at the Université de Montréal, I completed my studies at the Conservatoire Royal de La Haye, en Hollande ( 1978-80 ).

I take time and great care in my flute making as did previous makers. Being a flautist, I also maintain the rhythm of a small production workshop each year. " (transl. ed.) Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 04, 2008 | Hits: 1901

Bagpipe-maker. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 23, 2008 | Hits: 1873

Flute maker.

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 1804

Recorder maker. Visit website for more informations. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 1782

Bagpipe maker.

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 1774

I have been rebuilding historical instruments for over 30 years. I have been working in various museums and private collections all over Europe and in the USA measuring and studying numerous historical instruments. I am now working for museums. After an education as fine mechanic I started to study musicology, information-theory and linguistics. My special field of interest was research of tone colours. Since 1973 I have been working for musicians and composers arond the world for whom I have invented and developed various sound generators. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 04, 2008 | Hits: 1764

"Philippe Bolton graduated from Lille Conservatory in France in 1975 with a gold medal. He then established himself as a recorder maker, preferring to live from this type of activity rather than playing.

He has exhibited his instruments in many European countries (particularly Austria, Germany, Holland and the United Kingdom), in Australia, USA and Japan. He exports about half his production outside France. Over the years he has developed a several different types of recorders, of which some are "copies" and others entirely of his own design. In 1980 he became a "Maître Artisan" (Master Craftsmen) and the next year he won the "Grand Prix Régional des Métiers d'Art”) for the Provence region of France.

His production ranges from reconstructions of medieval recorders to pre-baroque and baroque instruments. He has also recently developed an electroacoustic recorder for widening the instrument’s repertoire towards jazz and contemporary music.

He has taught recorder making on various occasions in Australia, in Belgium and in France. " Well designed and informative site. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 30, 2008 | Hits: 1757

"I have already dedicated a big part of my life to making instruments of the highest quality. My primary goal is to develop instruments based on originals rather than to make exact copies. All my instruments are to a large extend handmade, but more importantly they can also be custom-made. I can meet the individual wishes of the player and can fulfill the most professional needs. The player gets to know his/her instrument better than myself and that's why comment by the player is always welcome and will be considered. I sincerely hope you will find very useful information regarding such important things as care of your instrument, background info on kinds of wood, musea etc. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 04, 2008 | Hits: 1753

“Claire Soubeyran has settled her workshop near Paris.

Since 1979, she has been building traverso and flutes after historical  instruments of the baroque classic and romantic aera.
Her production includes traverso flutes from the early baroque three joint flutes up to the first Boehm system.

As a renown specialist in woodwind conservation she has been working for private and public collections (musée de la Musique in Paris, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Metropolitan Museum in New York).

She is the maker for international soloists and her flutes are played in numerous concerts and recordings (Les Talents Lyriques, L'orchestre des Champs Elysées, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Arts Florissants, Concerto Köln, Stradivaria etc).

Claire Soubeyran likes to work in close collaboration with  the flutists and she constantly improves the quality of her flutes in order to match their expectations

She received, in 1994 the Musicora award for the creation of student  traverso and, in 1998, the Musicora and craftmanship ministry award for her re creation of a conical boehm system wooden flute.”

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 1730

“ .. . .the recorders I make today are replicas or near copies of the original instrument played in the baroque era.

It might seem unnecessary to make five alto instruments all in the same pitch, but I think we should maintain the diversity of the past. The stylistic differences between the various recorder makers were enormous, especially when they worked long distances from each other and were influenced by different musicians and composers of the day. 
    
That is why each instrument not only had it's own unique sound and look, but also it's own individual feel to it when played. We can sometimes only guess at the use made of a particular instrument by studying it's measurements. ..“ Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 27, 2009 | Hits: 1728

Historical flute maker. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 05, 2008 | Hits: 1718

Fridtjof Aurin  Transverse Flutes

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Added on: Feb 07, 2010 | Hits: 1709

Early clarinet maker.

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 1698

“We build our Renaissance flutes in imitation of preserved originals and according to historical construction principles at the pitches of a=440 Hz or a=415 Hz, and in a single piece construction method. If requested, you may receive your Renaissance flute in two pieces, 0making it easier to transport. We use plumwood - and, when specially requested and at an extra charge, also European boxwood. ..“

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 1637

Flute and recorder maker. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Oct 08, 2008 | Hits: 1614

“Making baroque flutes is for me both a living and research since 1975. The old surviving flutes, playable or not, are endless sources of information for me, the old technical books are also great. I try to understand as completely as possible the work and ideas of the old makers and reproduce it without personal alteration.

Alain Weemaels

I have the happiness to work with my father, to share his passion for the wooden flutes and for hand work.

Stéphanie Weemaels

We are woodwind makers specialized in one key woodwind flute also called transverse baroque flute or traverso. Each of our instruments is entirely handmade and unique.”

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 1577

Eric Weisrig, Bagpipe maker. See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 1544