Pre-Owned Rudall, Carte & Co Boehm System Open G# Flute with Jack Frazer Headjoint

Name: Pre-Owned Rudall, Carte & Co Boehm System Open G# Flute with Jack Frazer Headjoint
Brand: Rudall, Carte & Co
SKU: C145725
Price: 1750 GBP
Availability: InStock

by Rudall, Carte & Co

£1,750.00

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Description
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Item Details

Our Description

Notes from WIBB:

Note 1:

Raise F# (CS) - GET BROSSA F#

Improve G# tail

Widen octave on C#

Tighten RH & LH mech

Note 2:

Flatten A (poch?)

Sharpen F# (crossed out)

Improve pads - B. G# (both) F#

Do something to head! (crossed out) NBG! Try different head!

General Condition

This flute is in used condition and would benefit from some work.

This item is sold “as seen”. It has not been checked in our workshop prior to sale, and this is reflected in the selling price.

About Rudall, Carte & Co

The British company Rudall Carte was among the most famous and well-regarded names in the music industry of the 19th and 20th centuries. Founded as Rudall & Rose in 1822, Richard Carte (father of Richard D'Oyly Carte, of later Gilbert and Sullivan fame) joined the firm around 1850, and the company of Rudall, Rose, Carte & Co then became Rudall, Carte and Company in 1874.

Up until its acquition by Boosey & Hawkes in 1955, Rudall Carte were producing high-quality flutes in a range of materials - primarily cocus wood, but also silver, ebonite and gold - at varying price points. In addition, many famous names in flute history honed their trade at Rudall Carte, including Albert Cooper, Ewen McDougall and Harry Seeley (the last two of whom, along with five other Carte workers, went on to set up Flutemakers Guild).

Rudall Carte cocus wood flutes in particular are rightly still held in high esteem today: beautifully engineered and well ahead of their time, a restored, well cared-for Rudall Carte can be a pleasure to play. Many players like to match a modern British headjoint (such as Robert Bigio or Peter Worrell) to get the most out of these instruments, although there are some notable players who find the warmth and charm of the original headjoint preferable.

Rudall Carte today are known primarily only in the flute world, yet they were hugely successful and highly influential: as well as selling other instruments, the firm published books and music, and were also concert promoters. We highly recommend Robert Bigio's excellent book Rudall, Rose & Carte: The Art of the Flute in Britain for a greater insight into this historic company's production and legacy.

Specifications

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Cocus wood
Boehm system
Closed holes
Open G# Original
Fitted with Jack Frazer headjoint

Item Details

Item number: C145725 (Please quote this Item Number if you contact us about this item)
Serial number: 474***
Manufacturer: Rudall, Carte & Co
Model number: Closed Hole, Boehm, Open G#
Category: Pre-Owned Wooden Flutes

A rare opportunity to own a special piece of flute history

Some time ago Michie Bennett asked if I could visit her and look through William Bennett's flutes and offer my opinion. I was in the first instance very honoured to be asked but also - as a lifetime flute enthusiast - was fascinated to see what treasures this remarkable man, musician and flute player may have collected over the years. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

William Bennett (Wibb) held a lifelong passion for the flute. He was not only enchanted by the sound and captivated by the instrument's voice and expression, but also fascinated by the mechanism, and he famously had an intense desire to improve the overall scale and tuning of the instrument. He was renowned for this passion and was continually searching for an evenness of tone throughout the entire range of the flute without having to adjust the embouchure for poor tuning. He was genuinely striving to improve the flute for everyone.

This unique collection of instruments represents a lifetime of discovery. Wibb has hand-written specific notes on each flute commenting on individual notes or areas of the flute he felt could be improved, or little snippets such as “this flute plays remarkably well in the high register”. We have left all of these personal handwritten comments with each instrument as a memento of his attention to detail and his thoughts on that specific instrument.

It is safe to say that each instrument is a “work in progress”, and these flutes and piccolos are in varying degrees of playability. In short, every instrument is as Wibb left it and is sold As Seen.

There are some real treasures here. Many are Open G#, Wibb's preferred system - however, a high proportion could be reversed and converted back to Closed G#, and these are noted on the flute's listing.

With Wibb’s memory so fresh in our minds many of you will I am sure remember him playing some of these instruments. Michie feels that Wibb would have wanted these flutes to be played and enjoyed, and not placed in a museum only to be looked at.

Buy second hand with confidence

Unless stated otherwise, all of our pre-owned, ex-demo and ex-display instruments are cleaned and checked, set up or serviced in our workshop prior to sale.