Glass flute

Not to be confused with the flute champagne glass.
Artist Lizzo playing a crystal flute once owned by James Madison

A glass flute or crystal flute is a glass instrument briefly popular in the early 19th century. They are an unusual variety of the Western concert flute designed to preserve pitch and tone during temperature change better than the wood and ivory flutes available at the time of their manufacture. Most were made by Claude Laurent, a French craftsman and clockmaker who patented the leaded crystal glass flute in 1806. They became obsolete after metal flutes were produced.[1] Other than sounding more consistent at differing temperatures, glass flutes are similar in tone to contemporary wooden and ivory flutes.[2]

Laurent's glass flutes were manufactured in Paris in the early 19th century.[3] About 185 of Laurent's instruments are known to have survived, with the United States Library of Congress holding 17 of these.[1] Two are kept at Museu de la música in Spain.[4]

  1. ^ a b Fine, Camille (September 28, 2022). "Watch Lizzo play James Madison's 200-year-old crystal flute onstage: 'I'm scared'". USA Today.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Miller1925 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Welch, Christopher; von Schafhäutl, Karl Emil; Reich, Emil (1896). History of the Boehm Flute. London: Rudall, Carte & Company. p. 451. OCLC 32558370.
  4. ^ "Transverse crystal flute". Barcelona Music Museum.