Research Catalogue

activities

• Doctor of Arts (2012) connected to: Polifonia
  Degree: Doctorate, Leiden University (Netherlands), Orpheus Institute (Belgium), recipient: Clare Beesley
  
• The flute and flute playing in England during the long 18th century
  Polifonia project, Principal Investigator: Clare Beesley
  As a professional historical flautist, inspired by performance practice techniques spanning the Renaissance to the Romantic era, I have found performance of repertoire representing the evolution of the flute and flute playing in England during the ‘long' 18th Century yet to be examined in detail. Through a series of exciting recitals, I will illustrate important stages in the development of flute playing in England. The study, spanning early ‘generic' instrumental pieces, to the dazzling virtuosity of late 18th Century repertoire, demands practice-based learning of various keyed systems, and interpretation of method books, repertoire and contemporary accounts to realise prevailing performance styles in concert. English flautist Charles Nicholson (who inspired the revolutionary Boehm system) marks the end point of the study. Nicholson's style was extremely virtuosic, and contemporary accounts rave about his technical prowess. My aim is to unearth first hand as a flautist how the flute and its music attained such unrivalled heights of virtuosity and popularity in England.