Blast die wohlgegriffnen Flöten: Understanding and comparing J.S. Bach’s use of recorder and traverso

Dante Jongerius

About this exposition

As a recorder and traverso player, J.S. Bach’s works form a crucial part of my repertoire. They include some of the most technically advanced music written for the recorder, in which the instrument seems to be pushed to its limits. Meanwhile, the traverso is welcomed into the orchestra, and it has come to stay. In order to understand the many problems surrounding the recorder and traverso parts from Bach’s music, I need to know how Bach used each instrument specifically. And to be able to make the right artistic choices, I need to know why he chose the recorder for one composition, and the traverso for the other. In answering these questions, I have used my experience in playing both woodwinds to my advantage. My journey has led me through an analysis of terminology, tessitura, symbolism, clefs and pitch surrounding Bach’s flute parts. And for context, I have compared Bach’s use of the recorder and traverso with that of his contemporaries. With my research, I present an overview of the characteristic differences between the two instruments in Bach’s music, giving my own artistic view on some of the unsolved mysteries surrounding Bach and his use of flutes.

type	research exposition
keywords	recorder, traverso, pitch, symbolism, 18th century, Art of Interpretation, historically informed performance, baroque, Early music, Johann Sebastian Bach
date	05/03/2025
published	02/05/2025
last modified	02/05/2025
status	published
copyright	Dante Jongerius
license	CC BY-NC-ND
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3189053/3189054
doi	https://doi.org/10.22501/koncon.3189053
published in	KC Research Portal
portal issue	1. Master Research Projects

name	BWV 182 - Partitur - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	background, background, background, background, background, background, background, background, background

name	BWV 152 - Partitur - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 78 - Stimme - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Der Pfeiffenmacher
copyright	Museum-digital Deutschland
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 1047 - Partitur - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 103 - Stimme - J.A. Kuhnau
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 152 - Partitur - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 182 - Stimme Weimar - Anon M1
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 182 - Stimme Leipzig - J.A. Kuhnau
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 182/2 - Partitur - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	BWV 206 - Partitur - J.S. Bach
copyright	Bach-digital
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Venus and the Lute player
copyright	Met Museum
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Simphonie du Tympanum
copyright	The Trustees of the British Museum
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Elegant Shepherdess
copyright	The Leiden Collection
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Shepherd piping to a shepherdess
copyright	Wikimedia Commons
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Belshazzar's Feast
copyright	The National Gallery, London
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	German Woodcut
copyright	Pinterest
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Weigel Traverso
copyright	Staatsbibliothek Berlin
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Weigel Recorder
copyright	Staatsbibliothek Berlin
license	Public domain
usages	picture

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Blast die wohlgegriffnen Flöten: Understanding and comparing J.S. Bach’s use of recorder and traverso (2025)

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