Alto flute
Quotes describing the timbres of the alto flute, extracted from various orchestration treatises. The list of descriptors is adapted from Wallmark (2019).
dark
“The lowest register, below written B_4, is dark and rich and a little more able to balance other instruments than is the flute in its comparable register.” Blatter, 1997, p. 92 (instrumental register: low)
dark
“The bottom octave of the instrument is its most distinctive—rich and somewhat dark, though easily covered—whereas the top octave is not quite so effective as the others.” Kennan and Grantham, 2002, p. 81
ordinary
“Its low notes are much richer and have more carrying power, but the upper register is quite ordinary and without much brilliance.” Adler, 2002, p. 191 (instrumental register: high)
rich
“Its low notes are much richer and have more carrying power, but the upper register is quite ordinary and without much brilliance.” Adler, 2002, p. 191 (instrumental register: low)
rich
“The lowest register, below written B_4, is dark and rich and a little more able to balance other instruments than is the flute in its comparable register.” Blatter, 1997, p. 92 (instrumental register: low)
rich
“The rich sonority of the lower register, in particular, has been exploited to both sinister and tranquil effect from Mahler, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev, to composers of the present day.” Jacob, 1982, p. 24 (instrumental register: low)
rich
“The bottom octave of the instrument is its most distinctive—rich and somewhat dark, though easily covered—whereas the top octave is not quite so effective as the others.” Kennan and Grantham, 2002, p. 81
rich
“The lower tones, on the other hand, are extremely rich and warm, and stronger than the low notes of the flute.” Piston, 1955, p. 145
sinister
“The rich sonority of the lower register, in particular, has been exploited to both sinister and tranquil effect from Mahler, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev, to composers of the present day.” Jacob, 1982, p. 24 (instrumental register: low)
sluggish
“All effects and articulations on the flute are also possible on the alto flute, but on this lower-pitched instrument they seem more sluggish.” Blatter, 1997, p. 92
tranquil
“The rich sonority of the lower register, in particular, has been exploited to both sinister and tranquil effect from Mahler, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev, to composers of the present day.” Jacob, 1982, p. 24 (instrumental register: low)
unusual
“Make the most of the unusual low fluty sound (which can be mistaken for the sound of muted trumpets), as well as the capacity for flowing arabesques in the higher registers.” Jacob, 1982, p. 24 (instrumental register: low)
warm
“The lower tones, on the other hand, are extremely rich and warm, and stronger than the low notes of the flute.” Piston, 1955, p. 145
without brilliance
“Its low notes are much richer and have more carrying power, but the upper register is quite ordinary and without much brilliance.” Adler, 2002, p.191 (instrumental register: high)
