Not much is known about solo flute repertoire from the baroque period, but luckily, some historians are passionate enough to dedicate their lives to researching this literature so musicians of today can learn more about the subject. In an article entitled “Bach and the Flute: The Players, the Instruments, the Music,” authors Ardal Powell and David Lasocki describe what led to Johann Sebastian Bach’s writing his flute sonatas and why they are written the way they are. Ardal Powell has specialist knowledge in the history of flute and flute-playing particularly from the baroque and classical periods, has published books and articles about the impact flute music from this time had on flute repertoire and society as a whole, and holds a Ph.D. in music from the University of Cambridge . David Lasocki is viewed as one of the world’s foremost researchers of the history of woodwind instruments, the recorder in …show more content…
It is unfortunate that only fractions of the article from Early Music are available in the database, but there is enough information provided to grasp a basic understanding of Bach’s history with writing for the flute. Their knowledge was proven by the extensive list of names mentioned in the article from obscure flutists of the baroque era to instrument makers of all types. However much Powell and Lasocki clearly know what they are talking about, it would be more helpful if the article provided a more in-depth explanation of the effects of Bach’s flute literature on the future of music. From what they have written, however, it seems that much of Bach’s experience with writing for the flute in general is unknown so perhaps most of the information about his influences is just speculation. Either way, I have certainly gained a significant amount of knowledge about Bach’s writings for flute through reading this