Old Louis Lot Flute vs. Modern Brannen Flute [19th vs. 21st Century Flute]
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- čas přidán 26. 01. 2020
- Can an 1892 Louis Lot Flute compete with a modern 2019 Brannen Flute? Lance Suzuki puts these two flutes to the test playing music of the late 19th Century. This Louis Lot Flute was restored around 2015 and is on loan from Bill and Ann Greenwald.
MUSICAL SELECTIONS:
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor (1884)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 in G Major (1889)
FLUTES:
Louis Lot Flute (1892): Silver Plated, Open Hole, C Foot
Brannen Brothers Flute (2019): 10K Rose Gold tubing w/ Silver Keys, Lafin Headjoint, Split E, C# Trill, B Foot
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ABOUT ME:
Flutist Lance Suzuki has been consistently praised for his "gorgeous flute tone" (NY Times), as well as his "captivat[ing]" (NY Concert Review) and "mesmerizing" (NY Classical Review) performances. As a chamber musician and soloist, Lance Suzuki has appeared at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Marlboro Music Festival, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 92nd St Y and live on NPR's Performance Today. A committed educator, he serves as President of the Hawaii Flute Society and teaches students of all ages and abilities. Find more about me at www.lancesuzuki.com/.
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#louislot #brannenflutes #flute - Hudba
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I found this so interesting. The Louis Lot flute had a gorgeous tone .
Both are wonderful, but the sound of Lous Lot is more beautiful and charming.
It's super interesting to hear how focused the sound is in the Lot. Especially for a flute that is silver plated. Just goes to show the quality that was put in to these instruments and how the materials aren't the end all, be all in an instrument's tone.
Also I couldn't remember the Brahms' symphony name to save my life today, and then I found this video! Lol
The Louis Lot sounded much more like an older flute, delicate, and not really powerful while the Brannen sounded much more modern, powerful, projecting, and more "in your face"
I 100% agree. I think the way that they respond to air directly affects the resulting sound. The Brannen responds extremely quickly while the Lot takes more effort to produce sound and is more resistant. I love old flutes, so I don't mind the resistance. Also, here's a fun fact about this Lot...it doesn't have a traditional cork setup but actually has an old piece of wood wrapped with cork. I had a silver plate installed over that to give it a little better response.
@@LanceSuzuki Oh yes, that wood and cork solution is most certainly a piece of the puzzle. I had a similar stopper installed into my brannen headjoint and wow... Some newer tone colors appeared. the riser of the flute is gold so it was already a darker sounding flute. Its just that much moreso now. :)
Like many of the comments already posted, I like the sound from the Lot. Nice playing, very impressive comparison.
Glad you liked it!
I definitely prefer the sound of the older Louis Lot flute! Gorgeous tone!
👍👍
Louis Lot ALL the way. Colour and intonation was much nicer to the ear !
Ben fatto, bravo, Lance! A phantastic video for any flutist with a particular interest in historical development of flutes and the great makers.
Thanks so much, Wolfgang, for watching and for your comment! ❤️
Lovely. Thank you for the demonstration. Lovely flutes. Lovely player!
Thanks so much, Dawn! I'm glad you enjoyed!
I love your sound on the LOT a lot!
Thanks so much! I need to do more practicing on that flute. It is a gem!
ルイロットも非常にいい音してますね。比較、ありがとうございます!
I was utterly surprised by how much projection came across from the Louis Lot flute, wasn’t expecting that. You could tell and hear from the Brannon flute tone quality was more even, and yes, I heard you struggle at the low register’s Louis Lot, but you nailed it: excellent job!
I was surprised as well when I listened back. Thanks for watching!
Lot HANDS DOWN! I have played one for years! I studied with an Englishman and they all play them! I am struggling now to find a flute that I like better as I haven't practiced in years, but I still love my Lot the best no matter what I try out to play! You sounded much better on the Lot...and yes it sounds like a "cotton ball" up close but in a live space, not where you did this video, it's a GORGEOUS sound! Bravo for doing this! I enjoyed your playing!
Hi Lance! I loved the sound of both flutes but I kind of liked the Louis Lot over Brannen for its warmer and sweet tone. I’m play Yamaha 894 Bijou which I think was only available in Japan and sounds a bit like your Lot, but yours is much better including technique, haha
Thanks for the very interesting comparison!
This was fun to watch. I liked the sound of the Brannen best. It doesn't seem unreasonable that improvements to the flute would be made over the years.
Thank you for this, you play beautifully. A great teacher commented that the adjustments needed on old scale flutes makes the player more flexible. I would love hear these flutes with wooden heads. The problem for me is that now that I play a Yamaha 874W and I can't easily switch to a silver head because of the diameter difference. With some slight tenon adjustment, the wooden head also fits my Yamaha 677 silver body. It's fun to contrast wood and silver bodies but I can't switch heads easily because of the diameter difference. The wooden head on the silver body is wonderful.
Hi Fred,
Thanks for you comment. I agree that wooden heads sound great on silver bodies. I hope you can find one that fits your Yamaha. I'm sure it must be possible!
Lance
@@LanceSuzuki Hi again, I also a have a pre-owned Rodger Young chote vega wood head. Very different from the Yamaha but very nice too. Another interesting point is that the Young tenon was I think .14 and the barrel and the Yamaha silver is I think .16. The seller just put a piece of that new silver tape on the Young and it fits both flutes easily without taking the tape off. So, for people buying used and find a head a head they want to buy or want the head to be interchangeable with another flute, it's very easy and safer to add tape rather than reduce with force. I can just squeeze the Yamaha wood head into the 677 after a repairman had to be very careful. I bet adjusting the tenon on a wooden head is risky business. That silver tape is fantastic! So, in the end both heads fit both flutes.
The Lot seems to have more focus in its sound. It has a great tone of course. Though I must say I also like the lightness of tone of the Brannen 10K, I also saw your comparison with the 10/85 Brannen. That tone I found to be to heavy for my taste. I play a vintage 14K Armstrong Heritage Thinwall myself.
Excellent presentation. I listened to this without watching for initial impressions and made notes. I could tell the issues when it came to the E on down but I must say the Lot had a more pure sound to me, not as powerful but more finesse like a manual transmission on a classic Ferrari compared to one with paddle shifters
Great analogy!
Love your channel. It amazes me that many people say that they would prefer the old flute after what you convey in your impressions of playing both of them in the end. No player would want to play and practice on a flute that sounds (to the player) like playing through a cotton ball and that is hard to get a good sound from in the low register. Not saying that it wouldn't be nice to have an antique flute in one's collection of course.
LOL. People are entitled to their opinions. I think this flute is a beautiful piece of history and I love playing on it occasionally. However, I wouldn't be able to do so professionally without some significant work (moving tone holes, etc.). Thanks for watching!
They’re both beautiful instruments, but unpopular opinion: the Brannen blows the Lot out of the water - much more versatile and powerful. Lots (along with vintage Haynes and Powell) can produce a wonderful and charming set of colors, but modern flutes are absolute powerhouses. If I could only have one (between a vintage and comparable modern), I’d pick the modern every time. Over a century of improvement to the Boehm design along with all of the conveniences of a pinless mechanism and scale improvements makes it a non-contest for me.
Agreed. Having played on a vintage (1945) instrument as my primary for many years, I find the sound of older instruments absolutely charming. However, when I need reliability and projection, modern instruments make it so much easier. Thanks for watching and for your thoughtful comment!
I thought the Brannon definitely had the new open sound that is popular right now I also thought that it seemed like the dynamics were much more evident with the Brannon. I thought the Louie lot was beautiful but didn't project as well, and also the tone was a little more airy. But then again that's how flute sounded back then. It's hard to compare apples and oranges when they're so differently made even starting with the materials they're made of. One was gold and one was silver plate that makes a big difference. Either way you are a phenomenal flutist and sound absolutely gorgeous on both of them
Thanks so much, Heidi! Agreed on every comment on the qualities of these instruments. A lot of people still love that Lot sound. However, to navigate the modern world, I personally need that modern sound and scale to make it work.
Louis lot -- very good
OMG , I was born on Jan.23rd sixtysome years later , the Louis Lot is still working it's 120 some years old !
I’m Jan 20! It is truly amazing how long these instruments can last if well cared for.
Beautiful presentation, both playing and info - bravo! To me, the Louis Lot, without hesitation. From what I heard your reservations about the low register and intonation did not come through - even the response was good. I wish I owned it. Hopefully someday a genius will be able to make flutes/headjoints with the same acoustic properties as Louis Lot's - nowadays flute makers (outside of the very top quality and $$$ instruments, such as e.g. your Brannen) seem obsessed with metal quantity/density and under/overcutting without any result comparing to what we hear in this video (What can't simpler be better?)..Thank you!
Thanks so much for this thoughtful comment and for watching! I will always have a soft spot for old flutes. The small imperfections are what make them sound beautiful.
Altus flutes have the 1807 silver flute that they attempted to mimic the silver content and tone quality of the Louis Lots to great success. The sintered silver also has similar qualities. Both of them have the power and balanced tuning of the modern flutes but the sparkle of the older ones.
Modern players have split along the gold/silver line and the Brannens and Powells and Murumatsus etc are just as lovely. It’s what suits the players artistic voice!
Can you provide insight on the boehm and mendler flutes? I see them for sale at places like flute center of New York and they're *so* expensive.
Hi Jenifer,
I don't think I've ever tried a Boehm or Mendler. However, I do have a fondness for antique flutes. I used to play on a 1945 Powell which I loved! The antiques can get very expensive when they get into the realm of collectible.
He plays both very well. Brannen has the modern open sound, for more projection and power. The lot sounds less fluid but has that flute charm that we are used too. Many people have heard rampal records, maybe even moyse or nicolet, its a new era of flute now. personally i feel like there is a korean sound that is very modern, not sweet at all but yubeen kim is one of the best ever for me
Thank you for the Video.
their size seams to be diferent by how much?
The modern flute is longer because it has an extra key (B foot) and is able to play lower. I would estimate that this adds about 1.5 inches to the length. Also, the modern flute has thicker tubing and a wider bore.
The Brannen to me is more powerful and certainly louder, bolder. The Lot, has a very pretty tone, very centered. In a modern setting, the Brannen wins, but for sheer 'flutiness' I go for the Lot. Thanks for your video.
What if you exchange the headjoint? I feel that the brannen is big sound but at the same time sound emptier (a bit) . What about the 1980s flutes. For instance Haynes, Powell, Brannen at that time. I think the style of the headjoint cutting change overtime from 1980 till now. Now is more big sound but mellower, before is sweet and more project easily.
I would have loved to exchange the headjoints, but they didn't fit unfortunately. Thanks for watching!
Very nice on both flutes! A true artist knows how to make any flute sound excellent. I have a 1927 Haynes commercial, closed hole, c-foot, I love to play it as my go to flute for playing for fun / read that as I don't baby it like I do my Powell. However, the Haynes has its shortcomings and does not play like butter like my Powell Conservatory does nor does it do harmonics so well. The Haynes like the Powell will take all the air you want to give it but the Powell has the potential to be a lot louder. Also, the third register is not as strong on the Haynes giving it that old-world sound. Modern flutists play differently than they did back at the turn of the 20th century and to me are more aggressive, use purple sounds for the first register, etc. Like the flute, the flutists have evolved. The Lot flute is incredible and it's interesting that it was open-holed.
Some of those commercial Haynes and Powell’s are true gems. You’re very fortunate to have one! I love the visualization of “purple” sound and will continue to ponder on that today. Thanks!
Thank you, Lance. That was very interesting!! I wonder when the change in sound happened in flute history...? Was it a gradual development or did it happen with certain flutes or makers? I am playing a 1958 Haynes, open holes, and to me it sounds more like the Lot than the Brannen. And the scale is certainly pre Cooper 😆
Thanks, Morten! One of my previous flutes was a 1945 Powell so I am definitely familiar with flutes of that era. I love the sound of these instruments and I think there are a few main things that contribute to the unique sound. 1. WEIGHT. In general, flutes have been trending heavier. 2. SCALE (as you mentioned). Scale can contribute to timbral qualities. 3. HEADJOINT CUTS. In general, embouchure holes have trended larger and squarer. I think these changes have happened gradually but seem to be present across the board in modern flutes. Thanks so much for watching and for your comment!
@@LanceSuzuki Thank you for sharing your knowledge in your detailed answer!
The Louis Lot flute have more personality in the sound and is less neutral. Surprisingly I felt the Lot flute warmer in the low register. The Brannen flute seems to also resist more to the vibrations and you play loud because it's in gold. But it's sound even if it's a great flute is less original.
I totally get what you're saying. I have always loved the sound quality of old flutes and used to play on a 1945 Powell as my primary instrument. However, for consistency and ease of playing, I have moved to modern instruments. There are often sacrifices in the character of the sound. Hopefully I will figure out how to put more character into the gold modern flute!
Give me a Louis Lot every time! This is why I like m Altus, they’ve been trying to match that LL sound all along!
True! Altus must be a great fit for you!
Gotta go with the Lot. What a flute! Probably the closest thing one could get to the Theobald Boehm patent from 1847.
The Lot is a great flute and piece of history. Thanks for watching!
Both flutes have their merits, but I would choose Louis Lot. The tone is warmer, more colourful and has that old-world quality.
When comparing one instrument to another, unless you are right in front of the test, IN PERSON, it depends on what kind of speakers or their size, will give a distorted impression of what the actual sounds of those instruments being tested are making. Naturally if you are recording those sounds, it's probably best to listen those instruments through the equipment that will be used to play those recordings and decide for yourself, which one sounds more of what is expected of those instruments..
So this is what a Lot sounds like ❤❤❤
Hello Lance, very interesting what you did here! The Louis Lot has definitely a better projection here. And i am telling you this, not only because I hear it strait away, but because I have been playing one myself for years. They just have that "core sound" that it`s build from the bottom up (so to speak), and does not come from blowing over a sharp edge. But the embouchure holes and their shapes, under - and overcutting etc. is a chapter on it`s own and would fill a page here... ;-). There is no doubt, that the mechanism is a totally different chapter these days, than what it was back in 1892 or so. Today`s flutes "go almost by themselves"! But ..., I have a suggestion: try to play the Louis Lot every day for about 4 - 6 hours for say, 2 to 3 weeks ONLY! And see what happens! When you hit that so called "sweet spot", and you become more and more familiar with the Lot, you will be experiencing incredible tone colours and a sound that you wouldn`t have believed were possible. But... it needs a fair bit of work and commitment. After all, the great Fernand Dufrene played his Louis Lot # 9402 all his life in the French National Orchestra. But what a sound, what a sonority, what a projection; get a taste of it from one of a few rare CZcams clips. Wishing you all the very BEST!
Thanks so much for watching! I do love old flutes and I think you're 100% correct that I need to spend more time with the Lot to really get to know it. Maybe that is a good future video project!
4-6 hours? Isn’t that just extremely excessive, probably very inefficient and labour intensive way to practice? Good luck getting tendonitis and feeling physically sick
I am glad flutes got improved with time...more powerful, more possibilities...
Indeed! I'm also amazed by how much they were able to accomplish back then with such limited technology. The flute is still around and still plays, so the manufacturing was obviously top notch for the time.
@@LanceSuzuki True!!!
How expensive was the Louis Lot?
I would love to know as well! It is on loan to me from a family friend.
You say that when playing the Lot flute you had a struggle to keep good intonation. Surely it would have been a fairer comparison if you didn't fight it but just played it as if it were the Brannen you were playing. That way the viewer could hear those differences you mentioned. Because to me they both sounded great!
I don’t think it’s a controversial statement to say that the scale on antique flutes is less in tune than on modern ones.
@@LanceSuzuki true, but for those who have no idea what that means it would be a good demonstration to show it
I'm thinking the difference in material alone should make a substantial difference in sound. Perhaps compare the vintage flute with a modern plated flute.
Good idea!
I believe there have been acoustic studies that prove that the flute's material makes no difference. There was an item i read where William Bennett was said to have made a new flute about which all shown was very impressed. It was made from a melted down pot.
@@coryholland1811 so, why do these comparisons?
Fun. Curiosity. In the end it's all learning. Will Rampal's gold Lot sound different than the plated one? I play a Haynes but I still enjoy the comparison and contrast to the Artley Artist 'beater flute' I play outdoors. In the end it's all about learning and the joy of playing. Thanks for the reply Suzie.
I feel every serious flutist should at least own 1 Louis Lot flute. It gives you serious 'perspective' regarding the progression of the flute. Also, you find that there are some things it does significantly better than even the most modern flute. Even a silver plated Louis Lot flute has a certain 'shimmer' or 'ring' that even modern plated flutes do not have.
Absolutely!
The Lot embouchure appears to have been bushed. Very likely nothing like its original state now.
Very interesting. Why do you think so?
@@LanceSuzuki It looks to be visible on either side of the hole. No doubt I could be mistaken, but a mirror put into the tube to look at the underside of the hole would no doubt reveal the truth.
For me the 2019 flute sounded much better. More richness and more depth if that makes sense,
I think the Louis Lot flute is sweeter despite being more difficult like you say. A cotton ball.
sir do you have any old flutes there can you give me one ☹️ i wish i could have one ☹️
Sounds like you are playing the Lot as if you want to get the sound on Brannen from the Lot. I can't say Lot sounded better, but the Brannen sounded smoother and offered more overtone.
I do my best to just play the way that I play. I'm not consciously trying to make one flute sound like the other. However, the way the flute takes my air will affect how I approach it. Thanks for watching and for your comment!
Lot! Lot! Lot!!!!
louis lot better then brannen flute
The modern instrument is hands down better, as it not only has more power and projection in all ranges but can produce just as sweet a tone when needed as the Lot. It would be extraordinary if that were not the case. Flutes are not like violins - they do not "improve" with age and there is no golden age of flute making in the same way. But like most instruments, the quality of sound resides more in the player than the instrument. A great player would produce a better sound on the Lot than an intermediate player on the most expensive modern flute.
Lot flute has sweeter tone.
I felt the Louis Lot’s tone was superior with the higher notes, but the Brannen was superior overall, especially in lower tones and was better balanced overall. I’d love to play either, but would choose the Brannen for myself.
The lot almost HAS to sound better when you compare the emb hole alone. Something that size is going to impossible to play completely focused. You could drive a truck through that thing. :)
Lous Lot wins
With a Louis Lot you must not blow hard! Let it sing by its self and get it retuned by an expert, the tuning is way out! A modern flute plays itself!
"Cotton ball" and "half step flat" (on some notes) on the Lot are gross exaggerations you really ought to retract.
My language might be a little colorful, but I don't think it's controversial to say that vintage flutes are less responsive/more resistant than modern flutes and that the scales of vintage flutes require much more adjustment by the player than modern. I say these things as a huge fan of vintage instruments.
@Lance Suzuki What you call "colorful" is liable to scare another generation of flutist into sending old flutes in for melt and missing the chance, experience, and pleasure of playing these old instruments.