Rudall Carte

Rudall Carte concert flute

> handmade in 1936

> silver keywork

> one-piece Monel body

> headjoint with Monel tube and silver lip-plate

> A=440

> closed G sharp

> excellent condition

> recently repadded and serviced

This is a rare Monel flute from the 1930s that was made with the more expensive option of silver keywork. Condition is excellent, with no noticeable play in the mechanism. Recently repadded and serviced, it is ready for a new playing life.

In the early 1920s Rudall Carte developed a metal alloy that would give easier and more even sound production while retaining the qualities associated with their wooden flutes. They called this Monel, and for the first few years used it to make the lining for headjoints of their top-of-the-range flutes. In 1930 they began making complete bodies and headjoints as well, and these were quickly very successful. Most of the flutes were fitted with plated keywork, but a few such as this one were upgraded to silver with the same design, made by the top craftsmen. The leaflet reproduced in the photos, published in 1931 to advertise these latest models, shows the difference in price, and explains their aims and achievements.

The start of the war in 1939 brought an end to all flute production. When flutemaking resumed in 1945 the situation at Berners Street was not the same. The workshop had received some bomb damage, and the old equipment needed to be replaced and updated. But a fundamental change had occurred, for Rudall Carte was no longer an independent company, having been bought by Boosey & Hawkes in 1944. Whatever the true motives behind this acquisition, it seems that re-establishing Rudall Carte as the finest of flutemakers was not one of them. The craftsmen struggled on until the new owners closed the workshop in 1958, a betrayal so painful that even fifty years later one of those craftsmen refused in conversation to say the words 'Boosey & Hawkes'.

Thus Monel flutes, having enjoyed such a triumphant introduction, never had the chance to establish their rightful permanent position in the marketplace and concert halls. This flute, made in 1936 by Leonard Hinde, demonstrates all the qualities that Rudall Carte described in their leaflet. Leonard was the son of Tom Hinde, one of the finest Carte flutemakers of the 1890s. By the early 1920s Leonard was making top-of-the-range flutes, and went on to become foreman. The photo, taken by Roger Charters c1949, shows Leonard Hinde, looking rather pensive, at the foreman's ledger desk.

This example of Leonard Hinde's skill is beautifully made; the touches and keys are elegantly shaped and sit perfectly under the fingers. The flute plays with such richness and lyrical beauty that one can understand why so many players sought out and acquired one during Monel's heyday.

Rudall Carte's Monel flutes are not well known, and consequently under-appreciated. This superior example is very usable today, pitched at A=440, with a good scale. The one-piece body, with its lack of a join and need for a socket and tenon, has the advantage of allowing the RH4 Eb tone-hole to sit in the correct position.

CONDITION

The flute has been through our workshop. It was recently repadded and serviced, and fitted with all new springs and other consumables. The headjoint has at some point been upgraded with a modern stopper with O-ring. The silver lip-plate combines with the vibrant Monel headjoint tube to give precision and richness. There are no ugly repairs to the mechanism, which works accurately without excessive sideways movement. This is one of the best Monel flutes we have worked on. The flute comes in a stout old wooden case.