Music for the Chalumeau

Abstract Chapter 2 provides an overview of chalumeau music written from 1694 to 1780. Seventeen works are discussed that represent the large chalumeau repertoire: opera, oratorio, cantata, psalm, concerto, stage, chamber, and orchestral. The chalumeau was prominently used in European courts, schools, and concerts in Vienna, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Venice, Prague, Darmstadt, Hamburg, Liechtenstein, Frankfurt, London, Darmstadt, Zerbst, Eisenstadt, Dresden, and other cities, and in monasteries at Göttweig in Austria, and Osek and Lubens in Poland. Chalumeaux were made in five sizes: soprano, alto, tenor, bass, and basset bass (extended range bass). Soprano and bass chalumeaux were used in Vienna by several composers; soprano chalumeaux in Amsterdam by Dreux; alto, tenor, and bass chalumeaux by Graupner and Telemann in Darmstadt, Hamburg, and Frankfurt; and basset bass by Steffani in Düsseldorf and Pichler in Göttweig.