Ecole Elémentaire Lucie Aubrac Sainte-Savine France peace through the arts...

We are going to present you a composer of classical music Maurice Ravel

and a musical instrument: the traverse flute.

Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects.

Ravel is perhaps known best for his orchestral music and arrangement. -Daphnis and Chloé -Pictures at an exhibition

The Ravel’s most famous orchestral composition is

One of our pupils is playing traverse flute and we decided to now more about it

The traverse flute would have appeared in China, then in West in the Middle Ages (XIIth century). The first descriptions of the instrument date however only of the XVIth century. In the second half of the XVIIth century, Jean-Baptiste Lully introduces the traverse flute into the orchestra of opera and since the XVIIIth century, the instrument sees assigning an important function of soloist. LULLY

The first major transformations brought to the traverse flute will be due to the French family Hotteterre, during the first half of the XVIIIth century. Jacques Martin Hotteterre cuts the flute in 3 pieces.

For our pupils we used older and simpler flutes recorders

Children played the European hymn From the 9th symphony of beethoven

peace through the arts... The end