Simon Polak: Early Flutes
US
Greetings. Hope this finds you
well. I am getting along nicely with my Tassi. Brought it with me when I
attended the Baroque workshop this summer at Longy and one of the other students
fell in love with it.
Indiana,
..... is thrilled with her flute!! I'll see it on Friday. Hope all is well with you
Finland, Haka
I have been playing my flute almost daily since I got it. Its very interesting but difficult flute. (my comment: very close to the original, no attempts to make it easier)
US somewhere
....
.I am very much enjoying it. I am concentrating on starting out slowly and carefully, and hope to have a lesson sometime soon. The sound of the instrument is so pure, so beautiful. ....I feel it a real privilege to be playing on an instrument made by you. Thank you for bringing this joy into my life.Finland
Yes, I have the flute! It's very nice! We have started to get known each other ;)
Japan
received the flute keeping perfect condition yesterday. At the same time,my daughter .............I wanted to play the new flute, while, I had to converse with them. The sound of the flute is very beautiful and voicing is relatively easy. It was difficult to stop playing within 10 or 15minutes. I think if people can get Beukers easily, traverso will be more common. Thank you very much for your excellent workmanship
Japan
Beukers Flute arrival was
carried out today. It is deeply moved with the wonderful instrument.
Thank you so much and I want to use the Beukers flute importantly.
US Montana
Thank you for the beautiful Beukers flute you sent to ..... It is a delight to play! She is enjoying her new friend so much! I could tell right away it was one of your flutes - the tuning is recognizably yours, as of course is the response. Wijne, Kirst, Beukers - each one has a distinctive character and personality, but the tuning is similar enough that the player can easily switch from one instrument to the next without needing serious "brain" adjustments. That characteristic is proving especially nice for me for the next two weeks. I have 5 concerts to play over a period of 8 days. Three of them are at A-415 with the Wijne and the other two are in an orchestra of moderninstruments at A-440 where I'll be playing the Kirst. Thanks again for my lovely instruments as well as taking such good care of my friend, .....
US,Montana
(first reaction) My first 15 minutes--wow. I'm going to have to use a timer. Already I can tell that it's easier to play than the flute I've been playing: the high notes, what a difference. c natural is gorgeous, and f natural is easy; all the notes more "there." It's quite different from the flute I've been playing, so I think that it will take me a little time to get used to. In just 15 minutes I felt like I was growing into it. .... says that it will change as I play it--how exciting. I'm going to go swim so that I can settle down a little.
(second reaction) It's just wonderful. As I learn to play it and as it changes from being played, well, I like it more and more. It's an experience to be able to grow into a fine hand made thing. Astonishing that something can give so much pleasure. ........... and the more I play it the richer the tone I'm able to get. I have a long way to go to get a truely rich tone. I'll have a great time along the way. The last time I played with Katherine she played the Wjine (probably I haven't spelled this right); she sounded so beautiful.
Japan
....... Beukers has powerful low notes, I feel , e.g. D,E,F,Fis. Second F and Fis are very good as you say. As a whole, Beukers is very easy to play, with beautiful sound in tune. I am now practicing Quantz Caprices and Hotteterre Preludes. In the Prelude in D with B.c., cis-dis-f-fis-gis-a-h-cis passage comes out easily with Beukers. I am so satisfied with my new Beukers. I say "thank you" again with all my heart.
Japan
I ordered your Tassi flute last year ,and now I am enjoying to play it. I have liked it very much, I came to be able to play variable articulations with it. Thank you very much. Now, this time, I want to have your Beukers flute. I want a Beukers flute to be made in blackwood, pitch 415Hz, with 408Hz exchange joint.
some of my christmas wishes: Tanks for your wonderful flutes, have a great year and see you soon+cd, Thanks for another great year of flute playing. Back to Beuker and Christmas Bach, great!
England
The flute is playing beautifully already - or perhaps what I mean is that *I'm* adjusting to its particular combination of resistance and flexibility. It is fantastically responsive to minute changes in articulation, partly due to the fact that there's a little 'edge' to the sound, and partly because it has 'good gear changes' - you can adjust the airspeed mid-articulation and the sound doesn't choke. And of course the tuning is a breeze (but it's making me lazy on my other flutes). I'm glad you persuaded me to take the ebony flute - I was a confirmed boxwood-only man beforehand, but I've learned something
Continuing story from Australia (see the earlier ones)
Well, I've now been using the Tassi in rehearsals
for ...(Rameau opera) for a week. It is great! I am now very comfortable with
the stretch, which I hardly notice (except when my fingers are cold! ), and the
sound is really amazing. We have quite a big band, but the Tassi competes
easily. In fact, it seems almost obvious that it is an orchestral instrument.
That's not to say that it isn't also a chamber instrument, but the voicing is
just so perfect for an orchestral situation. It plays very big when you need it,
quite low resistance on some notes compared to the other flutes I have of yours,
which really does get the sound out easily. The tuning is also very comfortable,
no effort on strong notes, meaning they are easy to play soft without strain,
and yet keep their tuning when projected, too. Only exception is the E''', which
has to be nursed. Also, for me, the A#'' and Bb'' are reversed (as is indicated on the fingering page on my
website), but this can have its
compensations. When we first started rehearsals, the pitch started to sink
(harpsichord), so I just switched corps! Wonderful! However, the double reeds
needed to be sharper, so the pitch went up and I switched back - a great
example, though, of how practical the corps de rechange are. We are now playing
at 395, and the shortest corps works just fine as there is a good deal of
flexibility built into this flute. It was also fine at 392, but if I was playing
continuously I would probably choose the middle one. In this opera, there is
quite a lot to do on piccolo, so nothing gets continuous use. This was the acid
test, so to speak, of this flute, and it has proven itself without question -
another truly great Simon Polak instrument.
I'll send more impressions as I go.
Great Britain
The flute is playing beautifully already - or perhaps what I mean is that *I'm* adjusting to its particular combination of resistance and flexibility. It is fantastically responsive to minute changes in articulation, partly due to the fact that there's a little 'edge' to the sound, and partly because it has 'good gear changes' - you can adjust the airspeed mid-articulation and the sound doesn't choke. And of course the tuning is a breeze (but it's making me lazy on my other flutes). I'm glad you persuaded me to take the ebony flute - I was a confirmed boxwood-only man beforehand, but I've learned something new.Anyway, apart from only being able to play it for twenty minutes a time, I'm very happy.
Best wishes and many thanks for a lovely flut
Friesland
De eerste indruk is erg
veelbelovend: prachtige klank en heel zuiver, speelt heel makkelijk, als “vanzelf””.
En dat al na twee keer 15 minuten! Mooi hout ook en fraai afgewerkt. Ben er tot
nu toe heel gelukkig mee, de fluit voldoet geheel aan mijn verwachtingen.
Ik houd je op de hoogte van de ontwikkelingen in onze muzikale “relatie”.
