Artist Lizzo playing U.S. Founding Father James Madison's crystal flute

A glass flute or crystal flute is a glass instrument briefly popular in the early 19th century. These flutes preserved pitch and tone during temperature change better than the wood and ivory flutes available at the time of their manufacture. Most were made by Claude Laurent, a French craftsman and clockmaker who patented the leaded crystal glass flute in 1806. They became obsolete after metal flutes were produced.^[1] Other than sounding more consistent at differing temperatures, glass flutes are similar in tone to contemporary wooden and ivory flutes.^[2]

Claude Laurent's glass flutes were manufactured in Paris in the early 19th century.^[3] About 185 of Laurent’s instruments are known to have survived, with the United States Library of Congress holding 17 of these.^[1]

Construction

Some of the flutes built by Laurent are lead crystal and some are potash glass.^[4] To reduce weight and provide ornamentation, crystal flutes are cut with facets or fluting on the outside. The interior surface is precision ground and polished. Joints between the glass sections are silver. Some crystal flutes used natural quartz crystal end-caps. Laurent introduced the system of mounting flute keys on pillars, an innovation which became a standard that has outlived the popularity of the glass flute.^[2]

James Madison's crystal flute

In 2022, musical artist and classically trained flutist Lizzo was invited by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to view the Library's flute collection, which is believed to be the largest in the world.^[1] One of the flutes she viewed was an 1813 Claude Laurent crystal flute that Laurent sent to James Madison to commemorate his second inauguration as U.S. President. The flute was rescued from the White House in April 1814 by the White House servants under the direction of First Lady Dolley Madison as the British entered Washington, DC during the War of 1812. While at the Library of Congress, Lizzo requested to play the flute in concert. She then played it onstage at Capital One Arena, briefly twerking during the performance. After playing, she stated to the audience, "I just twerked and played James Madison's crystal flute from the 1800s. We just made history tonight."^[5][6][7]

References