C. Palanca
Carlo Palanca, an Italian woodwind player and maker had a long career, starting in the late 1710s and lasting over 60 years. There are more than 40 surviving instruments by him, including oboes, bassoons, recorders and flutes, with flutes being the majority of these. Palanca and his workshop were crucial in forming of the North Italian woodwind making school. The surviving instruments, with their high quality of workmanship, are particularly inspiring.Modern Palanca copies are almost all exclusively based on one fairly late original (ca. 1760s). This is despite the fact that there are over 20 different Palanca flutes that survive. I was interested in exploring earlier flutes by Palanca and have measured several originals in various European collections. The copy I make is based on a boxwood original found in Pistoia which seems to be one of the earliest surviving flutes made by this maker. It is a beautiful instrument in an excellent state or preservation and has numbered middle joints for A=412, 422 and 430. A fourth middle joint (no. 2) is now missing but was probably pitched around A=415. The flute has a small round embouchure that is very heavily undercut as well as a markedly conical bore, an unusual element for such an early model.
This model demands more precision in blowing, compared to later Palanca copies with their larger oval embouchures. However, once the “sweet spot” is found the sound is sweet, focused and resonant, with a very strong bottom register and solid forked fingerings.
This is a great all-around baroque model, perfect for exploring repertoire of the first half of the 18th century.
This model is available at A=412/415 in boxwood, greadilla and a variety of exotic hardwoods.