The flute
Roko Matoković
Aljmaš, the middle of the 20th century
wood
drilling, notching, ignition, carving
length = 34 cm
diameter = 1,10 cm
length from the side to the bottom of the instrument = 30,7 cm
distance from the side to the first finger-hole = 11,8 cm
distance between the finger-holes = 1,5 - 2 cm
Soundtrack: Stjepan Večković, playing the described instrument from the museum collection
POH-457/1920
The Collection of Musical instruments by Franjo Ksaver Kuhač
The flute is made of one piece of wood, very nicely ornamented with plant and geometrical motives, and tiny burned dots. There are six playing holes and a blowhole on the same side, as well as the maker’s name: Roko Matoković from Aljmaš, Slavonija.
Kuhač writes about the way the flute is played in a lot of detail:
“If you cover all six holes with your finger tips and blow lightly, this gives (let’s say) C, if you unfinger the far bottom hole, this gived D, if you unfinger another one this gives E, the third unfingered hole will give F, fourth G, fifth A, and when finally all six are unfingered this will give A. When you blow very quietly, the bottom octave will go quiet, and if you blow hard, the top fifth will go quiet.” (Kuhač 1877: 10)
