A flute stop usually found in the pedal at 8' pitch, occasionally at 16' or 4', and usually made of wood. Authorities disagree on whether it is usually open or stopped. It is often derived from a 16' stop, sometimes even (according to Audsley and Skinner) from a 16' Open Diapason. The names Bass Flute and Flute Bass date from the late 1800's; Bassflöte and Flötenbass appear at least a century earlier.

Examples

Osiris contains over five dozen examples of Bass Flute, four dozen examples of Bassflöte, 21 examples of Flötenbass, and 16 of Flute Bass, all at 8' pitch except for five at 16' and sixteen at 4'. All of these examples appear in pedal divisions except for one which is listed below.

Flötenbass 4', Pedal; Monastery Church, Neresheim, Germany; Holzhey 1792-98.

Bassflöte 8', Pedal; Abbey, Muri, Switzerland; Schott 1630.

Flute Bass 16', Pedal; St. Joseph R.C. Church, Seattle, Washington, USA; Willis 1870.

Bass Flute 16', Chancel-Choir; St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, New York, USA; Kilben 1930. This is the only known example which does not appear in a pedal division.

Sound Clips

See the Sound Files appendix for general information.

Bibliography