Flûte Courte French Kurzeflöte German Kurzflöte German

Audsley lists both names with the following description:

Literally Short Flute. A cylindrical metal labial stop, of medium scale, and 4 ft. pitch, yielding an unimitative flute-tone of an agreeable quality. An example exists in the Echo of the Organ in the Cathedral of Lund, Sweden.

Wedgwood describes Kurzeflöte thus: “Akin to the Zwergpfeife (dwarf-pipe) or Piccolo.” Maclean describes Kurzflöte as a synonym for Gedeckt, or for any flute stop of 2' or 1' pitch. Maclean lists Flûte Courte separately, but only cites the Lincoln Center example (see below).

Examples

All known examples of Flûte Courte are given below. No examples of Kurz[e]flöte are known. Contributions welcome.

Flute Courte 2', Swell; Chapel by the Sea Presbyterian Church, Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, USA; Moller 1884. (Osiris lists it as an extension, but not of what; perhaps the 4' Flute Ouverte?)

Flûte Courte 16', Swell; Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California, USA; Ruffati. (Duplexed to Pedal at 16' and 8'.)

Flûte Courte 8', Pedal; First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, California, USA; Ruffati 1975.

Flûte Courte 16', Swell; Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC, USA; Skinner (Duplexed to Pedal at 16' and 8'.)

Flûte Courte 16', Swell; Lincoln Center, New York City, New York, USA; Aeolian-Skinner. A Spillflöte whose conical portion is half the body length with a 1/3 taper.

Bibliography