Suabe Flute English Echo Melodia English

An open wooden flute stop of 4' pitch (or 8', according to Irwin), invented by William Hill of London. It is usually made with inverted mouths, and is of small or medium scale. One example by Hill measures 1 3/4" x 1 3/8" at tenor C. Most sources liken its soft tone to that of the Waldflote, and some consider it to be the octave of that stop. Skinner likens it to the Melodia, and Audsley places it between the two. According to Wedgwood, it is occasionally made of metal rather than wood. Irwin gives the synonym Echo Melodia, and may have coined it; no examples of that name are known.

Examples

Osiris contains eleven examples, all at 4' pitch, the earliest of which are listed below. No examples of Echo Melodia are known; contributions welcome.

Suabe Flute 4', Choir; Town Hall, Leeds, England; Gray & Davison 1859.

Suabe Flute 4', Swell; Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Hill 1861.

Suabe Flute 4', Swell; Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, England; Hill 1872.

Bibliography