Flageolet (redirected from French flageolets)

flageolet (flăjəlĕt`), small straight flute of conical bore, with a whistle mouthpiece. The number of finger holes varies, as does the length, which may be from 4 to 12 in (10.2–30.5 cm). The flageolet, related to the recorder, was known as early as the 16th cent., its invention in 1581 being ascribed to Juvigny, a Parisian. It was in use until the end of the 19th cent.

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flageolet¹

a high-pitched musical instrument of the recorder family having six or eight finger holes

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flageolet², flageolet bean

the pale green immature seed of a haricot bean, cooked and eaten as a vegetable

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Flageolet 

in music:

(1) A wind instrument, a type of end-blown flute with a cylindrical tube and finger holes, generally six. The most widespread type is the flageolet developed by Juvigny in Paris circa 1581, which has a beaked mouthpiece with a whistle device. A flageolet with keys was used in the 18th and 19th centuries in symphony and operatic orchestras; operas by Gluck and Mozart contain flageolet parts. The flageolet is now used as a solo instrument and in ensembles. It is a precursor of the piccolo.

(2) A whistling tone produced on string instruments by lightly touching a string at its center or at one-third, one-quarter, and so on, of its length. The sound produced resembles the sound of the instrument (hence the name).

REFERENCE

Targonskii, Ia. B. Flazholety smychkovykh instrumentov. Moscow, 1936.