The Flute Network Recommends...
From the February 1, 2004 issue of The Flute Network

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Bel Canto Flute: The Rampal School. Written and complied by Sheryl Cohen. Published by Winzer Press. 3057 Circle Dr NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402. Order on-line at: www.winzerpress.com. Price: $35.95, plus shipping and handling.

     This wonderful addition to flute literature is a tribute to the teaching and playing of the late Jean-Pierre Rampal by Sheryl Cohen, Professor of Flute at the University of Alabama, one of his most devoted students. A large-format (227-page) method book, the Bel Canto Flute contains both an overview of the technical and stylistic elements of Rampal’s approach to the flute and a great deal of original analysis and instructional material by Cohen, combined with a profusion of musical examples and musical selections illustrating the principles and techniques outlined.

     The organization of this work revolves around solving musical and performance problems in a very systematic way. The first section of this method book covers Rampal’s manner of teaching a singing style of flute playing along with his ideas on breath control, tone development, articulation and technical practice. In the subsequent chapters, Cohen focuses on illustrating musical problems encountered in various styles of music and provides suggestions and solutions for mastering common patterns and gestures, slow movements, scales, arpeggios, various approaches to rhythmic patterns and dance movements, and lip flexibility needed for large intervals. Included is a selection of 37 the best etudes and technical studies by Altes, Andersen, Boehm, Garibaldi, Hugues, Koehler, Schade and Sussman, as well as 34 full movements from works by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Handel, Telemann, Donjon, Kuhlau, and other 19th century composers.

     This book is intended for more advanced players for whom The Bel Canto Flute will be an inspiration and a way of solidifying their conceptions and control of the flute. The spiral- bound format allows this hefty volume to sit neatly on the music stand or desk with easy page turns. One of most charming and compelling aspects of this work is the inclusion of the brief quotations and inspirational aphorisms found between each chapter which sum up the broader aesthetic and philosophical aspects of Rampal’s musical artistry, his human communication through the flute, and his personal joive de vivre. Though her goal was to build on and expand the concepts she learned from Rampal, Cohen goes much further and advances our literature immensely with her own personal insights and ideas. All-in-all this is one of the most rigorously organized, well-thought-out, and creatively written pedagogical works of the past half-century and represents a major addition to the literature of the flute. (J.E.P.)

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