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      • A Vade Mecum for the Lovers of Musick (1679)
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      • A comparison between the French and Italian musick and opera's (1709)
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      • The Bird Fancyer's Delight (1717)
      • A Short Explication of Such Foreign Words, as are Made use of in Musick Books (1724)
      • Grassineau Musical Dictionary (1740)
      • Nancy or The Parting Lovers (1740)
      • The Compleat Tutor for the Flute (1746)
      • Dictionarium Musica (1770)
      • The Present State of Music in France and Italy (1771)
      • The Elements of Musick Display'd (1772)
      • Longman & Broderip 1774 Music Catalog (1774)
      • A General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1776)
      • New Music: Engraved, Printed, and Sold by John Preston (1781)
    • 19th Century >
      • The Cyclopædia (1819)
  • The Index
    • Poster Footnotes

The Genteel Companion (1683)

About

Humphrey Salter (fl 1682 - 1723) was an English music publisher, editor, and composer perhaps best known for The Genteel Companion, one of the earliest English method books for the "recorder." Salter, according to the guide's title, was responsible for composing and gathering the text's contents before co-publishing it with Richard Hunt. The book contains a brief, 8-page guide to playing the "recorder" as well as two fingering charts (one for "plaine" notes and one for chromatic notes) and a handful of short pieces for the instrument. The guide was published in London in 1683.
  • Resource Type: ​Instructional Method
  • Year Published: 1683
  • Contributor(s): ​Humphrey Salter, Richard Hunt
  • Terminology Utilized:
    • ​"Recorder" = Vertical Flute
  • Location of Publication: London
View a complete scan of this resource on the Library of Congress' Website >
​
View the full text conversion of this resource on the University of Michigan Library's Website >

Read about Humphrey Salter on Grove Music Online >

Terminology

This instructional guide is aimed towards the vertical flute, as evidenced by the frontispiece illustration, which shows a man playing a vertical flute, as well as the chromatic fingering chart, which has a vertically-oriented fingering guide. Throughout the guide, the only term used to refer to the instrument is the word "recorder." The word "flute" does not occur at any point throughout the text, showing that the term "recorder" was so commonly used in London around 1683 that no additional clarification was necessary.
Picture
The frontispiece of The Genteel Companion showing a man playing a vertical flute.
Image retrieved from Christopher Welch's Lectures on the Recorder In Relation to Literature (1961).
Picture
The first page of the "Directions for the Recorder" section of The Genteel Companion showing repeated use of the term "recorder" and no instance of the term "flute."
Image retrieved from The Library of Congress.
Picture
The "plaine" and chromatic fingering charts from The Genteel Companion showing the use of vertical fingering charts.
Images retrieved from The Library of Congress.

Related Media

The Genteel Companion: A Recorder Recital
Read a review of this album here >
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  • Home
  • About The Project
  • The Poster
  • Select Analyses
    • 16th Century >
      • The King's Musick
    • 17th Century >
      • A Vade Mecum for the Lovers of Musick (1679)
      • The Genteel Companion (1683)
      • Thesaurus Musicus (1693)
      • A Collection of New Ayres (1695)
      • The Compleat Flute-Master (1695)
    • 18th Century >
      • A comparison between the French and Italian musick and opera's (1709)
      • The Modern Musik-Master (1730)
      • The Bird Fancyer's Delight (1717)
      • A Short Explication of Such Foreign Words, as are Made use of in Musick Books (1724)
      • Grassineau Musical Dictionary (1740)
      • Nancy or The Parting Lovers (1740)
      • The Compleat Tutor for the Flute (1746)
      • Dictionarium Musica (1770)
      • The Present State of Music in France and Italy (1771)
      • The Elements of Musick Display'd (1772)
      • Longman & Broderip 1774 Music Catalog (1774)
      • A General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1776)
      • New Music: Engraved, Printed, and Sold by John Preston (1781)
    • 19th Century >
      • The Cyclopædia (1819)
  • The Index
    • Poster Footnotes