Le Souffle, le son (The Wind, the Sound)

Le Souffle, le son
The Wind, the Sound
For flute
Composed by Philippe Bernold
Published by Billaudot

A selection of exercises and repertoire excerpts to gain control of the air column and develop a beautiful sound.

“The Wind, the Sound” is a book which extends and amplifies the work discussed in “Technique of the Embouchure”, a work that has achieved great success.
Philippe Bernold, Professor of Flute at the Superior National Conservatory of Music in Paris, presents an engaging form of new exercises based on orchestral, vocal and solo repertoire (with more than 20 excerpts) including works by Bach, Mozart, Bizet, Reinecke, Prokofiev, Debussy, Dutilleux, Messiaen…
This book contains exercises on vocalisation, fundamental exercises to work on the base of the air column and energy of the breath, exercises on improving the embouchure and on refining the end of phrases with the use of harmonics. The length of breath and the use of legato playing are addressed with carefully selected works (often orchestral excerpts), which permit the flutist to play with a tone and expression comparable to that of a singer.
Also covered are fundamental subjects such as support, vibrato, the column of air, the movement of the jaw, the timbre, and other nuances in the form of “notes” and “articles”.

Foreward:
The Present Book is a follow-up to La technique d’embouchure (Billaudot). This new collection of exercises is based on various musical excerpts from orchestral, vocal and solo repertoire. It was designed to improve the energy of your breath and develop precise embouchure control.
Control over both ends of the air column accounts for a rich, full, nuanced and sophisticated sound.
Four chapters address the following issues:
– Chapter 1 — the energy of breath; airflow and airstream; quantity and intensity. Work focuses on the lower end of the air column.
– Chapter 2 — a focus on embouchure – the top end of the air column. These lip awareness exercises aim at lip flexibility and aperture control in order to develop a broad dynamic range and to play long tones.
– Chapter 3 — a synthesis of the first two chapters: modulating the air stream and controlling the lips to play long, nuanced phrases.
– Chapter 4 — takes the previous chapter further with a focus on legato playing in lyrical pieces.

The ultimate goal of a flutist, in my sense, is to play as expressively and as intensively as a singer: the production of the sound is ultimately tied with the use of air as much as with singers as with flutists. The quality of the sonority is a result of a good use of the air.
Note: it goes without saying that one must have a perfect control over the breath intake (using a deep breath) and it should be mastered in order to obtain good results.  …. Philippe Bernold – Professor, Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris…….