Perfect Pitch
BY MARK VANDERHOFF l PHOTOS BY RIMAS ZAILSKASIt takes time to make a masterpiece. The process requires precision, passion and patience, but when the work of art
is
a wooden flute, the craftsmanship is evident in every note. That’s why
an Abell flute spends one to two years in Chris Abell’s Grovewood
Gallery workshop, slowly evolving into an instrument worthy of the
finest flute players in the world.
Abell has been so successful that, at one point, he had a four-year waiting list. But they are worth waiting for. Abell’s flutes are significant because they have reintroduced the wooden flute to a scene that, in the last century, has been dominated by the metal variety. Before the 20th century, all flutes were made from wood. When metal flutes were introduced, however, they became “the new sound,” Abell says, congruent with an age in which metal was replacing many things wooden. Soon, every musician worth his reputation turned to metal flutes.
Now, their preferences are coming full circle, thanks, in large measure, to Abell. With a client roster that includes Patrick Gallois, the famous French flutist and conductor, it’s clear Abell’s wooden flutes have become increasingly popular with orchestral performance musicians. Anyone who has enjoyed a recent movie has probably heard one of his instruments in the soundtrack. In addition to symphonic flutes, Abell makes wooden whistles, or “end-blown” flutes, that are popular with Celtic musicians.
The flute bodies are jet black, made from African blackwood, or grenadilla, a dense, dark, heavy wood, and fitted with starkly contrasting sterling silver parts. Blackwood’s naturally occurring oils keep the wood “constant,” meaning it is less likely to warp or crack from repeated exposure to moisture and saliva. It is the perfect wood for a flute, Abell has found. He describes the resulting sound as a “pungent, reedy tone” with “a dark rich fullness.”
“It’s all about the tone and the color of the instrument. There’s a depth in it that gets rid of the metallic shimmer,” says Abell, who plays both flute and whistle. “Not that I’m dissing metal flutes…” he adds quickly.
Abell studied metal flute-making in Boston with Brannen Brothers, one of the most respected companies in the industry. When he returned to his hometown of Asheville in 1995, he decided to try something rather unusual for the time — making wooden flutes — a practice that had been all but abandoned since the 1930s.
The lengthy crafting process begins with a raw piece of wood that is turned into a rod on a metal lathe. African blackwood has a density similar to cast iron, so Abell shapes it with metalworking machines so precise they can be calibrated to within a hair’s width. He then uses a gun drill to hollow out the inside. Next, the tube rests for several months. The wood must be air dried because a kiln or microwave will destroy the valuable oils.
As wood dries and changes form, it naturally “stress relieves.” Unfortunately, this shifting can result in cracking, rendering the body unusable. If a cylinder doesn’t split during curing, it will move on to the next stage: drilling the tone holes. This is a critical and delicate part of the process; up to one-quarter of the wood has already been removed from the interior and the shell is fragile. <>
At this point, the body will have been worked on for two to three hours, but it will have “cured” for more than six months — with more to follow. Once the drilling is complete, the wood is allowed to rest yet again.
In the meantime, Abell fashions the hundreds of parts used to create the mechanics of the flute. These tiny components are meticulously assembled and attached to the flute body at a work table full of diminutive tools — reamers, tweezers, tiny screwdrivers, drills and brazing equipment.
When it is nearly complete, the flute is turned over to a fellow Brannen Brothers alumnus, Clifford Tretick, who pads and adjusts it before returning the instrument to Abell for final inspection. Satisfied that his creation is worthy of the Abell name, the flute is shipped off to the eager new owner.
And so the process begins again, handcrafting yet another exquisite black beauty, repeating the steps with unwavering dedication. Abell doesn’t mind at all. “If you’re satisfied and happy with what you do,” he says, “you will sit down and do it over and over and over.”
Wind Power
In addition to handmade flutes, Abell builds a variety of whistles. Abell whistles are constructed with seasoned, instrument-grade hardwood from the equatorial regions of Africa and the Caribbean (and occasionally from Australia).
The Abell Flute Company
111 Grovewood Road, Asheville
828-254-1004
