With the Syrinx [picture above] played by Papageno in the opera, we hear five notes played with speed, going higher as the pipes are shorter. He can only play five notes, at pretty much the same volume, in one octave. As Papageno plays he is putting together opposites — high and low; energy and delicacy; slowness and speed—but the size of the relation of these opposites is limited. In other words this instrument, though delightful does not have the capacity to express the large range of emotions he has. Here, Papageno has lost his lovely Papagena, and he calls for her three times with his pipes to see if she will come. If she does not come, he will have to hang himself. 

[Play this section from The Magic Flute: "(He pipes) Eins! (He pipes and looks around.)—Zwei! (He pipes a very long and sad pipe.)—Drei!" No answer.]    

We don't have to worry. Papageno is saved. 

     Now we hear more of what the flute can do. The sound of this wooden flute has the richness of the opposites more the way the world is and our emotions are. Tamino's short flute solo can cause tears. The trills are bold and hesitant at once; the sound is tearful and luminous; the motion is both restrained and free. Listen:

     It is amazing the music for the flute was as complex and played as well as it was. From the Syrinx, a series of reeds tied together, to the wooden cylinder with 8 holes, we reach the year 1832 and Theobald Boehm's new way of making all flutes. His discoveries arose from his desire to be as exact as possible about sound, the instrument, materials—the world itself—and they were so true to the nature of all three that the present day flute I am holding here is, with only a few changes, the flute he came to. 

     One of the big changes he made in order to have the instrument more flexible, more in tune in every key was to place 17 holes into the instrument at acoustically correct intervals that could be opened and closed by mechanical means instead of the traditional 8 holes — the number determined by how many fingers the musician had available. And the result is he created an instrument that puts together the opposites more richly than ever before.