After touring the U.S. Library of Congress’s vast collection of artisan and antique flutes, popular vocalist and formally trained flautist Lizzo played an over 200-year-old crystal flute. The instrument was crafted for President James Madison.
Made for Madison's second inauguration in the 1810s, the flute features intricate carvings and shiny silver fastenings. It isn’t known if the president played the particular instrument, but it is fully functional. In fact, Claude Laurent — the French craftsman that originally constructed the translucent music-maker — thought that glass and crystal preserved pitch and tone much more than wood, the more common material of flutes from the time.
Though Laurent's experimental flutes found popularity for several years, fewer than 200 of the craftsman's glass instruments, and far fewer crystal creations, survive to this day. The instruments testify to the innovation involved in music making, and they stress that artisans have used an astonishing variety of materials to produce song throughout history.
