Description
Recently I was approached to provide a historically accurate fife for an 18th Spanish representation during the reign of Charles III (king of Spain 1759 – 1788). His father was Philip of Anjou; a French Bourbon Prince who became King of Spain as Philip V. There seems to be a dearth of definitively “Spanish” fifes of that era available for copying, so I was commissioned to make one based upon other surviving European examples. I’ve handled and measured a few, and as an educated conclusion, I have made this fife for the customer. It is set to Baroque pitch (A=415); it is in D (tonic tone) by that standard but C# by today’s standards. American Boxwood, small tone holes like woodwinds of the period, and specially flourished ferrules for a distinctive yet historical appearance. Short of having an original Spanish fife of the period on hand to replicate, this is as good as you gonna get, and it is good.
