George Frederick McKay · section 11 of 111

The Alto Flute

The alto flute, or flute in G, is a rare instrument mainly used for a certain low register quality. The heavy lower tones have unique substantiality and depth. The upper tones are hardly distinguishable from those of the flute in C (the ordinary flute).

The alto flute may be heard in Holst's The Planets — as third flute in the movement "Saturn."