Overview

The Tulou Flûte Perfectionnée was one of the most sophisticated developments of the French simple-system flute during the nineteenth century.

Developed by the celebrated French flutist, teacher, composer, and Paris Conservatoire professor Jean-Louis Tulou (1786–1865), it represented France’s most ambitious attempt to modernize the traditional conical wooden flute while preserving its characteristic tone, expressive flexibility, and familiar fingering.

Although officially presented in 1851 alongside Tulou’s Progressive and Reasoned Flute Method, the instrument was in reality the result of nearly two decades of experimentation. Evidence shows that Tulou had already begun developing its principal features during the early 1830s while collaborating with the Paris flute maker Jacques Nonon.

Unlike Theobald Böhm’s revolutionary redesign of the flute, Tulou sought not to replace the traditional instrument but to perfect it. His work embodied the ideals of the French flute school, combining mechanical innovation with a determination to preserve the tonal beauty and musical aesthetics that had defined French flute playing for generations.

Origins

Jean-Louis Tulou’s interest in flute making can be traced to at least 1820, when trade directories associated him with Parisian flute makers while he was serving as principal flutist of the Paris Opéra. Before establishing his own workshop in 1828, he worked closely with leading makers such as Bellissent and Clair Godfroy Aîné, testing instruments, correcting problems of tuning and acoustics, and advising on improvements. In 1831 he entered into a partnership with Jacques Nonon that would last twenty-two years and become one of the most important collaborations in nineteenth-century French flute making.

Jean-Louis Tulou and the Paris Conservatoire

Jean-Louis Tulou served as Professor of Flute at the Paris Conservatoire from 1829 until 1856 and was one of the most influential French flutists of the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1828 he manufactured flutes, and from 1831 he collaborated with the Paris maker Jacques Nonon, whose workshop supplied instruments to the Conservatoire for many years.

Ironically, although Tulou continually developed increasingly sophisticated flutes, he reportedly preferred performing on a relatively simple four-key instrument. His reputation rested not only on his virtuosity but also on his commitment to preserving the traditions of the French flute school.

The French Five-Key Tradition

The traditional French conical flute was admired for its elegant simplicity, light weight, agility, and expressive tone. By the 1820s, however, many makers were adding keys to improve intonation, facilitate difficult trills, and expand technical possibilities while preserving the familiar simple-system fingering.

Tulou believed that this evolutionary approach represented the future of the flute.

The Birth of the Flûte Perfectionnée

Recent historical evidence shows that Tulou’s ideas were already well advanced by 1834. A catalogue for the National Exhibition of French Industrial Products described several innovations developed by Tulou and Jacques Nonon, including the elimination of interchangeable middle joints, replacement of the traditional tuning slide (“pump”), pitch adjustment through interchangeable tuning rings, lighter and more elegant keywork, and improved proportions for the instrument.

These innovations demonstrate that Tulou’s perfected flute evolved gradually over many years rather than appearing suddenly in 1851.

The Battle with Böhm

The arrival of Theobald Böhm’s revolutionary flute fundamentally changed the direction of Tulou’s work.

In 1839, when Victor Coche proposed introducing the Böhm flute to the Paris Conservatoire, Tulou opposed the proposal and argued that the traditional French flute could still be improved without abandoning its established fingering and tone.

During the Conservatoire commission’s first meeting in December 1839, members examined Böhm-system instruments built by Godfroy & Lot and Buffet, alongside a flute presented by Tulou. Tulou successfully persuaded the commission that Böhm’s design should not yet become the Conservatoire’s official teaching instrument.

This decision delayed the adoption of the Böhm flute in France for two decades. Only after Tulou’s retirement was the Böhm flute officially adopted by the Paris Conservatoire in 1860.

Principal Innovations

Three-Part Construction

Tulou abandoned the traditional arrangement by placing all six finger holes on a single center joint. This stronger construction allowed the addition of new trill mechanisms while improving mechanical reliability.

The Tulou F♯ Key

One of Tulou’s earliest and most influential innovations was a special F♯ key.

On traditional French flutes, F♯ tended to sound noticeably flat because the instrument was designed to preserve excellent forked fingerings for F natural and upper-register notes.

Tulou solved this by adding a side-mounted key that opened a small vent hole between the fourth and fifth finger holes. When depressed, the mechanism significantly sharpened F♯, particularly useful in soft passages, adagios, and leading tones where accurate intonation was especially important.

This mechanism later inspired several automatic venting systems developed by other makers.

Additional C Key

Tulou introduced a second C key operated by the third finger of the left hand.

Derived from earlier English and German designs, this additional key simplified certain passages and improved several trill fingerings, although it never became universally adopted.

Advanced Trill Mechanisms

The flûte perfectionnée incorporated several new trill keys positioned between the third and fifth finger holes.

These mechanisms greatly improved difficult high-register trills, particularly involving C, C♯, D, and E.

Tulou published specialized trill charts demonstrating the new fingerings, many of which were considerably easier and more reliable than those available on conventional simple-system flutes.

Tuning Rings and Pitch Adjustment

Unlike earlier flutes that relied on interchangeable middle joints or tuning slides, Tulou developed a system of interchangeable rings that allowed players to lower the pitch while preserving the instrument’s acoustical proportions. This represented one of the most original mechanical solutions found on nineteenth-century French flutes.

Jacques Nonon’s Version and the Tulou–Nonon Partnership

The partnership between Jean-Louis Tulou and Jacques Nonon lasted twenty-two years (1831–1853) and became one of the most important collaborations in nineteenth-century French flute making. Working together, they produced highly refined five- and six-key flutes as well as the Flûte Perfectionnée, earning recognition and medals at the Paris Industrial Exhibitions of 1834, 1839, 1844, and 1849, and at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.

During this collaboration, Nonon manufactured his own versions of the Flûte Perfectionnée, further developing several of Tulou’s innovations. Some surviving examples feature a B-foot, unusual for French flutes, bringing the total to thirteen keys. Nonon also modified several mechanisms, replacing Tulou’s left-hand C key with a thumb-operated C key while retaining the characteristic Tulou F♯ vent key. These instruments represent some of the most mechanically advanced French simple-system flutes ever constructed.

The partnership ended in 1853 following legal disputes, including a commercial court case initiated by Tulou over alleged unfair competition. After the separation, Nonon increasingly embraced the Böhm system, producing Böhm flutes alongside traditional models—a direction that may itself have contributed to the growing differences between the two makers.

Today, instruments produced during the Tulou–Nonon partnership are regarded as milestones in the evolution of the French simple-system flute, representing the highest level of mechanical refinement achieved before the widespread adoption of the Böhm system.

Continued Development

Tulou’s ideas continued influencing flute makers well into the twentieth century.

Following the end of his partnership with Nonon, Tulou worked with Pierre Louis Gautrot, whose workshop continued producing Tulou-model flutes after Tulou’s retirement and even after his death. Later, Gautrot, Couesnon & Cie., Buffet Jeune, Martin, Thibouville, Rampone, and several other makers manufactured instruments based on the Tulou system.

The Paris firm Couesnon & Cie. offered Tulou-model flutes with five, six, nine, ten, and twelve keys in catalogues around 1900. Their most advanced models introduced automatic venting mechanisms that eliminated the need for Tulou’s manual F♯ key while preserving its acoustical advantages.

Italian makers also adopted elements of Tulou’s system. The Rampone catalogue of approximately 1923 lists several flauti sistema Tulòu, some incorporating additional ring keys while retaining Tulou’s characteristic trill mechanisms.

Remarkably, Tulou-model flutes remained in commercial production into the 1930s, demonstrating that the design enjoyed a long and successful life despite the eventual international dominance of the Böhm system.

Tulou’s Philosophy

Tulou consistently argued that instrument makers should improve the flute without sacrificing its musical character.

In the introduction to his 1851 method, he criticized Böhm for neglecting what he considered two essential principles: preserving the distinctive tone of the flute and maintaining practical fingering. For Tulou, each instrument possessed its own unique timbre, and preserving that individuality was essential to the expressive power of music.

His opposition to Böhm therefore reflected not a rejection of innovation, but a fundamentally different philosophy of instrument design.

Honors and Recognition

Honourable Mention at the Great Exhibition of London in 1851, where Tulou exhibited the instrument before an international audience. The exhibition also brought Tulou several prestigious distinctions, reflecting the high regard in which both the maker and his work were held throughout Europe.

Legacy

Rather than replacing the traditional French flute, the Tulou Flûte Perfectionnée refined it to the highest level of its development. It represents the culmination of nearly three centuries of evolution before the Böhm system ultimately became the international standard.

Today, it stands not only as one of the most significant transitional instruments in flute history, but also as the embodiment of an alternative vision of the flute’s future — one in which tradition and innovation advanced together rather than through complete reinvention.