Nicolas Dôthel

Nicolas Dôthel, known in Italy as Niccolò, was a French flautist and composer born in Lunéville in 1721 and who died in Florence in 1810. He belongs to the musical world of the eighteenth-century Tuscan court, where he became part of the instrumental ensemble of the Grand Duke and left a considerable body of work for the flute.

The son of an oboist of the same name, who had been a member of the Lunéville band and from 1739 served as first oboe in the Grand Duke's guard in Florence, he himself joined the band in 1736. Shortly afterwards he became flautist in the ducal chapel and chamber music. From 1747 he appears on the payrolls as virtuoso di camera, and around 1777 he presented himself as «leading flautist and concert master». The Englishman Charles Burney, in 1770, mentioned him alongside Nardini and Campioni among the outstanding musicians of the day, and in 1783 the German journal Cramer's Magazin der Musik commented on his manner of playing. The Florentine press recorded his concerts, and the librettos of the Teatro della Pergola indicate that he took part in more than fifty operas between 1790 and 1797.

His output for the flute is abundant: the catalogue of Prince Esterházy lists 95 pieces, including concertos, sonatas, duets and trios, all dating from before about 1760. Although they respond to the taste of their time, they stand out for their originality and their contrapuntal craftsmanship, especially in the canons and the trios for flute. His Studi reflect the state of flute technique in all keys and point to an influential teaching activity in northern Italy. He is also credited with introducing the transverse flute, which came from France, into the Italian instrumental ensemble, and he contributed to its development through works and arrangements for large groups, in which the bass piccolo appears. This line was continued by composers such as Lidarti, Mancinelli and Stabingher, which is known as the «Florentine school».

A reliable catalogue of his works is difficult to establish, because James Oswald used the pseudonym «Dottel Figlio» on some of his London publications of the period. For this reason, several attributions remain doubtful.