Tuesday night, history shimmered in a city where it typically takes the faded and patinated shapes. Lizzo stood onstage during her performance at the Capital One Arena and blew into a crystal flute that belonged to James Madison while donning a sparkly bodysuit. That James Madison, indeed. The fourth president and “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison, is regarded as such.
“You guys, history is crazy awesome!” The performer yelled as the audience cheered, applauded, and flung social media posts into the air. That instant represented an unforeseen confluence of the past and present in all its sparkling splendor.
But the day before the open performance, there were a number of intimate exchanges at the Library of Congress that had a profound impact on people who watched them and were the reason why the vocalist used the flute during the concert. Lizzo spent an afternoon exploring the Library’s extensive collection of historical flutes on a day when it was not open to the general public. The tour was closed to media organizations, but those who attended said it was exciting, educational, and featured some outstanding flute playing.
The curator of the flute collection, Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, called her “very brilliant.” She claimed to have given Lizzo more than a dozen various kinds of flutes, and each one could be played. Some of the individuals that came with her sang and danced occasionally while she performed.
Ward-Bamford exclaimed, “That girl is filled with so much positive energy.” It was a delightful afternoon spending time with her in the Great Hall and Library. The greatest collection of flutes in the world is housed in the Library, which includes close to 2,000 flutes. In his bequest, physicist Dayton C. Miller left the Library the majority of his collection of flutes. According to Ward-Bamford, “He genuinely believed that the public should have access to it.” The collection is exceptional in both its scope and depth.
Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia, owned one of the flutes in the collection. Miller produced another. He fashioned the object out of 18-carat gold for the keys and 22-carat gold for the body. He has more than just musical instruments in his collection. 10,000 pieces of flute music and nearly 3,000 rare publications on the instrument were donated by him to the library.
Lizzo was given a tour of the “flute vault,” where she was able to see flutes made of jade, ivory, wood, and other materials. When plexiglass was originally created, one of the flutes she played was made of it. It is the only flute of its kind in the entire globe.
She also made her debut that day on the Madison flute. The history of the flute, according to Ward-Bamford, is fascinating. It was created in 1813 in Paris by Claude Laurent. The flute is inscribed with that date and his name. According to Ward-Bamford, technological advancements have made it possible for experts to determine that some of Laurent’s crystal flutes weren’t actually made of crystal, but the flute he crafted for Madison was. Additionally, Laurent personally sent the flute to the president, according to a letter he wrote to Madison, and the president didn’t express gratitude.
Dear Mr. President According to a translation of the letter, “I took the liberty of sending to you a crystal flute of my invention about three years ago. Permit me to express to you my desire to know if it has reached you and if this weak tribute to my industry has found favor with you. There is also proof that before British troops attempted to burn down Washington in 1812, Dolley Madison saved the flute by bringing it with her as she fled the White House.
