The day before Lizzo’s public performance, she spent a private afternoon at the Library of Congress playing several flutes from her impressive collection
Updated September 28, 2022 at 11:57 am EDT|Published September 28, 2022 at 10:32 am EDT
Pop star Lizzo performed a variety of collectible flutes in the Reading Room and Flute Vault of the Great Hall of the Library of Congress on September 27 in Washington, DC (Video: The Washington Post).
In a city where history usually shows itself in its faded and patinated forms, she saw glimmers on Tuesday night.
Wearing a sparkling bodysuit, Lizzo took to the stage during her concert at Capital One Arena and blew into a crystal flute that belonged to James Madison. Yes, that James Madison. The James Madison who served as the fourth President and is considered the “Father of the Constitution.”
“History is freaking cool folks!” yelled the singer as the crowd shouted and clapped and blasted social media posts.
That moment, in all its glittering glory, marked an unexpected collision of past and present.
But a day before that public performance, there were a series of private moments at the Library of Congress that proved powerful to those who witnessed them, and led to this flute ending up in the singer’s hands at the concert. On a day when the library was closed to the public, Lizzo spent an afternoon exploring her vast flute collection and trying out some of the period instruments.
No media organizations were allowed to attend the tour, but the people who were there described the day as exciting, history lessons and impressive flute playing.
“She’s incredibly talented,” said Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, curator of the flute collection. She said she gave Lizzo more than half a dozen different types of flutes and she could play them all.
Sometimes when she was playing, some of the people who came with her would sing and dance.
“This girl is full of positive energy,” Ward-Bamford said. “It was a happy afternoon watching her enjoy and love being in the library and the Great Hall.”
The library has nearly 2,000 flutes, forming the largest collection in the world. Most of these flutes were collected by physicist Dayton C. Miller and left to the library by his will.
“He really believed that the public should have access to it.” said Ward Bamford. “The collection is remarkable in its breadth and completeness.”
One of the flutes in the collection belonged to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. Another was made by Miller. He made it from 22k gold and made his keys from 18k gold. His collection also included more than just instruments. His donation to the library brought about 3,000 rare books on the flute and 10,000 pieces of music for the instrument.
Lizzo’s tour took her to the “Flute Vault” where she saw flutes made of wood, jade, ivory and other materials. One flute she played was made of plexiglass at a time when the material was first invented. There is only one comparable flute in the world.
She also played the Madison flute for the first time that day. Ward-Bamford described the history of the flute as fascinating.
It was made by Claude Laurent in Paris in 1813. This date and his name are engraved on the flute. Ward-Bamford said the technology allowed researchers to discover that some of Laurent’s crystal flutes weren’t actually crystal, but the ones he made for Madison were. A letter from Laurent to Madison also revealed that he personally mailed the flute to the president — and that the president didn’t say thank you.
“Mr. President, I took the liberty of sending you a crystal flute of my invention about three years ago,” read a translation of the letter. “Please allow me to express the wish I would have to experience if it reached you and if you enjoyed this faint tribute to my industry.”
There is also evidence that Dolley Madison saved the flute by taking it with her when fleeing the White House before British troops attempted to burn Washington as part of the War of 1812.
But of course we wouldn’t be talking about it if it wasn’t for Lizzo. If you’re a fan of hers, it’s easy to see how important it is to see her use her flute skills to revive a forgotten piece of history. But even if you’re not, it’s hard not to see what she accomplished as impressive this week – she made going to the library cool.
She brought self-proclaimed band nerds, history buffs, and librarians together by accepting an invitation from the 14th Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, to view the flute collection. The invitation came in the form of a tweet.
“The @librarycongress has the largest collection of flutes in the world at over 1,800,” Hayden tweeted Sept. 23. “It contains Pres James Madison’s 1813 Crystal Flute. @lizzo, we’d love for you to check it out and even play a few when you’re in DC next week. Like your song, they are ‘good as hell’. ”
Lizzo’s answer came in capital letters.
“I’M COMING CARLA!” she wrote. “AND I PLAY THE CRYSTAL FLUTE!!!!”
Brett Zongker, a spokesman for the Library of Congress, was there the day Lizzo played this flute and others. He said Hayden talked about “opening up the treasure chest of the Library of Congress and just sharing everything that’s here with more people,” and Lizzo helped make that happen. She made her many fans and others suddenly think of the Library of Congress and the pieces of our collective history it contains.
When Lizzo asked if she could play Madison’s flute at her concert, Zongker said the library’s collections, conservation, and security teams were prepared to make it possible. The flute was placed in a specially made protective case and escorted into the arena by Ward-Bamford and security.
The crowd saw Ward-Bamford lead the instrument onto the stage and hand it to Lizzo, but that moment was only the most visible step in the security process, he said.
“I want everyone to make noise for James Madison’s crystal flute, everyone!” Lizzo exclaimed before carefully guiding the instrument to the microphone and playing a few notes.
Crowds made noise then and in the hours that followed as people online continued to talk about a flute that many didn’t know existed a week ago.
“We made history tonight!” said Lizzo. “Thanks to the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history pretty darn cool!”