Tuba players are asked to cover all manner of parts in the orchestra which have been written for bass wind instruments that predated the tuba, but have fallen out of favor. Among these are parts for ophicleide, Russian bassoon, serpent, cimbasso, and bass trumpet. All of these instruments are significantly smaller and less conical than the tuba and therefore had a much smaller, more direct sound. Verdi actually referred to “that damnable tuba which refuses to blend with the other instruments” in his personal letters. With the composer’s original intentions in mind, I am available to perform on the following low brass instruments. These instruments are also available for rental by orchestras, opera companies, colleges, and bands.
The Bass Trumpet
Mine is an unmarked Bb bass and has three valves. Bass trumpet is used in Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Stravinsky’s Le Sacre, and Strauss’ Elektra and MacBeth, among others.
Mine is pitched in F and has dual Hagmann-style valves. Wagner and Strauss made use of this instrument in their extended brass sections. Also seen in Tyberg’s Third Symphony and some Varese.
The Euphonium (or Tenor Tuba)
This instrument is still in common use, but not often found in the orchestra. I have played the solos from Bernstein’s Divertimento for Orchestra and the Ravel orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition. I often play euphonium as a sub in the Royal Hawaiian Band. There are notable tenor tuba parts in Holst’s The Planets, Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben and Don Quixote, and Mahler’s Seventh Symphony.
A variant on the standard euphonium, this instrument has a change valve to switch to a small bell with small tubing to mimic the sound of a trombone in addition to the standard euphonium. Mine is a 5-valve Conn from 1941. I have recently discovered that this can be extremely useful in pit orchestra to change between sounds when there is no time to switch between instruments and/or to have use of valves when the tempos get a little too fast for slide technique!
The Cimbasso
This instrument is a valved contrabass trombone. Examples can be found in several configurations: bell and valve-section front-facing, as a trombone; bell forward like a trombone, but with the valve section bent downward; or with an upright bell. Mine is an extremely compact instrument with an upright bell. It is far more pit-friendly than a large tuba. I have crooks for it to be pitched in F or Eb. Although it is a valved brass instrument, its compact size and more cylindrical sound make this a good modern replacement for Ophicleide and Serpent parts. It is an excellent choice for Mendelssohn and Berlioz scores that call for these ancient instruments. (Here is an example of one maker’s attempt at a “Modern Ophicleide“)