Covering cimbasso, contrabone,... parts

[iiipopes]

A "marching" euph or bari with a smaller bore and bell that you hold the same way and shallow cup mouthpiece to get brightness might also substitute for a bass trumpet.

[quinterbourne]

Sometimes, you may be called to cover a "serpent" part. In the one occasion I covered such, it was quite low so a contrabass tuba was best for it. It was very similar to a contrabassoon part (and given the texture of the part in the orchestra, it would have sounded much better on a contrabassoon). I can't quite remember the piece... but it might have been "Reformation Symphony" possibly by Mendelssohn.

Could someone remind me what instrument Mendelssohn's Overture to "Midsummer Night's Dream" Op. 21 is written for that is commonly played on bass tuba? It is either opheclide or serpent, I can't remember which...

EDIT: The piece is Symphony No. 5 Op. 107 by Mendelssohn... named "Reformation." The part was for "Contrafagotto e [and] Serpente." 2222 223O strings timp + the contrabassoon/serpent part. It goes between being with 2nd bassoon down an octave, bass trombone down the octave and doublebass at pitch. I remember this being very difficult, as I'd have to change being a part of the woodwind, brass and string family very quickly and quite often. There are also a few moments where the part is completely on it's own... where it is the bass for the entire orchestra.

[sc_curtis]

Ophicleide

[jeopardymaster]

For ophicleide parts I usually make do with my Besson 983, but for something like Corsair or Benvenuto Cellini I may sneak in a smaller mouthpiece, especially if I'm being lazy.

I just played an all-Italian concert (mostly Verdi and Puccini) that featured a number of cimbasso parts, and did them all on my Mirafone 184. I think a decent Eb or F would have been fine for most of it as well.

For bass trumpet, I prefer a Flugabone or, even better, the DEG or Olds marching trombone if you can find one. They work very nicely in lieu of slide in a confined space for a musical or in a jazz setting, too.

Although there are plenty of little baritone horns, there is a dearth of variety in current euphonium manufacture. Be it Besson, Yamaha, Willson, Hirsbrunner, or whatever, they're all the same size or nearly so. The Alex 150 (?) isn't much different from the others - just LOOKS more like a tuba, sans compensating system. A VERY big euphonium, or true tenor tuba, would be perfect for most of the higher Berlioz lit, IMO, as well as a lot of Mendelssohn, Verdi and the like, and be really neat for Heldenleben, Don Quixote, and the Planets. It's way sad nobody makes such a horn. This might be a worthwhile project for somone with a blowtorch and a bunch of old scrapped mini-Eb or F tubas. Any volunteers??

[windshieldbug]

Well, since you asked, and since I'm sure nobody really cares...

I used an ophicleide on the ophicleide parts.
But while I was fussin' around, and since I also have a bari sax, I once tried putting a euphonium mouthpiece INSIDE the neck opening, not outside like a sax mouthpiece. Not a bad sound, at all. Plus, along with the characteristic sound of a slightly smaller keyed instrument (ophicleides generally being C and Bb), you get the benefit of a working full Boehm system, as well. And in modern pitch!

If I was looking for the right kind of sound, I'd try it!

[Tom Waid]

Could someone remind me what instrument Mendelssohn's Overture to "Midsummer Night's Dream" Op. 21 is written for that is commonly played on bass tuba? It is either opheclide or serpent, I can't remember which...

According to Cliff Bevan "The Tuba Family" page 220 Mendelssohn originally intended the part to be played on an English Bass Horn. His publisher, Breitkopf & Hartel, changed it to Ophicleide.

[Steve Inman]

When covering the 2nd 'bone part in a brass quartet, I found a YFB-621 to be the smallest thing I could get that would still be a tuba and yet blend fairly well with a decent upper register voice.

I switched from a Besson 983 Eb to F tuba because of the quartet gig. Unfortunately, the little F tuba did not make my quintet particularly happy . . . .

If I had stayed with Eb, I would probably have looked for one of the "very small" Eb tubas I see advertized once in a while -- a little 3V critter might have worked also.

Cheers,

[Sam Gnagey]

I use my cimbasso whenever possible. It's always nice to pick up the doubling fee and the sound is so appropriate for Verdi, Puccini etc. I double on the Janacek Sinfonietta playing bass trumpet on my Willson(DEG) marching trombone on the outer movements and tuba on the inner ones. For ophicleide parts I go with my F which is a rather small Yamaha compensating double. I do have an ophicleide which is fun to play, but it just doesn't work well in a modern symphony orchestra. I make cimbassi in EEb or F and have an F instrument available for rental if anyone is in need of one for a gig. Here's a picture of the an EEb that I made that belongs to Phil Sinder.
Sam

[Sam Gnagey]

The traditional parts that I've encountered for cimbasso have a range that is pretty suitable for a 4 valve F instrument. That encompasses the E above the staff down to the G below the staff. There are some new works using cimbasso that may have expanded that range especially down. Jim Self has told me that the movie scores that he plays are pretty heavy in the low range stuff.
Ophicleide parts were written for either the C or Bb bass instrument. There may be some exceptions, but I'm aware of none. Lowest notes on those instruments are B or A below the staff. Berloiz takes the instrument up to the second Bb above. Most parts that I've seen stick pretty much to within the staff with a few conservative excursions above and below.

[quinterbourne]

I played it down the octave, as that is the octave it would sound when played on contrabassoon. Best of luck! I strongly suggest you get ahold of a score - might not be a bad idea to rehearse/perform off of it.

If you perform it at pitch you will, for the most part, be doubling in unison with 2nd bassoon and bass trombone (which is actually a rather interesting part, while 1st and 2nd and most of the rest of the brass aren't).

All we played was the Choral movement "Ein'veste Burg ist unser Gott" so I don't know how the entire symphony goes. The low D's in the piece I played at pitch because I was playing on a 4 valve CC tuba at the time. The "Allegro vivace" before B is "solo" for a bit, so playing that G at pitch may be an option.

I think I may have also played the F# in the 3rd bar of the "Allegro maestoso" before C at pitch (to the end of that phrase). I may have done some playing at pitch in the 10th bar after C.

Be extremely careful 8th measure after E to the end of that phrase - solo! Also be careful 13 before M up until letter M. I made a point to get enough slides pulled for the very last chord, so I would play that D down the octave - you'll be the only one down there unless the basses have extensions.