Brass Ensemble with Organ

[Steve Marcus]

It's that time of year when many of us will be playing in a brass ensemble with organ.

Often, depending upon the discretion/skill in organ registration/musicianship of the organist, the organ itself, the acoustics of the church/concert hall, the composition/arrangement,* the size of the brass ensemble, etc., the pedal line of the organ can virtually obliterate the tuba part.

With all of those variables in mind, does one generally play a bass tuba or contrabass under these conditions? Admittedly, there may not be one "hard and fast" answer to this question. The answer could be, "It all depends..."


*There are some wonderful arrangements by Sir David Willcocks, Richard Webster, and others, that are very gratifying to play.

[MikeMason]

I dare any organist to try to cover up ME! Let's gitit own

[tbn.al]

I dare any organist to try to cover up ME! Let's gitit own

I'm with you Mike. Let's git it on. I have a tendency to lean more towards Bass Trombone. When I crank up my pedal tone chain saw even our 130 rank organ has trouble keeping up.

Seriously though. We did the Craig Phillips Toccata last year and I was surprised at the result. I really thought during the performance that my 184 sound was being obliterated by the organ. I was really wishing I had used a larger horn. Much to my amazment, after listening to the recording, the tuba sound is present throughout. It is a different sonority from the organ pedal and comes through quite niciely. This is a BIG organ played by an even BIGGER organist if you get my drift.

[imperialbari]

Doesn’t the choice depend on the writing in any given piece?

What would a bass tuba be able to add to the organ if written together with the lower end of the 16' range?

How elegant would a large contrabass tuba come out if written above the staff on background of a lightly registered organ?

Klaus

PS: Does your question imply that you have added a bass tuba to the Nirschl CC?

[Steve Marcus]

Does your question imply that you have added a bass tuba to the Nirschl CC?

Yes, I also have a Besson 983.

[Allen]

Saying "organ" is about as specific as saying "wind instrument." These instruments come in an incredible variety. Just as oboes, bassoons, clarinets, flutes, trumpets, trombones and tubas differ, so do organs. A neo-baroque style organ may have a weak bass, but have high pitches shrill enough to peel paint. On the other hand a large early twentieth century organ may have bass strong enough to feel through the floor vibrations and directly through your chest. And, if you never have heard a theatre-style organ, you don't know the meaning of "anything worth doing is worth over-doing." [Ask for a demonstration of the English Post Horn.]

I think the best thing to do is have a talk with the organist, who will be able to discuss the tonal possibilities of his or her instrument. That way, you can figure out how best to complement one another. There is no generic answer.

Cheers,
Allen

[imperialbari]

Let’s just modestly say that the OP is no novice in organ or other keyboard matters. Actually I wonder a bit about his asking, as I would have him among the very first to ask should that question come up for myself. But then I learned, that he also plays bass tuba by now.

Klaus

[jeopardymaster]

I'm with tuben on this one. For over 20 years my quintet has played an annual concert at the Cathedral Basilica in Covington KY with their organist (now emeritus), Bob Schaffer, and his family of monster musicians. They have an Aultz-Kersting there that can give you a terminal nosebleed from 3 blocks away. I use either my 184 or the Gnagey CC unless we're doing a quintet-only thing that REALLY needs a lighter touch. That worked fine when we were playing our own stuff, but with Bob there were times I was just along for the ride.