Cimbasso use in Italian community Bandas

[basshorn]

This might be a question primarely adressed to the Italian collegues on this board. If there are some....

I wonder how widespread the use of the Trombone Contrabbasso (Cimbasso) in Italian community bands is today. I've seen pictures of the Fanfara dei Carabinieri di Roma and the Italian Navy Band with players on this instrument.

Regarding the price asked for the regular premium Cimbassi from builders like Haag, Thein, ... i can't imagine that these instruments get used in community bands. Therefore i wonder about what make the Trombone Contrabbasso are that get in use. The instruments i've seen resemble this model from orsi:
http://www.trevorjonesltd.co.uk/Orsi_Cimbasso.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Is Orsi still in production with cimbassi?

Thanks and greatings from Switzerland
basshorn

[basshorn]

I've used the search function....... Please avoid to speculate if they are using home made cimbassi with parts from marching baritones. This is the traditional layout found with the majority of italian made cimbassi from factors like Anborg, Parisi, Orsi, Rampone & Cazzani, Pelliti, Corso, .....

[gionvil]

Hi Basshorn, the Cimbasso is used very seldom in community or municipal bands in Italy nowadays. Few community bands still use the old traditional italian huge instrumental settings with all the family of flicorni, and the military ones are among these few ones. The reasons are first a kind of change in the taste and repertoire of the community bands and the lack of players of those instruments ( and a decline in number of amateur players in community bands in general..) If the change in repertoire is the cause or the effect can be a matter of another discussion, however the old scores with flicorni doubling the reed parts are now mostly taking dust in the bands' archives, and Alfred Reed is for sure more performed than Ponchielli
The cimbasso is well used in opera though. I am not sure if Orsi is still making one. For sure one of the most diffused and well renowned is the G&P , http://www.gp-wind.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

[basshorn]

Thanks for the information gionvil. It's nice to hear that G&P are successful with their products among professional players.

It's sad to hear that globalisation is destroying another national tradition. Why not adapting the 'international' wind band repertory to national orchestrations and sound ideals?!
The decline of amateur players in bands seems to be a general problem of our society and is well known also in my country.

Do You know what make instruments are used in the military and municipal bands? Beside G&P i can only find Mario Corso in Milan offering some models of Trombone Contrabbasso. Are these reasonable instruments? Who else beside probably Orsi and Rampone & Cazzani is making brass instruments in Italy?

@Curmudgeon: Sorry, i misunderstood Your post. I can remember having seen a Bach Cimbasso for sale some time ago.....

[basshorn]

Pictures of the mentioned Bands and their Cimbasso players:

[gionvil]

Community bands in Italy have long been a mean of bringing classical music out of theatres to a larger audience, when a large majority of the mostly rural population of the country had no other way to listen to the "hits" of the day. So mostly opera ouvertures and arias where performed by local bands in every remote small village in the countryside, and the arrangements were reflecting the orchestral score as accurately as possible, with the Flicorno Soprano making the primadonna parts, the alto the tenor, the baritono the baritono and so on ( the bass tuba player was generally not skilled enough to play the basso parts though ) The decline of opera and operetta and the advent of recorded music accessible to all levels of audiences unfortunately didn't see the birth of some new original repertoire for the same kind of instrumentation. Some of these old arrangements can be still played of course, but they are very challenging and the competition with their orchestral "original" counterparts is unfair.
About instruments, very little manufacturing is left in Italy, I am not aware wether Orsi is still manufacturing their brasses. Many years ago there was a net of small factories manufacturing for brands like the ones you mention, but they are all gone. Old instruments are not so slowly being replaced in community bands with either chinese or what is left of european make.

[basshorn]

There is another nice picture. I like the layout of these old style cimbassi.....

[hup_d_dup]

Since we're wandering off topic, here's a video of an Italian street band using cornetas, an instrument I have never seen in the US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R28xqX8dG24" target="_blank

(correction: I think this may be Spanish, which makes it even more off topic)


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