Two articles in one:  Ophicleide:  A Hint of Primitive  ~AND~  Cimbasso:  A Comeback That's Here to Stay

Ophicleide: A Hint of Primitive


by Roger Bobo

During my first years in Los Angeles, I remember one very distinctive studio session where the television story was built around a young rural Mexican Indian boy. The theme for this boy was a haunting melody, both Mexican and primitive in character, which was always played on the ocarina. Its atmosphere was perfect; the ocarina was exactly the right instrument.

The ophicleide is not unlike the ocarina except the ophicleide has a history in classical music. From Mendelssohn to early Wagner the ophiclide was the instrument of choice for assuming the position of the bass brass instrument; it was the best thing we had at the time. But its sound was rough, unstable, primitive and acoustically inefficient. --- But it was still the best thing we had at the time.

Perhaps Wagner was the one who realized that first, when he revised his original orchestrations of Rienzi, Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin and most likely Tannhauser, from ophicleide to tuba. I have seen the original scores to those first three operas and from the dates and orchestration I’m making an educated guess that Tannhauser was also originally written for ophicleide. It’s striking how similar the orchestrations of these four operas resemble the orchestrations of Berlioz. It’s difficult to know exactly when Wagner changed these orchestrations to tuba and exactly what point in time began writing for the modern tuba. We do know that the tuba had a very slow start in the middle of the 19th century and Wagner was probably the principal influence to the tuba’s acceptance in the modern orchestra.

There is a movement afoot now to bring back the ophicleide into the symphony orchestra when the part says “Ophicleide”. There is an ophicleide society in Great Britain that is reminiscent of the tuba movement, with ophicleide symposia, new ophiclide compositions and ophicleide ensembles.

I have seen a televised performance of the Berloiz Fantastic Symphony with the whole orchestra playing instruments from the time of Berloiz, including ophicleide. This performance was both educational and exciting. I have also experienced occasions where ophicleides were used in a modern orchestra. Saying it as politely as possible; these performances did not work. Sometimes naïve conductors, seeing ophiclide written in the score will request the real thing and frequently after hearing it will revise their request back to the modern tuba.

Personally, I am passionate about the return of the cimbasso in the symphony orchestra, but frankly, I’m a little amused by the fad to bring back the ophicleide; with a complete orchestra playing period instruments it’s quite appropriate but I foresee the frequent use with modern orchestra to be short-lived.

Like the ocarina, the ophicleide may rarely have an appropriate use. If I was a film music composer assigned to write a score for a movie about a baby dinosaur I believe I would be very tempted to score it for ophicleide.

Tokyo, Japan

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Cimbasso: A Comeback that's here to Stay


by Roger Bobo

Actually, there are two historical instruments close the hearts of tubists in the midst of a comeback into this 21st century musical world, the cimbasso and the ophicleide. The ophicleide will have a difficult future. Quite simply, it was the best thing available to fill a certain orchestral need of a bass brass instrument during the time of Mendelssohn, Berlioz and even early Wagner. When the tuba arrived near the beginning of the 20th century it replaced the ophicleide because of one simple reason; it was a better instrument for its purpose, much better.

For a very different reason, the cimbasso just barely survived through the 20th century. Quite simply, most cimbassos of the passed century were not very good instruments, but the idea of a cylindrical bass instrument to the brass family was a good idea and the idea survived and grew.

Through most of the 20th century, tubists would see “Cimbasso” written on their music, mostly Italian music, and simply play the part on tuba; that seemed to work well enough. But it was clear, because of the orchestration, that these cimbasso parts were really more of a 4th trombone part, or contrabasstrombone part than a tuba part.

In the early days of Italian band music the trombones were valve trombones, and even now one can find valve trombones played in some of the many village bands found all over Italy. These valve trombones were the instruments that Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini heard in their mind’s ear when they composed their music, and what they heard was quite different than the orchestrational perceptions of their counterparts in Germany. First of all, because these instruments were valve instead of slide instruments, they were capable of greater velocity. This is evident when we compare the virtuoso trombone parts of Rossini to the linier and choral writing of Schumann for example.

But another difference, and one that pertains specifically to cimbasso, is the fact that these Italian valve trombones had a brighter timbre because they were smaller bore and because of the turbulence caused by the irregular tubing passing through the valve section. Not so long ago, eighteen years to be exact, I was fortunate to hear a section of valve trombones with cimbasso in the Teatro Communale in Florence when the Maggio Musicale Orchestra was playing an opera by Verdi. The conductor was a man well into his 80s and he wanted the sound he knew best. The sound was special and unique, evident in rhythmic passages reminiscent of the Italian band era. What was most apparent is that cimbasso was the clearly the correct instrument in that setting.

Wagner, in the 19th century, was in the process of forming essentially two brass sections for a single orchestra, one conical, which included horns, Wagner tubas, basstuba and contrabasstuba and the other a section of cylindrical instruments, which included trumpets, basstrumpet, trombones, basstrombone and contrabasstrombone. Through the same period, Verdi and Puccini simply used the their indigenous instruments.

Through the past twenty years a phenomenon has taken place among many tubists, mine went like this: Because I was deeply curious about the possible advantages of the cimbasso and because I was seeking a cylindrical instrument, I had Larry Minick, the extraordinary Los Angeles based brass instrument designer, build me a cimbasso, and the result was superb. For several years I played a few Verdi and Puccini arias during operatic programs but never anything major. The opportunity came when Italian conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of the Verdi Requiem and I decided to use the cimbasso. Suddenly, it became clear that cimbasso was the correct instrument, it just sounded right. And it was especially apparent in the Tuba Mirum; what had always been a task to make tuba function well in this very high-energy part with trumpets and trombones playing their fanfaristic passages on stage and off stage in all directions, became the exact right thing, suddenly and easily. That was the moment I understood why this was such a valuable and characteristic instrument.

Unfortunately, I was approaching the end of my orchestral career and had very few chances to play cimbasso after that, just a few times in the Maggio Musicale Orchestra in Florence. I could not help thinking, though, of the potential this instrument had, in brass quintet, larger brass ensembles, and as a solo instrument. I can only imagine how appropriate cimbasso would sound on the Galliard sonatas or Tom Stevens’s Variations in Olden Style.

Today we are fortunate to have several instrument makers who build very fine cimbassos and it seems inevitable that cimbasso will become a part of the tubist’s required tool kit. I look forward to watching how this instrument develops in the future and I’m a little envious of the younger players of today who will help guide that development.

Tokyo, Japan

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