Gardeners' Question Time
Tom Winthorpe went digging in the Garden and came up with some treasures
Last December, in a very dusty corner of a storeroom at the Royal
Opera House, some remarkable old instruments were found. Some were
still in their original wooden boxes but, sadly, others had been thrown
in with a pile of old iron music stands and other rubbish, and so are
quite badly damaged.
Still with its original box is a brass 3 valve G bass trombone made by Besson. Being difficult to date, but likely to be from before the First World War, it may have been used at that time to play the cimbasso part in the Italian opera repertoire (usually played on authentic instruments today, but for many years played either by the tubist or an extra bass trombone player). It is difficult to blow, and it is easy to see how it came to be discarded.
The other instruments are all more interesting and a short digression into Opera House history may help to show why.
In 1892 the old Royal Italian Opera at Covent Garden became the Royal
Opera. It was the year of the first performance at Covent Garden of
Wagner's Ring cycle (conducted by Mahler) and the change of
name was no doubt influenced by this as, until then, all performances
had been sung in Italian. For this Ring a bass trumpet and
Wagner tubas would have been required, and it seems likely that it
is these very instruments that have been discovered. They are made
by Mahillon: the bass trumpet is in D with four piston valves, and
three of the four Wagner tubas were found, one tenor in Bb (the other
Bb is missing) and two basses in F. These Wagner tubas are of four
in-line piston valve design, and interestingly, were built to be played
by trombone players (not horn players as is conventional) as they have
leadpipes suitable for the small-bore trombone mouthpieces in use at
that time. Along with their maker's name, they are also inscribed "Gold
Medal Paris 1878". They blow easily and seem ideally suited to
the Wagner tuba repertoire.
The remaining three instruments are all inscribed "R.I.O Covent Garden" (Royal Italian Opera) which therefore dates them to before 1892. They include a matching pair of "tubas" made by Antoine Courtois, one inscribed "Basse Ut" (i.e. in C, a tone above our conventional euphonium) and the other "Contre Basse Mib" (Eb bass tuba). The design of these two "tubas" is pure "euphonium", as we know it. How long before 1892 these two 'tubas' came into use at Covent Garden is interesting in relation to the last instrument found, and another short digression may be helpful in understanding why.
Many of you will probably have read Trevor Herbert's fascinating article
entitled A
Lament for Sam Hughes - The Last Ophicleidist and seen his photograph
taken in 1862 during his days as a Kneller Hall professor. Amongst
Sam Hughes' many achievements (including earning £26 a week in
1853 on tour with the Jullien Orchestra in America!) was that of being
the ophicleidist of the orchestra of the Royal Italian Opera at Covent
Garden. In a programme for a Promenade Concert at Covent Garden dated
October 30th 1877, he appears no less than five times as a featured
soloist - to put this in perspective, the cornet soloist, always one
of the most popular solo instrumentalists in a concert of that period,
appears only three times. Sam Hughes continued to play at Covent Garden
to the end of his outstanding career (sometime in the late 1880s) and
it seems likely that it is his last (and "lost") ophicleide
that is the other instrument that has been found. Also made by Antoine
Courtois and having the "R.I.O. Covent Garden" inscription,
it has the forward facing vent (a hole of approximately three inches
in diameter) in the bell that enables the sound to project forward.
This is Sam Hughes' own design, as is the twelfth key which is a feature
of the four other ophicleides in existence that can be directly associated
with him (see Sam Hughes - Ophicleidist by Stephen J Weston,
published by Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments).
Made in silver-plated nickel silver, this fascinating instrument has
remained in its wooden box for over 100 years and has only required
repadding (the new pads made to Sam Hughes' original design by Peter
Barton) and some cosmetic restoration to bring this 'sleeping beauty'
back to life. These latter three instruments date from the time of
the demise of the ophicleide (possibly kept alive slightly longer in
London than elsewhere due to talent of its last great exponent) and
the introduction of the orchestral bass and tenor tubas (Eb bass and
euphonium).
Was Sam Hughes aware of the arrival at Covent Garden of the tubas? Unlike so many ophicleide players he seems never to have been tempted away by the "new" instruments. In February 1994, an illustrated concert was given to The Friends of Covent Garden by the present Royal Opera House trombone and tuba section, at which most of the rediscovered instruments were played.
More Articles
- Crossing the Great Divide
by Michael Hext - A View from Below
by Michael Lasserson - Alto Trombone in the Orchestra: 1800-2000
by Ken Shifrin - Contrabass Trombone Masterclass
by Adrian Cleverley - Fall and Rise of the Alto Trombone: 1830-2000
by Rob Slocombe - Large one or small one, sir?
by Michael Hext & Tom Winthorpe - God's Trombones
by Peter Bassano - The Improved Trombone
by Chris Greening
