 Ophicleides: bass (the most common), alto (quinticlave) and soprano (rare). Rijksmuseum, Metropolitan Museum of Art | |
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| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 423.21 (aerophone sounded by lip vibration with keys) |
| Developed | 19th century |
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Theophicleide (/ˈɒfɪklaɪd/OFF-ih-klyde) is a family ofconical-bore keyedbrass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend thekeyed bugle into the lower range. Of these, the bass ophicleide ineight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B♭ took root over the course of the 19th century inmilitary bands and as the bass of orchestralbrass sections throughout Western Europe, replacing theserpent and its laterupright derivatives. By the end of the 19th century, however, it had been largely superseded, in bands by theeuphonium and in orchestras by early forms of the moderntuba, some developed fromvalved ophicleides. The late 20th century saw a revival of interest in the instrument forhistorically informed performance practice, and ophicleides are built by a small number of manufacturers.
The instrument's name comes from theGreek wordsὄφις (ophis,lit. 'serpent') andκλείς (kleis,lit. 'closure'), since it was conceived of as a serpent with keys.[2]
The ophicleide was invented in 1817 by the Paris instrument makerJean Hilaire Asté (operating as Halary) as a set of instruments to extend thekeyed bugle into lower registers, with an intention to replace theserpent.[3] His 1821 patent described the (nominally bass) ophicleide ineight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B♭, an altoquinticlave built in 6′ F or 6½′ E♭, and a contrabassmonstre in 12′ F. A rare instrument, the quinticlave enjoyed only brief use in military bands before being superseded byvalved instruments;[2] theclavicor with three Stölzel valves, followed quickly by alto and tenorsaxhorns.[4]
The contrabass in 12′ F or 13′ E♭, known in France as themonstre, was not widely adopted.Mendelssohn commissioned one for later performances of his 1846 oratorioElijah, played by the French musicianProspère in performances in France and England. Four known instruments, all in F, survive in non-playable condition in museums.[5] Only two playable contrabass ophicleides exist, both built in E♭ since the late 1980s by the Californian instrument maker Robb Stewart.[6]Adolphe Sax in the 1840s built examples of a soprano ophicleide, an octave above the bass, and playable replicas have also been built by Stewart, including a smaller instrument in E♭.[7][8]
The most successful size was the bass ophicleide, which became the bass voice of thebrass section of the earlyRomanticorchestra outside of German-speaking countries, replacing theRenaissance-era serpent and its later upright derivatives.[2]In scores, ophicleide first appeared in thebanda (stage band) of theoperaOlimpie byGaspare Spontini in 1819.[9] By mid-century, the instrument was standard in French serious operas byMeyerbeer,Halevy, andAuber, as well as English operas byMichael Balfe,Vincent Wallace, and others. InItalian opera,Rossini,Bellini, andVerdi scored the lowest brass part forserpentone orcimbasso in their early operas; by the mid-1830s these parts were often played on the ophicleide, until the appearance of valved instruments like thebombardone andpelittone.[10] In Germany,Richard Wagner also composed for the ophicleide in his early works, anticipating performances in Paris, before later switching to thebass and contrabass tuba orcontrabass trombone.[11]
In the mid-19th century soon after the invention of valves, instruments with the same overall layout but replacing keys with valves appeared. These instruments were called valved ophicleides (German:Ventilophikleide;French:ophicléide à piston).[12] With the continued invention of improved valve designs, these instruments gave rise to the first forms of early tuba, including theBaß-Tuba (patented 1835), which soon took hold in the orchestras of German-speaking countries.[13]
In military bands, and in the civicbrass band movement emerging in Britain and France, the ophicleide found a place in the bass section, often playing with the trombones.[14] By the end of the century they had been replaced by valved brass instruments, and in Britain particularly byeuphoniums, which were offered in competitions as prizes for winning ophicleide players. One of the last great ophicleide players was the English musicianSamuel Hughes, teacher at theRoyal Military School of Music, and ophicleidist inJullien's orchestra and the Royal Italian Opera atCovent Garden.[15]
The ophicleide (Portuguese:oficleide) was used in Brazilianchoro bands well into the 20th century until it was superseded by the tuba,string bass, orseven-string guitar.[15] The Brazilian musicianpt:Irineu de Almeida was a major soloist on the instrument.[16]
A revival of interest in the instrument took place in Britain the late 20th century, beginning with David Rycroft in 1965, along with several English ophicleide players including Alan Lumsden, Stephen Wick andClifford Bevan, who were also involved in reviving theserpent.[17] In the early 21st century, the London Ophicleide Ensemble and the Sydney Ophicleide Quartet were formed, and new works commissioned for the instrument including concertos bySimon Proctor andWilliam Perry.[18][19]
The ophicleide's tubing has a similar length and arrangement as that of the upright serpents that preceded it, bending back on itself in a similar manner to thebassoon. The taper of the ophicleide's wide conical bore is similar to asaxophone of comparable range, with only a modest bell flare compared to other brass instruments.[12]
It is played with a cup-shapedmouthpiece, similar to a moderntrombone oreuphonium mouthpiece.[17] The patent describes the original instrument having nine keys, but it was later expanded to up to 11 and 12 keys, covering largetone holes sized proportionally to the bore diameter. Most surviving instruments have either nine or eleven keys.[12]
Ophicleides were built in sufficient numbers, until as late as the 1920s, that instruments can still be found in playable or repairable condition. Modern replicas have been made, sometimes with modern improvements to materials, key work and acoustic design, usually to order by artisan instrument makers such asBenedikt Eppelsheim, Robb Stewart and Jérôme Wiss.[20] In 2002 the editor of theSerpent Newsletter, Paul Schmidt, published instructions for building theBox-O-Cleide, a serviceable instrument built from plywood.[21] The British-Chinese maker Wessex Tubas offer new ophicleides and quinticlaves, based on 19th century instruments by Halary andGautrot, and the Leipzig instrument maker Takao Nakagawa makes a valved ophicleide in F with five rotary valves.[22]
Keyed brass instruments have fingering unlike other keyed wind instruments, where fingers usually cover and close tone holes (or on larger instruments, operate a key mechanism to close them remotely). On the ophicleide the tone holes are normally closed, and are uncovered to an open position when pressing the associated key lever.[23]
The largest key-covered tone hole, just below the bell, is normally open and closes when its key is pressed. When open, this tone hole acts as the acoustic bell, the bell itself having little effect on sound or pitch. When closed, the air column is extended past the tone hole and up to the bell, lowering the pitch by one half step. The sound produced with no key levers pressed is the nominal pitch of the instrument, so the lowest note, obtained by closing the open key, is a semitone lower.[3]
The player can obtain the availablepartials for a given air column length by changingembouchure, as with other brass instruments. When one of the normally closed tone holes is opened by pressing its key, it effectively makes that hole the "bell" of the instrument, with a corresponding shorter air column and higher series of partials.[23]The left hand controls three such tone holes, plus the normally open top hole below the bell. Pitches in the upper and middle range of the instrument can be obtained by using only the left hand keys, the right hand holding and stabilizing the instrument.[24][25]
The lowest register of the instrument is more complex, requiring between one and three additional right-hand keys to operate smaller tone holes closer to the mouthpiece. Right hand keys can also be used in the upper register as alternate fingerings to facilitate faster passages, or to improve intonation, known asventing.[23]
The ophicleide was initially taken up by French composers, particularlyHector Berlioz who was searching for a bass voice for the brass instruments of the orchestra. He wrote parts in hisMesse solennelle (1824) for serpent,buccin, and ophicleide.[26] HisSymphonie fantastique (1830) calls for serpent and ophicleide, which are often performed in modern orchestras with two tubas, but some writers believe the original effect is lost, the tuba being too broad for the intended sound.[27] Berlioz used ophicleide in many other works:Hymne des Marseillais (1830) calls for two ophicleides,Requiem: Grand messe des morts (1837) requires four, one in each of four brass choirs, andSymphonie funèbre et triomphale (1840) calls for six, playing two parts.[26] Other French composers who wrote for ophicleide includeGeorges Bizet,Léo Delibes,César Franck,Fromental Halévy, andÉdouard Lalo.[28]
The Italian opera composersVincenzo Bellini,Gioachino Rossini andGiuseppe Verdi would specifyserpentone orcimbasso as the bass voice in their early operas,[29] which were often later performed on the ophicleide before the advent of valved early Italian tubas such as thepelittone andbombardone.[24]
In Germany, the rapid early adoption of the valvedBaß-Tuba and its later derivatives kept the ophicleide largely at bay, althoughFelix Mendelssohn used it in hisOverture for Winds (1838), incidental music toAthalia (1845), and his major oratorioElijah (1847).[30] HisOverture to A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826) was originally scored forEnglish bass horn, an upright serpent, but was published for ophicleide.[31]
In Britain, the ophicleide's popularity in military bands and the emerging civic brass band movement led to the production of method books, études, and virtuoso solo works, often written for band competitions. Its use spilled over into orchestras, and British composers wrote for ophicleide late into the 19th century.Arthur Sullivan included ophicleide in hisOverture di Ballo (1870) which, like Wagner's operaRienzi, also has an additional part for serpent.[32]Alice Mary Smith employed it in her concert overtureJason, or The Argonauts and the Sirens (1879).[33]
Since the 20th century revival Nick Byrne, trombonist with theSydney Symphony Orchestra, has recorded two CDs of works and arrangements for the ophicleide, and commissioned a concerto by the American composerWilliam Perry.[19] TitledBrass From the Past, Byrne performed the première in 2012 and later recorded it with Naxos Records.[34] In 2014, Byrne established the Sydney Ophicleide Quartet with Jono Ramsey, Brad Lucas, and his Sydney Symphony Orchestra colleague Scott Kinmont, and commissioned works including a quartet from the Australian composer Houston Dunleavy.[35][36] In France, Patrick Wibart is another modern exponent of the instrument, recordingThe Virtuoso Ophicleide in 2015, a CD of 19th-century solos and ensemble music. He teaches serpent at theConservatoire de Paris, and serpent and ophicleide at theConservatoire de Versailles Grand Parc [fr].[37]
Media related toOphicleides at Wikimedia Commons
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ophicleide".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.| International | |
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