THE USE OF THE TUBA IN THE OPERAS AND a MUSIC DRAMAS OF RICHARD WAGNER presented by David Laurance Kuehn To fulfill the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Department of Performance and Literature (Tuba) Dissertation Director: Dr, Ernest Livingstone Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester September, 1974Cog! 4279354 VITA David Laurance Kuehn was born October 26, 1940 in San Marcos, Texas, He received his elementary and secondary education in nearby San Antonio, where his family moved in 1941. In 1958 he entered North Texas State University and was graduated with honors in 1962 with a Bachelor of Music (Education) degree, In the fall of 1962 he began work on a graduate degree at the University of Illinois, where he served as teaching assistant in the area of applied tuba and euphonium, In January 1964 he accompanied the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, as tubist and student conductor, on a four-and-one-half-month tour of Mexico, Central and South America, sponsored by the United States Department of State. In August of 1964 he received the Master of Science Degree in tusic education, During the 1964-5 academic year Mro Kuehn was a Fulbright Fellow in London, England, where he studied tuba and the brass bands of Great Britain, From 1965 to 1967 he was employed as Assistant Direc= tor of Bands and Instructor of low brass instruments at the University of Wisconsin ~ Fau Claire, In the summer of 1966 he began doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music, Since 1967 Kuehn has been a member of the music faculty of North Texas State University.ABSTRACT Richard Wagner's impact on 19th~century orchestral ine strumentation is without question. "Largely owing to his [uagner's] lead, the expanded orchestra became more or less standardized, during the last two or three decades of the [isth] century, for works of large scale." tagner's interest in the tuba family was already apparent in Der fliegende Hollander (1841), in which the composer scored for a single (bass) tuba, Between 1853 and 187) Richard Wagner included the contrabass tuba and the newly-created Wagner tubas in Der Ring des Nibelungen, This dissertation examines several areas of importance in relation to the tuba family. An introductory chapter is presented to acquaint the reader with the serpent and ophicleide, the predecessors of the modern tuba; a study is made of the serpent and ophicleide parts in Rienzi to ascer= tain the function of these early instruments, The bass tuba and contrabass tuba are described and the status of each instrument is defined in relation to its function in mid 1gth-century music. The conception of the “lagner tuba is noted and the utilization of this instrument in Der Ring des Nibelungen is discussed. The importance of each of the tadam Carse, The History of Orchestration (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, ‘rabhe® and Company, 1925), Be 265+ iiinstruments in the tuba family is illustrated by an exami- nation of solo, exposed, and ensemble passages in all of Wagner's works in which they appear. The knowledge gleaned from a study of Wagner's scoring for the tuba family will assist the’ tubist in his approach to the performance of compositions examined in this disser~ tation. adiPREFACE Richard Wagner was anong the first composers of major stature to accept the tuba without reservation and to use it extensively in his orchestral writing. That in doing this he established a new concept and a new tradition in scoring is clearly evident both from his own works and those of succeeding composers. Wagner's adoption of the tuba represents one of the final stages in the stabilization of orchestral instrumen= tation in the 19th century. Specifically, this stage involved the substitution of the bass tuba for the older serpent and ophicleide and, later, the introduction of the contrabass tuba, The change of instrumentation is clearly observable within the Wagnerian operas and music dramas, Rienzi is scored for the serpent and ophicleide. From Der fliegende Hollinder to Pargifal the bass tuba is used, except for the four music dramas of Der Ring des Nibelungen where the con= trabass tuba is specified, In addition to the contrabass tuba in Der Ring des Nibelungen, the composer called for the use of the "Wagner tubas", instruments of dimensions and scale devised by himself, Four of these relatively small lagam Carse, The History of Orchestration (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, 1925), De C17. ivtubas constituted a set, including two tenor instruments in Beflat and two bass instruments in F.> Wagner's thorough understanding of each and every ine strument for which he wrote makes a study of his orchestrae tion of great value to the developing composer. Although professional tuba players are generally well acquainted with the overtures or preludes to Wagner's operas and music dramas, many of them know very little of the compositions themselves, Regardless of whether a complete opera or only excerpts are to be performed, a thorough knowledge of the tuba writing.in Wagner's operas and music dramas will be of naterial assistance to the player in arriving at a valid interpretation of his part. article "Wagner Tuba," Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (5th ed., edited by Eric Blom, 1954), IX, p. 125.TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE se ee eee ee eee eee eee eee INTRODUCTION, «eee eee ere eee e erence CHAPTER I. CHAPTER II, CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV, THE SERPENT AND THE OPHICLEIDE: RIENZIe ew eee eee eee ewes THE BASS TUBA. ee ee ee eee ee Description of the Instrument Known to Wagner ss ee eee The Bass Tuba as a Solo Instrument and Member of the Orchestral Ensemble: Der fliegende Hollander, Tannhduser, Lohengrin, Tristan und Tsolds, Die Neistersinger, Porsifal. . Te ee eee eee THE CONTRABASS TUBA. see eee ee Status of the Contrabass Tuba in the Midel9th Century. «+ +s The Treatment of the Instrument in Der Ring des Nibelungen . «+ « THE WAGNER TUBAS, eee eee eee ‘The Instruments as Envisioned by Wagner s se eee ee Their Role in Das Rheingold, Die Walkiire, Siepf ried, and” > and GBtterdhuimorung. s . ee ee CONCLUSION. ee ee ee eee eee ee ee eee APPENDIX. © ee eee eee ee ee eee ee eee BIBLIOGRAPHY, » ee ee eee eee eee ee eee vi iv BL 31 3h 83 83 84 136 136 139 187 190 192INTRODUCTION The history of wind performance can be traced to primi- tive times when crude instruments were constructed from animal horns, shells, and a variety of other natural materials. As might be expected, the quality of sound was unrefined and gen- erally of little use other than for signaling and certain religious ceremonies, These instruments were basic in design; natural shapes were generally altered only enough to accomo= date some type of air passage through which a sound could be produced, The conical shape of many animal horns and natural shells served to amplify the sound much as a simple megaphone does today. It is quite probable that these natural instrue ments were categorized for use by primitive cultures based on (a) the instrument's quality of sound, (b) the distance that this sound would carry, and (c) the variety of pitches avail- able, as limited harmonics on these early instruments imposed great restrictions on their usage, Later, more refined ine struments were made of metal or wood and often fitted with mouthpieces sinilar to those used on our modern brass instru ments, By the 15th century the buisine "had acquited the dis- tinguishing feature of the modern trombone, i,e., the slides," Following the design concept of the wooden cornett, bass instruments appeared in curved forms to better locate the =~ 411i Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. (Cam= bridge: Harvard’ University Press, 1969),. p. 110. 1fingerholes for easy access by the performer.’ The serpent, a practical result of this experimentation, along with the ophicleide, a keyed bass instrument made of brass, were used by composers well into the 1800's. The invention of the valve in the first quarter of the 19th century was a major development toward the construction of brass instruments as they appear today. This innovation in mechanical design allowed instrument makers to shift from the older fingerhole and key methods of obtaining different pitches to a valve system that would combine tonal stability with technical flexibility. It was in part this technical advancement that caused the downfall of the serpent and the ophicleide, Obviously, parts for the tuba were not practical until some technical refinenients in valve construction were made, Standardization of the instrument was brought about primarily through demands made on it by 19thecentury composers. Therefore, the tuba as used today in instrumental music organi= zations has but a brief history, one which dates back less than 150 years, It is at an early point in the evolution of the tuba that Richard Wagner's contributions to the instrument must be recognized. Not only was this relatively new instru= nent given a place in the Wagnerian orchestra, but a further distinction was made by the composer between the smaller bass tuba and the larger contrabass tuba, It was in part the con= sistent use of the family of tubas by Wagner that enabled the2 instrument to gain stature and, therefore, a prominent place in the symphony orchestra of the 19th century, Indeed the instrument had come a long way from its beginning in the form of a serpent and ophicleide,CHAPTER I THE SERPENT AND THE OPHICLEIDE: RIENZI The invention of the serpent is credited to Edmé Guillaume in 1590.4 there are, however, a variety of theories that would discredit Guillaume's invention, Aimé Cherest in an article in the Bulletin de 1a Socigtd des sciences historiques et naturelles de L'Yonne quotes from the records of the archdiocese of Sens (1453-4) which indicate that the redesigning of an existing instrument by repositioning certain supports could, in fact, have been the beginnings of the serpent. A second account of the serpent's appearance comes from Curt Sachs® who claims that it existed in Italy prior to 1590 and was simply introduced into France by Guillaume. Until proper evidence is brought forth, it must be assumed that credit for the sere pent's origination belongs to Guillaume. There is no doubt of a resemblance, both technically and structurally, between the serpent and the cornett. The con= tinuation of experiments toward a bass member of the cornet family made folding the larger instruments a necessity if larticle "Serpent", Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicsans (Sth ede, edited by URie Bios Tush), Vite pr 715. 2ceurt Sachs, Real-Lexikon der Masikinstrumente (Berlin, 1913, republished Nev York: Dover Publications, 1964), p. 343. 4access to the six fingerholes was to be retained. Guillaume may well have found himself at the culmination point of experi- mentation that had lasted several decades. The serpent was meant as a bass instrument to the family of cornetts; "even before the appearance of the serpent pro= per some of the cornetts had serpent's heads for their lower ends by way of adornment." There is reason to believe that the serpent was brought from France to England during the Restoration and quite possibly used in place of the organ in churches destroyed by the Commonwealth. However, in an earlier account the instrument is thought to appear as Lyzarden in the misical inventory (1603) at Suffolk's Hengrave Hal1.? The James Talbot manuscript in Christ Church Library, Oxford, - England, dated late 17th century, gives details and measure- ments showing an instrument that did not change appreciably during the next hundred years. The serpent, as shown in Example 1, page 6, was usually made of wood. It had thinner walls than the cornett and no thumb hole.© The C instrument was a conical tube approxi- mately eight feet in length including the metal crook inserted Ayavid Paetkau, The Growth of Instruments and Instrumental Music (New Yor! Vantage’ Press, 1962), pe ll?» ‘Grove's Dietionary of Music and Musicians, loc. cit. Pprancis Galpin, Old English Instruments of Music (London: Methuen and Company, Ltd, 19: 2) 9 Be . ®crove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op. cit., Pe 713.in the small end; some tuning could be accomplished by the use of different-length crooks, The bore varied from one~ half inch to approximately four inches, and expanded at a great rate immediately after leaving the mouthpiece, at approximately eighteen inches from the mouthpiece the bore Example 1 Serpent? doubled, and at the half-way point it doubled again,® There was no narrow cylindrical portion at the beginning of the air passage. Each of the six fingerholes were one-half inch in diameter and one-and-three-quarter inches apart from center to center. een seta , Willi Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd edition (Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 190)+' p. 103, Sagan Carse, Musical Wind Instruments (New York; Da Capo Press, 1965), Pe 275.a They were placed in two groups of three, the distance between holes three and four being approximately one foot. The construction of the instrument involved the shaping and hollowing of two complete halves. These halves were glued together and certain stress points strengthened with ox sinew.? The whole was bound with leather and sometimes further strengthened by metal bands.!° The instruments! true fundamental {all holes closed) was C, although "French fingering charts show the open notes and natural scale of the serpent one tone higher than the real sounds, that is, in D instead of in c,"11 One can produce a great amount of pitch variance as the first octave produces a major scale with a flat third and flat seventh entirely on fundamentals.2@ This variance can be as much as a fourth below the instrument's fundamental. Short= ening the air column by the successive opening of fingerholes produces the diatonic scale. Chromatic intervals are produced by half-stopping, lipping, and fork-fingering (a later innova- tion). Although fingering for the upper holes is standard, the lower holes can be fingered in two different ways. 4s the fingerholes open toward the mouthpiece, the quality of arove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p. 713. Wcarse, op. cite, ps 270. Uypid., p. azn. lcarse, loc. cit., however Carse overlooks the flat third,8 sound deteriorates.’> Many alternate fingerings are needed and used in the upper register,?4» 15 It has been documented by a variety of sources that a good player can overcome many of the serpent's weaknesses, "The rather precarious grip of the serpent was eased to some extent by hanging it on a ribbon or strap which was passed round the player's neck, or else attached to a button on his nl6 clothing. The tone quality produced by individual players varies in accordance with the performer's overall mastery of the instrument. However, subjective responses by the lis- tener are known to vary greatly and can be seen in the following quotations. The tone-quality of the open notes of a ser- pent is quite pure, but it has a dry and souewhat choked quality which is without the metallic ring of brass-instrument-tone as we know it.1? The truly barbaric tone of this instrument Gerpent] vould be nuch better suited for the Bhoody cult of the Druids than that of the Catholic church, where it is still in use--as a monstrous symbol’ for the lack of understanding and the course= ness of taste and feeling which have governed the application of music in our churches since times Verovets Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p. 714. licherry Beauregard, The Tuba: A Description of the Five Orchestral Tubas and Guidelines Tor Orchestral Tuba ‘riting (Doctor of Musical irts Dissertation, Dastidan School aPimst lasic, Rochester, 1970), De 7. see Fingering Chart 1, Appendix, p. 190. lcarse, ope Cite, pe 270f. 1tpid., pe 275.immemorial. Only one case is to be excepted: masses for the dead, where the serpent serves to double the dreadful choir of the Dies Irae, The serpent mouthpiece is similar to that of the bass trombone, except that the former possesses a sharp, narrow rim, small throat, and is usually made of ivory or horn. Metal mouthpieces with wider rims were frequently used in serpents of military bands.29 The serpent could be made from a variety of suitable woods, including walnut, plum, sorb,2° chestnut or pear-tree wood." there is one example of a copper instrument in the Reid Collection, Edinburgh University, manufactured by Joseph Taylor (Glasgow), but no other examples appear to have survived.@2 Nineteenth-century English makers built serpents from short overlapping half-sections. After gluing and stapling, the instrument was layered with an undercoat of canvas and a top coat of leather. Often ornamental brass rings were rector Berlioz, Treatise on Instrumentation, enlarged and revised by Richard Strauss, tr. by Theodore Front (New York: Edwin F, Kalmus, 1948), pe 348. erovets Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p, 713. 20sipyl Marcuse, Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary (New York; Doubleday and Company, ISGL), Fe tb7- 2lpaetkau, loc. cit. 22erove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, loc, cit.io placed on the bell.°? "on the 1gthecentury serpents the fine gevholes are often lined (or bushed) with ivory." In the early 19th century keys became standard, because to have retained fingerholes would have necessitated larger aoles more evenly spaced over the instrument. At first there were three keys but more were "added until a total of four teen was reached. Open extension keys were never used; the tendency was toward a higher, not lower, compass."@+ As time passed, the serpent evolved to a point of vire tual self-destruction. The downfall of the instrument may well have been caused by the push of the range beyond the point of the instrument's capabilities; the addition of keys led to more virtuosity but not necessarily to better intona= tion, "Later, a larger serpent was built, a fifth below; and even a monster a fourth lower yet."° ‘These larger instru= ments never became standard, Whe original purpose of the serpent was to accompany, in unison with men’s voices, plainsong in churches, hence the name Serpent a'¢glise.°? ‘the instrument was known to mix *Srpia. Phcarse, op. cite, De 270. varcuse, ops cite, pe 467s povert Donington, The Instruments of Music (London: Methuen and Company, Ltde; 1951), Be 95f~ 2uarcuse, Ope Cite, pe 467en better with voices than with organ, and was also used on passo-continuo parts with bass viglor bass violin.@° “trichet, writing ca. 1640, informs us the serpent was used for bass parts in instrumental consorts."29 The serpent of the 18th century made its hone in England, but it also flourished in the churches of France and Belgium,”? By the middle of the century Germany had adopted it in some wind bands,®4 “In the last quarter of the 18th century it played an important part in the vigorous development of milie tary music,"* In 1789 Rigibo abandoned the serpentine tube and bent it in the shape of a bassoon, Near the end of the 18th century serpents were made on the lines of a bassoon, with two straight up and down tubes connected at the bottom, and were known as bass-horns or Russian bassoons,"9> Early l9th-century changes to strengthen the instrument for military life (serpent militaire) consisted in either the upper part of the tube being made entirely of brass or the entire instrus ment being made of copper.°+ The instrument survived until the mid19th century. sebastien de Brossard, Dictionnaire de Musique (Paris: Ballard, 1703), pe 7 under 'baSso continuo’. 2%arcuse, ops Cite, pe 467. Dcarse, ops cite, pe 268%. Zarovers Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op. cits, De hae Se 22carl Geiringer, Musical Instruments, tr. by W. Fe He Blandford (New York: Oxford University Press, 1959), p. 222. Parse, op. cite, pe 269 F4tbide, pe 272012 Possibly the first significant use of the serpent was in Handel's Water Music (1715) and the Royal Fireworks Music (1749).2% At its peak the instrument was used by a variety of composers including Beethoven, Bennett, Carofa, Mendelssohn, Rossini, and Verdi. In orchestral scoring the serpent was: thought of as the bass of the woodwind family and today parts for this instrue ment are. most often played on the contra bassoon, The ophicleide was derived from the Irish key bugle and patented in 1810 by Joseph Halliday, bandmaster of the Cavan Regiment of Militia (Dublin).°° In 1817, Jean Hilaire Asté (mown professionally as Halary), a Paris instrument maker, produced three keyed bugles, which were patented in 1821.°7 The trade name for the largest of these bugles vas ophicleide. An early predecessor of the ophicleide, called Serpentcleide, was invented by Frichot in 1790.78 The similarity between the two instruments was not great enough to overshadow Halary's invention, The ophicleide was the predecessor of the bombardon and tuba, the latter being first referred to as gphicléide & piston or valve ophicleide, P?xeauregard, loc. cit. 3grovets Dictionary of Music and Musicians, VI, ps 243. Brpids, pe Zhe esther Singleton, The Orchestra and Its Instruments (Mew York: The Symphony Society of New York, 1517), p. 116.3 The ophicleide consists of three parts: the main tube, bent in a closely folded U, carries all the keys; the crook, usually circular or elliptical, contains a U-shaped tuning slide in the elliptical end; the mouthpiece, which will be discussed later (Example 2), It was in actuality an improved English bass horn, the holes of which were replaced by keys Example 2 Ophicleide?? on the ophicleide, These early keys allowed the holes to be more evenly spaced, larger and, therefore, more adequate for the width of the tube, W9anel, ope cite, pe 10%wu The instrament possessed a slightly flared bell, and was available with nine to twelve keys, eleven being the most common, All keys were closed except the one nearest the bell," which could be screwed closed for protection when the instrument was not in use, Halary's original patent drawing of 1821 reseubles what later became the standard nine-keyed ophicleide; a model produced the following year added three keys for the improvement of Dusharp, Fasharp, and G-sharp, and a rackeand=pinion tuning slide. rhe twelveth key, which figures in the 1822 addendum to Halary's patent, does not appear ever to have come into general use."/2 In the same year (1822) Labbaye took out a patent for a ten~keyed instrument with four joints, one fitted inside another. ‘The tenth key was used only to produce B-flat."> The elevene keyed instrument had a series of twelve semitones, al? funda- nentals from BB to Beflat, Open key number one produced BB when closed and C when open.“ Between 1830 and 1850 little mechanical progress on the instrument was reported; keys ten and eleven were generally adopted, On late models, "arouse, ops cite, Pe 377- “Igrovets Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op. cit., pel lie: oem ne *2rpid., pe 243. "Srpia., pe 2h. ‘hcarse, op. cite, ps 288f.15 after 1850, keys were "mounted partly on long’ axles with needle springs,'""7 The ophicleide was widely used both as a band and ora chestral instrument, though the sound of opening and closing keys was obtrusive.“ 1 1932 Guichard of Paris produced a threeavalve ophicleide which was built in B-flat with extra slides to take it down to C or BB+flat.+? the full-fledged ovhicldide } piston, however, does not belong to the ophicleide family. Bass ophicleides were built in C, as well as in B-flat, the former being approximately twelve inches shorter than the latter, In addition to these instruments, Caussinus, in his Kethode Complete d'Ophicidide, refers to a contralto instru- ment in defiat,48 an alto instrument in B-flat or F, and a contrabass in E-flat or F, known as the ophicleide 'monstre',49 The B-flat instrument was the most widely used. : The ophicleide has a conical bore ranging fron approxi+ nately one-half inch at the narrow end to eight inches at the 4‘Santhony Baines, Buropean and American Musical Instru- ments (London: B, T. Batsford, Ltd, 1966), De lle "Srpia. N?grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ps 2klbe ‘8rne lowest tones of the A-flat ophicleide are in uni- son with the three-stringed double bass, a fact pointed out by Berlioz in his Treatise on Instrumentation. 'erove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op, cits, De 2b _ ~16 mouth of the bell. The B-flat instrument, including the crook, measures nine feet in length. The overall range of the bass ophicleide is approximately three octaves” but players were known to exceed these recog= nized limits, The sound and flexibility in the lowest octave are inferior.°! Every note in the bottom octave is a funda- mental and will overblow its octave, twelfth, fifteenth, etc. In performance, overblowing the fundamental to produce the upper notes was not practical, because the higher the partials the poorer and weaker the notes, Fingering charts for the ophicleide do not agree, in part due to a lack of unity among manufacturers as to tone-hole placement.” The crook could be either coiled or looped with a tuning slide. The mouthpiece was made in either cone or cup form, Caussinus advocates metal mouthpieces instead of ivory or horn, and mentions particularly a mouthpiece of gold. Mouthe pieces of silver-plated brass or pure brass with a silver rim were satisfactory.”> Documentation for the ophicleide's use in England during the 19th century is comparatively extensive, The instrument is noted as having been included in performing ensembles at see Fingering Chart 2, Appendix, p. 291. Plperlioz, op. cite, Pe 337. 52grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p. 243. Drpid., pe 242.1? the Birmingham Music Festival in 1834, the York Festival in 1835, and the Birmingham Festival in 1843.°+ "In England, the heyday of the ophicleide was roughly from 1830-1890." on the Continent as well the instrument gained quick entry into bands and symphony orchestras, It could not, how- ever, compete with the never valve instruments and, by the mid-lgth century, was being replaced in the orchestra by the tuba. Although, according to Berlioz, Paris Conservatory pro= grams did no longer include an ophicleide by 1846, the instrun ment remained in certain French bands until around 1880. It was used in Italy into the early part of the 20th century.© The first major composer to make use of the ophicleide was Gasparo Spontini, who used the instrument in the stage band of Olympie, produced in Paris on December 22, 1819.9” Possibly the best knowm opbicleide excerpt from the orchestral literature is found in Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Berlioz, Bizet, Meyerbeer, Schumann, and Verdi included the instrument in their orchestral scoring. It was clear that the early attempts to manufacture a usable piston valve were only partially successful; for many years the newer piston instruments were not looked upon with PHtpid., pe 245 5 anthony Bai ust y Baines, Musical Instruments Through the Ages (Baltinore:, Penguin Books, TS6L) pb. 30%. Siarcuse, pe 378. *?grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p. 245.18 favor. The old Stélzel valve (1815) was fatiguing to blow, and the ophicléide 4 piston lacked Cesharp through F. The obsolescence of the ophicleide was, however, merely a matter of time, The alto instrument retired as soon as challenged by the valved tenor horns;*? by 1850 the bass ophicleide had been largely replaced by the more efficient bass tuba. Composers during the first half of the 19th century used both the serpent and ophicleide as parts of orchestral instrue mentation, Certain scoring characteristics in Rienzi (1840) are common to the serpent and the ophicleide. As with other orchestral winds in the opera, the serpent and the ophicleide are used to their fullest extent in terms of range, AM-flat to f! and GG to d! respectively, and dynamics, despite their inadequacies mentioned above. Overall, both instruments function as integral parts of the orchestral texture and, in some places, as solo parts in combination with one or more other instruments, Often the serpent and ophicleide are written in octaves, the lower octave being played by the serpent (Example 3, page 19) Brpia., pe 23. arse, ps 286. 6x5 a solo instrument, the ophicleide was not totally without repertoire. "An occasional ophicleide solo--generally an arrangement of '0 Ruddier than the Cherry'--was not unknown at the early Henry Wood Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts." (Baines, loc. cit.)19 Example 3 Rienzi Bet TTI, scene 1, Adolph Firstner Edition, v. II, pe 2022, mt. a5. (sere pent and ophicleide; all other parts omitted) There are instances when the ophicleide has the sustained line (Example 4), the serpent is the sustaining instrument Example 4 Rienzi Net TI, scene 1, v. II, pe 639, te 3d, Serp. (Example 5, page 20), and both instruments are in unison (Example 6, page 20),20 Example 5 Rienzi Ect IT1, scene 1, ve II, Pe 6982, m. 1-4. Example 6 Rienzi Ect TT, scene 3, v. I, Pe All, me Inte ‘The instrument is used throughout most of the opera, but tacet in Act I, scene 3, and Act II, scene 3 (pantomime and ballet), Its most extensive use is in the Overture and the other scenes of Act I and Act II, Act III casts the serpental in a primarily supportive role and, aside from a solo passage in Act IV (Example 7), Acts IV and V make less use of the instrument, Example 7 Rienzi Ket IV, scene 1, ve IT, Pe 950, m. 1-6, Several examples from Rienzi illustrate the serpent's function in mid-l9thecentury musical composition. Solo pass= ages, although infrequent, appear as solos with other instru= ments (Example 8, page 22), and in alternation with bassoonsExample 8 Rienzi Ket IT, scene 2, v. I, pe 3508, m 1-17, 22Example 8, cont. 23and low strings (Example 7, page 21), Thematic passages occur with a variety of other orchestral instruments (Ex- ample 9; and Example 10, page 25). Example 9 Rienzi. Bet T, scone 1, v. I, pe 84, m 1.25 Example 10 Rienzi Ket TIL, scene 3, v. II, pe 8027, m. 1-9, (vocal parts omitted) The flexibility that Wagner must have envisioned for the serpent is well illustrated in Rienzi, Rapid slurring pass= ages (Example 11, page 26), grace notes (Example 9, page 2h), and loweregister tonguing (Example 12, page 26) illustrate a26 variety of difficult musical maneuvers demanded of the instrue ment in the opera, Rienzi 7 scene ly ve I, De 2242, me. 1-9. Example 11 rc Example 12 Rienzi Ect II, scene 3, v. I, Pe 521f, me 2n60 7 Wagner writes no significant passages for the ophicleide in Acts IV and V, Parts appearing for the instrument in these acts are primarily for additive color in sustained chords and for rhythmic emphasis, The instrument tacet in Act I, scenes 2 and 3, and Act IV, scenes 1 and 2,27 A short solo passage of the ophicleide in Rienzi against a Gemajor chord held by the orchestra is found in Act I (Example 13). Example 13 Rienzi } Tet T, scene 4, v. I, Pe 215, me Inbe28 An exposed triplet passage in Act I adds the ophicleide's timbre to a solo passage of two trombones (Example 14) and Example 14 Rienzi. Ket T, scene 4, ve T, Be 2548, me 5s Trb, —= rh td Qa SST e # later to a choir of trombones (Example 15), Example 15 Rienzi Tet IT, scene 1, v. I, pe 305, me 1-8, Maestoso moderato. dz29 Example 15, cont. ‘The stage band of brass and percussion instruments in= cludes four ophicleides but no serpent. Parts for the ophicleides are written in parallel unisons (Example 16) Example 16 Rienzi Tet TI, scene 3, v. II, pe 92hf, m. 1-5, (stage only; vocal parts omitted) {=SS5= 2 Trobe vent in F 2 Trombe vortin F 4 Ophicteide, 6 Tamburi mit 4 Donburt rolantt30 and octaves (Example 17), and in two rhythmically indepen= dent parts (Example 18). Example 17 Rienzi Tct TII, scene 3, v. II, pe 2908, m. 1-9. (stage band only; orchestral and vocal parts omitted) 2 Trompe vent, “hr, 2 Trombo vent. ine 2 Trombe vent, Tn'Es. 2 Trombe ord. in'B 2 Trombe ord. iB. 2 Trosibe ord. ine 6 Trombont, 4 Ophicielde 6 Tamburi mitit 2 Tamburl rulanti Example 18 Rienzi Ket TII, scene 3, ve IT, p. 800f, m. 1-3. (stage band only; orchestral and vocal parts omitted) 2 Trombe vent, fr'P. 2 Tronbe veut, in" 2 Trombe vent. ies. 2 Trombe ord. rue 2 Trombe ord. ey 2 Trosibe ord. ines 6 Trombont. 4 ophicleide, 6 Tamburi mit 2 Tamburi rulantiCHAPTER IT THE BASS TUBA Description of the Instrument Known to Wagner Richard Wagner did not use the bass tuba until the com position of Tannhéuser in 1844, although the inclusion of a "tuba" in Der fliegende Holl&nder (1841) has been traditionally interpreted to mean bass tuba, Before that, the bass tuba had undergone a number of modifications relative to its overall shape and mechanical design, It first appeared in Berlin in the second decade of the 19th century! and was know to resem= ble the older ophicleides, The Std1sel catalog of 1828 listed a Basshorn oder Bass-trompete in F oder Es, an instrument which was thought to be a prototype of the modern bass tuba.@ In 1835 Wilhelm Wieprecht, musical supervisor of the Prussian Army, suggested a bass tuba in F; the instrument was built by Johann G. Moritz of Berlin.? Thesé early instruments were less developed than our modern bass tuba. They could be obtained in either F or E-flat and generally came equipped with larticle "Tuba," Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Sth ed,, edited by Eric Blon, 7 VEIT, pe 579. ria. Fcurt sachs, The History of Musical Instruments (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1940), pe Goof. 3132 between three and six valves, The five-valve tuba which Wieprecht introduced in Prussia, and of which Adolphe Sax nade admirable specimens, had marked advantages over the ophicleide, Kastner's Manuel général de musique militaire (1848) illustrated several types of bass tubas as well as bonbardons, but did not distinguish between these instru- ments. Berlioz described the bombardon as having a timbre similar to that of the ophicleide and a valve system (then called "three éylinders") similar to the bass tuba, but less sophisticated.” The valve mechanism on the early tubas varied considerably during the first decades of its existence, The invention of the valve around 1815 was credited to Friedrich Blihmel in Silesia and Heinrich Stdlzel in Berlin, Early German instruments were fitted with either Vienna-valves (double tubular pistons) or Berliner-pumpen (single tubular pistons). The latter, designed by Wieprecht, were a definite a advancement over the early Bithnel valve.’ While Adolphe Sax aparove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op. cit., pe 580. a eee Syector Berlioz, Treatise on Instrumentation, enlarged and revised by Richard Strauss, tr. by Theodore Front (New York: Edwin F, Kalmus, 1948), p. 338%. Scarse, loc. cit. adam Carse, "Adolphe Sax and the Distin Fam: Revue (volume VI, number IV, 1945), p. 198. » Music33 used Wieprecht's piston valve on his first saxhorns, (patented 1845), his later instruments incorporated a new rotary valve mechanism, Rotary valves gained popularity throughout Germany for horns and trumpets as well as the larger bombardons and tubas.® . The Tenorbasshorn in B-flat, as used in Wieprecht's Trompeten=Corps circa 1828, is one of the earliest documented appearances of a bass tuba.? Around 1840 the Wieprecht= Moritz instrument was generally available and "required in 10 Berlioz in 1842-3 found the ine German opera orchestras, strument used not only in orchestras but in bands as well, From 1835 to 1850 bass tubas were made in Berlin, Potsdam, Vienna, Prague, and Paris; by the last quarter of the 19th century they were available through most European brass= instrument manufacturers.+ The bore of the bass tuba in F is approximately one-half inch at the narrow end and expands to thirteen or fourteen inches across the opening of the bell. The E-flat instrument is slightly larger, “Its [bass tuba in F or E-flat| tone, 8prank Harrison and Joan Rimmer, European Musical Instru- nonts (London: Studio Vista, 1964), pe Slee %grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op, cite, 5796 . 1carse, Musical Wind Instruments, op. cit., pe 303. Uypid., pe 30h.Bh incomparably more noble than that of the ophicleides, bom bardons and serpents, has something of the vibrant timbre of the trombones, It is less agile, but more powerful than the ophicleides,"1 Richard Wagner's treatment of the bass tuba in Der fliegende Hollander, Tannhduser, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger and Parsifal will be presented in two categories, namely the use of the bass tuba as (a) a solo instrument or as one of the dominating instruments in the orchestra, and (b) a member of the orchestral ensemble, It is understood that in many instances the bass tuba provides or reinforces the rhythmic and harmonic understructure. (a) Examples of the bass tuba as a solo instrument illus— trate its use in leitmotifs and exposed passages of melodic character, The Hollunder motif (Example 1) is the only actual Gottkiaer notaz) Overture bareion Dulenbure, De Uf, tle 3-9e rom 1 1 TE comd | Fite marcato Berlioz, Ope Cite, De 539.35 leitmotif expressed by the bass tuba in Der fliegende Hollander, put it appears on ten separate occasions, and is most often sounded in combination with trombones, trumpets, bassoons, celli and double basses, Melodic passages for the bass tuba, although few in number, are found in a variety of instrumental combinations. The tuba's chromatic upward scale with bassoons, celli and double basses (Example 2), the establishment of a Example 2 Der fliegende Hollander : Bet Desens Se pe Oise m. 165636 melodic diminished-seventh chord (Example 3), and a melodic Example Der fliegende Hollander ee KEE Ty seen, pe POF, me 1410,Example 3, cont. 3738 line with the low strings (Example 4) are three of the more Example 4 Der fliegende Hollinder ‘Tet Teeene: scene 2, pe 14k, me 1-10. important examples in Der fliegende Hollander in which the timbre of the tuba is prominent in the orchestral texture, In Tannhauser the bass tuba is used primarily to support leitmotifs in other wind instruments, Example 5 from the Example 5 Tannhauser (Pilgrim s-Chorus Overture, Da Capo Press Reprint motif) Edition, p. 4ff, m, 1-1 POs. . za, A A A 3Example 5, cont. A A A 39Example 6 Tannhduser (Hymn-to-Venus motif) Overture, p. 38, me 1-8. Fl. Tuba Phe 1. Viol. |é' 2, Viol. Br. Vell. Kb.A Overture illustrates the Pilgrim's-Chorus motif sounded in unison by a choir of trombones, for which the bass tuba reine forces the basic rhythm; in Example 6, page 40, a heavy rhythmic pulse in the bass tuba underlies the Hyun-to-Venus motif in upper woodwinds and strings. Later, the tuba joins other Woodwinds and brass in an augmentation of the Pilgrim's= Chorus motif (page 64ff, me 2-56), Aside from leitmotifs, the only exposed passages of significance for the bass tuba are found in Act III, Scene 2 opens with a g-minor chord played by trombones, tuba and harp (Example 7), In scene 3 Tannhauser Ret TIT, Scene 2, p. 337, me Bel2. SS , atntng dt die Lande, SSS the weight of the tuba strengthens the choral bass line as the words, "God, and His great mercy" are sung to the rhythmic accompaniment of woodwinds and horns (Example 8, page 42)«Example 8 Tannhauser ic > Scene 3, pe 379f, mse bulk. * Vh = Ventilhorn (valve horn) Wh = Waldhorn (natural horn,Example 8, cont. ' Eitrrs terres st 4344 In Act I of Lohengrin the Ordeal notif is sounded with the trombones (Example 9), presenting one of the few examples Example 9 Lohengrin (Ordeal motit) Horie scone 3, Cy P, Poters Edition, pe 113, me lind. re. in which the bass tuba actually carries a leitmotif in the music drama, At the opening of Act I, scene 3, and ina similar manner in Act II, scene 5, the bass tuba, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones and low strings underscore the Lohengrin-the-Knight motif (Example 10; and Example 11, page 45). Example 10 Lohengrin (Lohengrinsthe-Knight Ree se > scene 3, pe 84, me 1-5. notif) (upper Woodwinds and upper strings omitted)4S Example 11 Lohengrin (lohengrin-the-Knight ‘Tet Tis-scone 5, pe 332, motif) m 1-5. On three occasions in Act III the bass tuba performs an impor= tant supportive role to announcements of the Lohengrin=the= Knight motif (Act IIT, page 498, m. 3-6; page 521, m. 2m; and page 567, m. 18). The Grail motif, also heard in Act III, ine cludes the bass tuba as a supportive instrument (Example 12, page 46). One of the best Imown and most important excerpts46 Example 12 Lohengrin (Grail motif) Seat 7 scene 3, pe 565, m, 8=9. (vocal part omitted) seroma ae E \ 4 wd #25 z +—~ [= = rele _| ert == == socio. =4? in Lohengrin for bass tuba is the melodic passage in the Pre= lude to Act ITI, descriptive of the wedding festivities later in the act (Example 13). A more extensive statement of this Example 13 Lohengrin (WWedding-feast Ket > Prelude, pe 395ff, motif) m,. 1-21. Lesher ps ron, [EE =——— FSA = motte te ; wf 7 we eke we == = : = same material occurs moments later when the tuba plays the melodic line, one octave lower than in the previous example (Example 14). Example 14 Lohengrin (Wedding-feast Rett 7 Prelude, p. 403ff, motif) m, 1-22,48 There are no examples in Tristan und Isolde in which the bass tuba carries a leitmotif as either a principal or a supportive orchestral voice; exposed solo passages for the instrument are limited, The only significant example of an exposed Solo passage is a short melodic figure, with string accompaniment, appearing in Act III (Example 15). Example 15 Tristan und Isolde Act III, "scene 3, Peters Edition, p. 613, me 6. The use of the leitmotif by the bass tuba in Die Meistersinger, in comparison to Wagner's earlier music dra~ mas, is of particular significance, While three examples of the Meistersinger motif in the Prelude include the bass tuba, two illustrate supportive roles (Prelude, pages 1f, m. 1-8; and pages 4ff, m. 1+1k) and one the leitmotif iteelf (Example 16, page 49).