Posted by Ace on May 10, 2001 at 01:43:25:
In Reply to: When did F become Eb? posted by Aubrey Foard on May 10, 2001 at 01:02:03:
Aubrey,
Your post is interesting. I looked in my Cerveny tuba brochure and found the statement that Vaclav Frantisek Cerveny made the first BB flat and CC large-bore contrabass tubas in 1845. Other instruments followed such as the Phonikon (1849), Baroxyton (1849), and the Tritonicon (1856). I have not seen pictures of these latter instruments. However, I do own a modern-day Cerveny four rotor bass trombone in F (like a straightened cimbasso) the design of which is virtually unchanged from Cerveny's 1873 series of Bass Army Valve Trombones. These must have been parade-ground instruments because they have a mighty tone. I think Klaus (or another European poster) wrote that this type instrument has been used on ocassion by the Vienna Philharmonic as a specialty instrument. It is so heavy that they hung the end of it by a hook on the music stand?
I haven't read about the E flat question you posed. These questions about historical development of brass instruments are very interesting. One intriguing question is why some players were so slow in adopting valved instruments-----many orchestral pros in the nineteenth century continued on natural horns, crooks, etc. long after valved instruments were available. "Tradition" dies hard, I guess.