Posted by Rick Denney on November 11, 2002 at 15:16:18:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Reply to Barry Guerrero posted by reply to Rick on November 11, 2002 at 13:16:51:
I can't say that I noticed that characteristic. I'll have to listen again with that it mind. Of course, Concentus Musicus Wien usually plays more chamber-oriented works--at least those are recordings I have--and from an earlier era than Norrington's Beethoven.
But I agree that many of the British recordings of various works that I've heard are light on bass, though I'm comparing them with orchestras that might be heavy on bass. Tuba sounds have gotten bigger to keep pace with trombones and trumpets over the years, led by the example of Chicago back in the 50's and perhaps some earlier orchestras that are beyond my limited knowledge. It seems to me that the truly large tubas became popular first in this country, using instruments adapted from professional wind bands. The tubas of Europe when much of the music was written were far smaller than what we use now. For me, the problem is twofold: The rest of the brass has trended to larger equipment, and listeners have tended to louder reproduction. For the tuba to remain similar to the very small bass tubas of 100 years ago seems like it would upset the balance in the composer's mind. When it comes to listening to bass, though, we are not unbiased.
Bevan hints that one of the reasons for the general settling on the EEb was that the larger instruments, either kaiser rotary tubas from the Continent or large piston tubas from the U.S., were unavailable because of import restrictions during the 70's. He recounts the stories of "friends" who essentially smuggled instruments like B&S F tubas into Great Britain for their own use. This limitation may have created a generation of players who had the EEb as their only practical choice. Our British friends could confirm or deny this speculation.
Also, since so many of these recordings were done by EMI/Angel, if the recording philosophy is light on bass.
Rick "who sees possible explanations but still likes to hear a big tuba sound" Denney