Posted by Richard on May 01, 2003 at 23:53:01:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Tuba Orchestra History posted by Rick Denney on April 29, 2003 at 23:26:44:
Both Rienzi and Dutchman were written with Paris performances in mind, and the instrument available there at the time was ophicleide. Most Mendelssohn parts called for ophicleide. In spite of its inferior sound, the tuba was slow to be accepted by composers. Might that say something about the quality of sound produced on those early tubas? Berlioz did later approve the use of the tuba in his early works, but particularly in Fantastique the approval was grudging, since the tuba did not produce the kind of menacing sound needed for the Witches Sabbath that the ophicleide combined with serpent and bassoons were able to produce naturally ;-)