Posted by Steve Bloom on December 17, 2000 at 23:42:17:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: 3-valve Eb/low range/function? posted by DTromba on December 16, 2000 at 22:52:27:
Sousa was director of the Marine Band from 1880 to 1892, when he formed his own band. I've seen no photos of the Marine Band during his tenure that show what appears to be a BB-flat tuba. As Tom Railsback stated, there is little documented evidence that BB-flat tubas were in use prior to 1890, so it is unlikely Sousa used any BBb horns in the Marine Band. As far as the music is concerned, almost all of Sousa's works have been re-scored for modern band instrumentation, hence the appearance of lower bass notes. Incidentally, Sousa rarely, if ever, used published versions of his own works. Typically, he relied on hand-written manuscripts that were hastily prepared the night before a concert.