Re: Re: French tuba in high C


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Posted by Klaus on July 12, 2001 at 14:33:45:

In Reply to: Re: French tuba in high C posted by Tracy B. on July 12, 2001 at 13:53:22:

Not fully true.

The added link will bring you to the Courtois page describing their Saxhorns in Bb, the closest present day equivalent of the original French C tuba.

Bore dimensions and bell diameter are close to modern euphoniums. No compensation. Two variations of the 5th valve: fifth or long whole step.


But no instruments with six valves.

The Couesnon catalogue page illustrated on the recent C tuba auction page tells of the "missing" valve. It was intended as a transposition remedy for lowering the overall tuning a half step. The music sample on the catalogue shows first a passage in B natural major and then the same passage transposed up a half step to C major.

The point seems to be that the same fingering could be applied, except for the depression of the semitone valve through the Bnat passage. As no compensating mechanichs were at play, this idea hardly can have proved itself in practical playing. The transposition valve was placed as #5 betwen the fourth and fifth valves. "fourth and fifth" here describing musical intervals.

Klaus



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