Re: Re: Re: When did F become Eb?


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Posted by DanN on May 11, 2001 at 03:07:36:

In Reply to: Re: Re: When did F become Eb? posted by Lew on May 10, 2001 at 05:54:52:

According to the book I mentioned above, The Cambridge Companion, here is a timeline of instrument patents and events:

1835 - Wieprecht/Moritz patent construct a bass-tuba in F

1843 - Berlioz is impressed when he hears 12 bass-tubas perform his Les francs-juges in a massed band concert.

1843 - Adolphe Sax establishes his workshop in Paris.

1845 - Cervany invents the first true contrabass tuba in Bflat.

1846 - Berlioz ammends many scores specifying tuba insteads of ophicleide. He writes The Damnation of Faust for both tuba and ophicleide, the latter playing the upper parts.

Late 1840s - Sax begins to develop his Saxhorns. The first contrabass in Bflat is constructed sometime just prior to 1850.

Therefore, it seems that in contrast to what Lew said, the tuba was actually used before the saxhorn in orchestras. This backed up by the fact that the Saxhorn family's first public release was at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, where Berlioz was a member of the musical instrument jury.

Given that this section of the book was written by the one and only Cliford Bevan, I'd tend to agree with his version of events.






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