Bass Trumpet
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The bass trumpet is a type of low
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
which was first developed during the 1820s in
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. It is usually pitched in 8' C or 9' B today, but is sometimes built in E and is treated as a
transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...
sounding either an
octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
, a sixth or a ninth lower than written, depending on the pitch of the instrument. Having valves and the same tubing length, the bass trumpet is quite similar to the valve trombone, although the bass trumpet has a harder, more metallic tone. Certain modern manufacturers that sell 'valve trombones' and 'bass trumpets' employ the same tubing, valves, and bell in different combinations; in these circumstances, the bass trumpet is nearly similar to the valve trombone.


History

The earliest mention of the bass trumpet is in the 1821 '' Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung'', in which Heinrich Stölzel's ''Chromatische Tenor-Trompetenbaß'' and Griesling & Schlott's ''Chromatische Trompetenbaß'' are described. Several other variants were produced through the 1820s and were employed in military bands. Wide-
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
versions in 9' B are still used today in Austria and Bavaria under the name ''Baßtrompete'', and narrow-bell versions in 9' B are used in Italy under the name ''tromba bassa''. They perform no melodic function, but are used solely to fill out harmonies.


Wagner's bass trumpet

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's first intention for ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
'' was a bass trumpet in 13' E, based on the instruments he would have come across during his dealings with military bands. However, while the opening section of ''
Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...
'' might indicate the use of such an instrument, the part quickly rises to G5, which would be the nineteenth partial on this long instrument; Wagner understood brass instruments very well and saw that this was impractical. While it was argued during the late nineteenth century (Oskar Franz: ''Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau'', 1884) that the instrument in question was actually pitched an octave higher, the instrument actually built by Moritz of Berlin on Wagner's personal instruction for the Munich theatre (according to ''Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau'', 1908) was pitched in 8' C with crooks for B and A and sounded one octave lower than written. The records of Moritz were not preserved, though a wide-bell bass trumpet with military-band proportions in 8' C with B and A crooks does make an appearance in their post-1900 catalogue, while Gebrüder Alexander of
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
offered a narrow-bore model in either E or C. The model normally used today is in 8' C with four
rotary valve A rotary valve (also called rotary-motion valve) is a type of valve in which the rotation of a passage or passages in a transverse plug regulates the flow of liquid or gas through the attached pipes. The common stopcock is the simplest form of ro ...
s, and is played by a trombonist owing to the size of the mouthpiece. Bass trumpets in E are usually played by trumpeters as the mouthpiece is closer in size to that of the standard B
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
. Wagner wrote adventurously for his new addition to the brass section, exploiting open and muted effects, and extremes of range and dynamics. The bass trumpet is frequently featured in ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
'', playing solos in every register, as well as playing in octaves, unison or harmony with trumpets,
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
s, and Wagner tubas. Its very distinctive
timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
is easily identifiable and Wagner used this new and unique tone colour extensively. However, as with the Wagner tuba and the contrabass trombone, Wagner's other additions to the opera house orchestra for ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
'', the bass trumpet has not become a regular member of the orchestral brass and is seen rarely. Other composers who have used the bass trumpet in the
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
include
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
(in the
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
''
Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...
''),
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
(in the
tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement (music), movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. T ...
''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'' and the
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
'' Elektra''),
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
(in the
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
'' Gurrelieder''),
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
(in the
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
'' Le sacre du printemps'' – fourth trumpet doubling bass trumpet in E),
Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
(in the '' Sinfonietta'' – two bass trumpets in B).
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
used the bass trumpet as one of Nekrotzar's "Entourage" instruments in his opera '' Le Grand Macabre''.


Notation

The bass trumpet is usually notated in the treble clef. The bass trumpet in C sounds one octave lower than written, the bass trumpet in E sounds a major sixth lower than written, and the bass trumpet in B sounds a major ninth lower than written. Wagner's transpositions include bass trumpet in E, E, D, C, and B, though players often have parts for the bass trumpet transposed into C to play on the C bass trumpet.


Performers

In jazz music, Johnny Mandel became well known as a bass trumpet player, as well as Cy Touff and Raymond Premru in the 1950s and 1960s. Jazz trombonist Elliot Mason regularly plays the bass trumpet with Wynton Marsalis's Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as in his own bands. Rashawn Ross regularly plays bass trumpet with the Dave Matthews Band and has performed and recorded with Usher, Ludacris, Maceo Parker, Robert Randolph, and Roy Hargrove. His equipment includes a silver-plated Getzen bass trumpet and a Vincent Bach Mount Vernon B trumpet. Salsa musician and trombonist Willie Colón plays a Getzen bass trumpet on several recordings on Fania Records. While the bass trumpet in orchestras is usually played by a trombonist, British trumpeter Philip Jones performed on the bass trumpet while employed by the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
,
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
. Leonhard Paul plays bass trumpet regularly with Austrian brass ensemble Mnozil Brass. Up until late 2006, he played a traditional rotary valve bass trumpet made by Gebr. Alexander of Mainz, but now plays a redesigned instrument by Schagerl. Chicago-based bass trumpet player Ryan Shultz plays a Getzen bass trumpet, recording and performing in the progressive jazz scene in Chicago since the 1980s.


See also

Other
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s: * Piccolo trumpet *
Contrabass trumpet The contrabass trumpet is the largest and lowest-pitched member of the trumpet family, sounding below the bass trumpet. Only a few exist. The instrument appeared in the mid-20th century and has no orchestral or jazz repertoire. Usually built in ...
* Pocket trumpet


References


External links


Bass & Contrabass Trumpet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass Trumpet C instruments B-flat instruments Trumpets Orchestral instruments