The double bell euphonium is a duplex instrument based on the

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

. The larger bell produces the mellow tone of a standard euphonium; the second smaller bell has a brighter tone, similar to a

baritone horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

valve trombone The valve trombone is a brass instrument in the trombone family that has a set of valves to vary the pitch instead of (or in addition to) a slide. Although it has been built in sizes from alto to contrabass, it is the tenor valve trombone pitched ...

. The instrument is sometimes dismissed as a novelty, but has had some enthusiastic adherents, including few professional musicians using it as their sole or primary instrument. The smaller bell can give more appropriate tone in the higher range of the instrument. The two bells can also be used for special effects, such as echoes, and using the distinctly different tone of the two bells for a single musician to give the effect of

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

Construction

The last valve on the horn (either the fourth or the fifth, depending upon the model) is used to switch the sound from the main bell to the secondary bell. Both bells cannot play at the same time because each bell usually has its own tuning slide loop, such that they can be matched adequately for consistent performance. Unlike the

double horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

, there is only one set of valve slides with a double bell euphonium, so only the basic pitch of the two bells can be matched.

History

The double bell euphonium was mass-produced starting in the 1880s, first produced by the

C.G. Conn C. G. Conn Ltd., Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in early manufacture of ...

company in the United States Other major U.S. brass-instrument manufacturers soon began production of similar instruments. The instrument was first popularized by Italian-born euphonium virtuoso Miguel Raffayolo, soloist with the

Patrick Gilmore Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and military bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, ...

band, documented in American newspapers by 1880. Harry Whittier, also of Gilmore's band, took up the instrument by 1888; the

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...

band added the instrument the following year one Paull and Morris, p. 12 with other US

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

s following the example. Peak production of the instrument was from about the 1890s into the 1920s, although it was never one of the more popular brass instruments. In the 19th century press, Raffayolo is described as inventor the instrument, known then as the "Euphonium Trombone."

Decline

The last double bell euphoniums were made around 1960. In practice, most double bell models ended up being used with the large bell only, effectively a very heavy single bell euphonium. About the second bell, famous euphonium soloist Arthur W. Lehman once said during a Marine Band concert, "We use it to hold our white gloves when we are not wearing them."

Soloists

Simone Mantia Simone Mantia (6 February 1873 – 25 June 1951) was an American baritone horn/euphonium virtuoso and also trombone artist at the turn of the twentieth century. He was both a performer and administrator with many American band and orchestral ense ...

used to play a double-bell euphonium as a virtuoso. While part of the Sousa and Pryor Bands, Simone at times favored the double-belled euphonium and he even composed "Priscilla" (in tribute to Jane Priscilla Sousa), a double-bell euphonium solo.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Double Bell Euphonium Tubas B-flat instruments