]](Fr. basse, saxhorn basse, tuba bassse; Ger. Baryton, Tenorbass, Tenorbasshorn; It. baritono, bombardino, eufonio, flicorno basso).
(1)
A valved brass instrument of widely conical profile, essentially a tenor tuba
in 9' B. The
mouthpiece is cup-shaped and generally somewhat deeper than that preferred by
trombonists playing instruments of similar pitch. The instrument was invented
by Sommer of Weimar about 1843 as the ‘euphonion’. Its name is derived from the
Greek euphonos (‘sweet-voiced’), appearing in Italian and Spanish as eufonio.
The prototype of the euphonium was the Tenorbasshorn in B, known in Germany in the late
1820s. In 1838 Carl Wilhelm Moritz of Berlin built a tenor tuba of Tenorbasshorn
pitch but wider bore, its four valves giving a larger range. This was
superseded by Sommer’s invention, initially called the Sommerophone,
which received honourable mention at the 1851 London Great Exhibition. The Hellhorn,
a similar instrument patented by Ferdinand Hell of Brno, was also exhibited.
The euphonium soon became the most important deep brass instrument in bands. In 1848 V.F. Červený of Hradec Králové introduced a model called the Baroxyton which became the first bass in Russian infantry bands. The same maker’s Phonikon was a euphonium with a bulbous bell, like an english horn. During the 1880s Červený pioneered a ‘Kaiser’ range of instruments with particularly large bore which included a euphonium member called Kaiserbariton. These were later made also by German manufacturers.
Conventional shapes of euphonium follow tuba practice (see Tuba (i)). The right-facing instrument with top valves is most common and is the only type currently manufactured in Britain and France. The fourth valve may be in line or, more normally, positioned for left-hand operation in this shape of instrument. The left-facing oval-shape model with rotary valves is common in Germany, Austria and central Europe, while in the USA a version with side-valves and front bell is also made. The only known helicon-shape euphonium was a version of the Baroxyton mentioned above.
The twin-belled euphonium has been the most successful and enduring of the Duplex type of instrument (a single instrument that embodies the characteristics of two different instruments). Combining the characteristics of euphonium and valve trombone, it was offered in manufacturers’ catalogues as late as the 1960s, although it was little used outside the USA. In 1996, following an investigation of extant instruments, Edmund K. Mallett produced an improved design in conjunction with Musical Instrument Services of Monroe, Michigan. In marching bands (see Band (i), §§III–IV) a trumpet-shaped euphonium is found.
The
euphonium usually has four valves (occasionally three or five). These give a
potential range from F' to above b', depending on the player. High-quality
right-facing euphoniums with top-valves use the 1874 Blaikley compensating
system (see Tuba (i), ex.1). It is possible on left- and
forward-facing instruments to correct intonation by manipulation of the valve
slides during performance. The instrument is distinctive in its strong, warm
tone and fulfils a valuable role as both bass and tenor instrument, covering
approximately the same range as the cello and ophicleide.
The
German name Tenorbasshorn has been applied to the euphonium as to its
predecessor with a keen awareness of the instrument’s qualities. In English
(and increasingly American) usage the term ‘baritone’ (see Baritone
(ii)) is
correctly applied to the saxhorn of euphonium pitch with a less widely conical
profile and only three valves. British brass band scoring calls for two
baritones which contribute the lower notes in a fairly rich but not intrusive
medium-register quintet which also includes three E horns. The English term for the E alto saxhorn is ‘tenor
horn’. In Italy the three-valved euphonium, and occasionally the four-valved,
is termed baritono or bombardino; the baritone is termed tenore.
The German Tenorhorn (as in, for example, Mahler’s Seventh Symphony) is
the baritone. The common German name for the euphonium is Baryton. It is
possible that the adoption in the USA of the term ‘baritone’ for euphonium was
the result of the immigration of large numbers of German musicians during the
19th century. Until recently the terms were interchangeable in the USA,
manufacturers in some cases offering euphoniums and baritones of identical
bore. In fact euphonium bore (through the valves) ranges between models from
14.3 to 16·6 mm (baritone bores are from 12·7 to 14·3 mm); bell diameters are
250·6 to 304·8 mm (219·1 to 279·4 mm for the baritone). A distinction between
the two instruments is now more frequently drawn.
The instrument appears in a number of orchestral works, often as ‘tenor tuba’. In the band, as the euphonium, it is sometimes played with vibrato; in the orchestra, as tenor tuba, it is played without, in the style of the other orchestral brass. English 19th-century light orchestral music frequently included a part for euphonium. Euphoniums have occasionally been used in jazz, especially by Rich Matteson (1929–93) and the trumpeter Maynard Ferguson.
The euphonium entered the symphony orchestra almost by accident. Richard Strauss had included a tenorWagner tuba in Don Quixote (1896–7) and Ein Heldenleben (1897–8). While preparing the first performance of the latter, Ernst von Schuch substituted a Baryton with greatly improved effect. One of the consequences was the need for euphonium players to cope with a Wagner tuba notation. A euphonium usually plays the ‘Bydlo’ solo in the Musorgsky-Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition, and is sometimes used for Berlioz’s high ophicleide parts. When scored orchestrally, as for instance in some of Havergal Brian’s symphonies, the euphonium is normally treated as a higher tuba. Brian included two euphoniums and two tubas in his Symphony no.1, and, regularly, one of each instrument in later works. The role of the orchestral euphonium player is often filled by the fourth trombonist or a tuba player specializing in the higher register. Shostakovich includes an extremely demanding solo for baritono (euphonium) in his music for the ballet The Golden Age (1927–30).
There are innumerable solos for euphonium with band. Among these the Concerto for euphonium and brass band by Horovitz (1972) is outstanding. Hovhaness’s Diran op.94 (1951) is a euphonium solo with string orchestra accompaniment. Amilcare Ponchielli’s Concerto per flicorno basso (1872) was written while the composer was director of the municipal band of Cremona.
One of the most eminent euphonium players was Simone Mantia (1873–1951), who specialized in playing cornet solos on a twin-belled instrument. He was taught by Joseph Raffayola, a soloist in the bands of Patrick Gilmore and J.P. Sousa. Joseph DeLuca, also a member of Sousa’s band, and Harry Whittier of the Gilmore band, both composed solos which are often performed. Alfred Phasey (1834–88), a prominent London freelance, began his career on ophicleide, later taking up euphonium. He appeared on both instruments (and bass trombone) until at least 1880 and was succeeded by his son, Handel (1862–1913), who also played euphonium and bass trombone.
(2) H.J. Haseneier’s bass-euphonium, invented about 1850, is a late development of the upright Serpent.
(3) The name ‘euphonium’ also refers to a type of tuning-fork instrument patented in 1885 by G.A.I. Appunn of Hanau. See Tuning-fork instruments.
A. Baines: Brass Instruments: their History and Development (London, 1976/R)
C. Bevan: The Tuba Family (London, 1978)
H. Heyde: Trompete, Posaunen, Tuben (Leipzig, 1980) [museum catalogue]
C. Guy: ‘Exploring the New Double-Bell Euphonium’, T.U.B.A. Journal, xxiii/4 (1995–6), 64ff
H. Howey: ‘The Revival of Amilcare Ponchielli’s Concerto per flicorno basso opus 155, Cremona, 1872’, T.U.B.A. Journal, xxiii/4 (1995–6), 42–9
CLIFFORD BEVAN