At 19:15 27.08.2009 -0400, Ray Horton wrote:
Two separate instruments were developed in the latter 1800s - the
BBb slide contrabass trombone for Wagner and the BBb valved
"trombone basso" - which has come to be labeled "cimbasso" - for
Verdi. I have not seen an historical example of the latter - I
would assume it would not be extremely large, since Verdi did not
like large-bore tubas.
Oh no! Not the Cimbasso!
The historical cimbasso, which Verdi and many other Italian composers
specified in their scores, was not a trombone.
I posted the following to the trombone-l a number of years ago:
The term "cimbasso" has been the source of much confusion.
An excellent article by Renato Meucci, "The Cimbasso and Related
Instruments in 19th-Century Italy" Galpin Society Journal 49 (1996),
sheds much light into the cimbasso darkness.
The name: The origin of the name is not known. Meucci writes: "There
can be no doubt that the terms "corno basso" and "cimbasso" were
synonymous. However the difference rested in a distinction of
terminology: while _corno basso_ was academic, found only in
treatises and theoretical works, _cimbasso_ was everyday musicians'
jargon used in scores and tutors. I wish to advance here the theory
that the term _cimbasso_ derives from an abbreviated form of _corno
basso_ (or perhaps _corno in basso_) originally written _c. basso_ or
_c. in basso_, whence _cimbasso_. This is indirectly confirmed by the
lack of consistency in spelling, which varies from _cimbasso_ (most
frequently) to _simbasso_ and _gimbasso_, with
abbreviations such as _gibas_ found in manuscript scores and documents."
What is or was a "cimbasso"? A manuscript from c. 1832 describes the
_cimbasso_ as "a kind of serpent but of different shape, having a similar
range and able to play in all keys." The original "cimbasso" was thus
a wooden instrument (though some were apparently also made of metal)
in bassoon form, with a cup mouthpiece. Meucchi's article shows
several contemporary illustrations (with fingering charts) and also a
photo of one of several surviving museum instruments.
In the course of the 19th century, the "cimbasso" was supplanted by the
ophecleide (both keyed and valved models), this in turn by the bombardone
and pelittone (perhaps best described as forerunners of the tuba). The
hitch is that all these instruments were also referred to as
"cimbasso"!!! Then in 1881, a valved contrabass trombone was built at
the request of Verdi, who didn't like the sound of the "bombardon."
He felt that the bombardon didn't blend well with the trombones. The
new instrument became known as the "trombone contrabbasso Verdi." It
was for this instrument that Verdi wrote the parts in Otello and
Falstaff. For those who want to know more, I highly recommend
Meucchi's article.
The "Alexander cimbasso" (i.e., that which most orchestral
trombonists today refer to as a "cimbasso") is a whole different
story. In the 1950s and 60s there was a fellow here in Germany, Hans
Kunitz by name, who developed a sort of (slide) contrabass trombone.
He gave his invention the name "cimbasso" because he was conviced
that it was the instrument Verdi intended when he designated
"cimbasso" in his scores. (I am aware of the chronological problems
inherent here, but most people have unquestioningly accepted Kunitz's
assertion. I'm just reporting.) In any case, Kunitz was also active
as a writer on instruments, publishing a series of books on "Die
Instrumentation" (Breitkopf & Haertel) still available today. In the
volume dealing with the trombone he propagated, among other
questionable things, his "cimbasso" as the true bass of the trombone
family. Although it has to be obvious to any half-way informed reader
that Kunitz was making things up
as he went along, his writings on the trombone form the basis for much of
German trombone scholarship even today (MGG, MGG2). That's also the
reason for the misnamed "Alexander/Thein/Kalison/ etc. cimbasso,"
which is simply a contrabass trombone (actually a "bass-contrabass"
to use German terminology, i.e., a bass in F with an attachment for
BBb or C, analogous to
"Tenorbassposaune" for a Bb tenor with F attachment).
Howard
--
Howard Weiner
h.wei...@online.de
http://howard-weiner.de/
Tosca jumped to a conclusion.
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