With most orchestral instruments, there is historical continuity allowing
one to readily distinguish contemporary performances which use instruments
incorporating developments from the time of composition until now (albeit
with some substantial variations, those, for example, used in Vienna,
which constitute a major branching off from usage elsewhere, or the French
Bassoon or the German clarinet, or the various competing valve
traditions) from those which attempt to use historical instruments or new
instruments based on period designs.
With the case of the ophicleide, there is not complete continuity to
contemporary practice, nor is it always clear which instrument is
indicated by the name ophicleide. The keyed bass, which inherited, in
large part, the lineage of the cornetto/serpent family did not survive to
have a continuous technical development into the 20th century, but there
are historical instruments and new instruments based on historical design
available for performances in which the entire ensemble is essaying a more
historically informed style. In some cases, the _role_ (and sometimes the
name) of the ophicleide was clearly recast by the tuba, or sometimes via
"intermediate" valved instruments which were developed in the mid-19th
century, often related to bugles or valve trombones. In some of these
cases, we have clear instructions from the composer as to a preferred
instrument. In other cases, we have documentary evidence regarding
performance practice, particularly in opera houses. Moreover, the steady
changes and developments do strongly suggest a degree of hisotrical
dissatisfaction with the instruments, which does encourage one to use a
bit of license here.
The difficulty, as far as I am concerned, comes with performances in which
the ensemble uses otherwise all-modern instruments. Is a tuba or bass
trombone the appropriate modern substitute instrument? Can one use an
historical ophicleide with an otherwise modern orchestra? Can one use
innovative designs intended to improve on historical models which have not
had the benefit of a century or so of development? I think that we are
currently in the musically healthiest situation, in which many orchestral
musicians are prepared to experiment with all of these possibilities. It
is a thrill to hear Berlioz nowadays with an ophicleide, and it is
fascinating to hear the experiments in the pit or stage with various
solutions to less clearly identified instruments./
Daniel Wolf
Frankfurt
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