Euphonium

General info:

The euphonium is a conical-bore, baritone-voiced brass instrument. The euphonium derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced". A person who plays the euphonium is sometimes called a euphoniumist, euphophonist, or a euphonist.

History:

Renaissance and Baroque euphoniums

The origins of the euphonium can be traced back to the bass wind instrument known as the serpent, believed to have been invented in 1590 in France to strengthen the sound of choirs in plainchant. Both the serpent and the euphonium have similar deep-cupped mouthpieces, conical bores and lengths. This resulted in the similar tone colour between both instruments. The serpent was used most often as a supporting voice for the tenor and bass in church choirs and military bands. The rich sound of the Serpent was ideal for supporting the bass line in wind ensembles of the classical period and was in use for over three hundred years.

Classical euphoniums

The dwindling production of the serpent resulted in the rise of the ophicleide. The ophicleide was first introduced in 1817 by instrument maker, Jean Hilaire Aste. It was made of brass and shaped somewhat like a saxophone. Like the serpent and the euphonium it was played with a cupped mouthpiece and produced a deep tone. Unlike the serpent, the ophicleide developed into a solo instrument. However, the ophicleide would soon be consumed by the advances of technology through the invention of the piston valve and the rapid growth of the brass band movement in Britain.

The first piston valve was collaboratively patented in 1815 by Heinrich Stolzel and Friedrich Blumel. However, it was in 1843 that Sommer of Weimar designed and named a piston valved, tenor voiced instrument called a "euphonion". Its name is derived from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "sweet-voiced" and many consider this instrument to be the ancestor of the modern day euphonium.

The euphonium and the ophicleide co-existed for at least five decades, but the euphonium soon became more popular due to a number of factors:

1) The euphonium was easier to play, and both cheaper and easier to manufacture in large quantities.

2) There was the amateur brass band movement. Algernon Rose was informed that there were 40,000 brass bands in Britain by 1893 and in Herbert's and Myers' book, 'The British Brass Band', Arnold Myers states that brass band instrumentation had crystallized around the same period. This would mean that in the 50 or 60 years since Sommer invented the euphonium there were approximately 60,000 amateur euphoniumists in Britain.

3) Instrument manufacturers actively promoted the euphonium by offering them as prizes to the best ophicleidists at competitions.

Romantic euphoniums

The design and development of the euphonium benefited from the technological advances of the industrial revolution. Alfred Phasey, professor of euphonium at the Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, increased the size of the instrument's bore twice, in 1859 and 1870. Despite these developments the instrument still had inherent problems of intonation, especially in the lower register. In 1874 Dr David Blaikley, of Boosey and Co. London devised an automatic compensating system which dramatically improved the euphonium's intonation. He patented the invention and describes how it works below:

'The tubing connected to the third valve is passed through the first and second, in such a way that, when the third piston is depressed, air passes through passages in the first and second valves, besides the two passages ordinarily designed in the third. Additional tubing is connected with the first and second pistons respectively, to add two air passages to each of their valves. When the first or second piston is depressed with the third, the length of the passage is increased. When all three are simultaneously depressed, the whole of the additional tubing is employed, compensating for the lowering of the pitch of the instrument which is caused by depressing the third valve.'

When the patent ceased in 1974 the system was copied by most leading euphonium manufacturers including: Yamaha, Miraphone, Wilson, Hirsbrunner and Sterling. This advance allowed players even more easily than before to develop their technique and virtuosity.

Range:

The euphonium has an extensive range, comfortably from E2 to about B♭4 for intermediate players. In professional hands this may extend from B0 to as high as B♭5.

Role:

The euphonium has historically been exclusively a band instrument (rather than an orchestra or jazz instrument), whether of the wind or brass variety, where it is frequently featured as a solo instrument. Because of this, the euphonium has been called the "king of band instruments", or the "cello of the band", because of its similarity in timbre and ensemble role to the stringed instrument.

Foreign names:

Euphonium ----- German

Euphonium ----- French

Eufonio ----- Italian

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