Keyed Brasses, the first brass bands
June 11, 2008 · Print This Article
Not much is written any more about the first brass bands that developed just after the invention of the keyed bugle and ophicleide. The Serpent, which is not actually a brass instrument but a leather and wood concoction with a brass or ivory mouthpiece added the bass element to the band and an occasional trombone or sackbutt and a flute rounded out the earliest brass bands from 1810 up until the mid 1840s when the invention of valves on brasses changed the picture forever.
Keyed brass bands had their own soloists of the day. Edward “Ned” Kendall and the mysterious Francis Johnson, an African American of much renoun provided the solo line and actually “dueled” with valved brass soloists to display the proficiency of the instruments and the talent of the soloist.
Keyed brass bands soon faded and are not heard from except in the U.K. and eastern seaboard of the United States where there is only one such band remaining.
Keyed brass return us to the earliest brass bands. I remember hearing the 1st Brigades Bill Burdick performing “Gentle Annie” on the ophicleide. It is something I will always treasure.
When you speak of a keyed brass band currently in existence, maybe you are talking about Indiana Brass Band from Indiana, PA.
It is interesting that the idea of a family of instruments, such as promoted by Sax, apparently wasn’t applied to the keyed brass family. They typically shared the bandstand with other types of instruments
In addition the Kent Bugle in Bb, there was the smaller keyed bugle in Eb, the quinticlav in Eb as the alto voice; and the ophicleide. The ophicleide showed more versatility in that it managed both the tenor voice and the bass voice, since it has a wider usable range than the smaller horns. The ophicleide came in Bb and C, and I imagine the smaller horns may have come in other pitches as well.
The ophicleide may look a bit like a baritone sax, which is not surprising because they both use basically the same tube/bell. This basic tube must have held some fascination for the early designers because they tried a variety of things with it. There is the tube with brass mouthpiece - ophicleide, there is the tube with single reed - the saxophone, there is the tube with a double reed - sarrusaphone, and there is the tube and valves - the trombacello!
The tube combined with the keys do make the ophicleide look like a saxophone, but they keys operate differently. Unlike the sax where the majority of the keys are open at rest, all but one of the keys at rest are closed on the ophicleide. (i.e. the un-perforated tube sounds 1/2 step lower than the named pitch of the instrument.) Additionally, the fingering pattern little sense, with some combinations used for several notes, and then arranged in no logical pattern.
Another attempt at making a low voice before valves was the Russian bassoon. This horn which resembles a mal-nutrition-ed ophicleide with holes rather than keys, is often referred to as an upright serpent. But then it is neither Russian nor a bassoon, so you be the judge.
Did’nt Sax invent the Saxophone by applying a reed mouthpiece to the instrument rather than the brass mouthpiece as on the ophicleide?
As a strictly brass musician, I was unaware of the open and “at rest” differences between the two. Live and learn!
The serpent is an interesting instrument to me. The first time I saw one being played was by Dr, Bob Eliason. It seemed to me to have sort of a honking sound. In the movie “Pride and Prejudice” one of the dance scenes showed a Serpent being played and there was that same honking sound. Here I thought Bob was responsible for that honking, I did’nt know it was characteristic of the Serpent. Apologies to Dr. Eliason!
If you want to hear a well-played serpent, try
Douglas Yeo on Serpent.