Posted by Ted on July 30, 2000 at 00:03:58:
In Reply to: Re: Eugene Dowling's tuba-what kind? posted by anonymous on July 29, 2000 at 21:36:21:
Actually, I think Jason meant it as a "disclaimer" to show exactly that he did have some other reasons for knowing, most likely just curiosity.
About the 'Courtois tenor C tuba', Jason:
My 'Progressive Techninques for Tuba' book (D. Knaub) describes an instrument that seems to fit the description:
"(a fundamental pitch of) Great C, a tone above our modern euphonium"..."The first tuba mentioned is a French instrument with six valves and a fantastic range - it is probably this instrument which Ravel had in mind when he orchestrated that nightmare for all orchestral tuba players, the Bydlo variation from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". This instrument uses a bass tromobone-size mouthpiece and produces a much lighter quality of tone than our American conecpt of tuba tone. Hence, even if the player is capable of producing the pitches on a conventional tuba, it has always been the preference of the editor to hear Bydlo played on a euphonium."
I believe I've heard the term 'French tuba' used to refer to the above instrument as well. This is all I have, hope it helps.
Ted