Posted by Randy Beschorner on March 11, 2004 at 16:03:44:
In Reply to: Re: Festive Overture posted by bloke on March 11, 2004 at 15:02:40:
In regards to your last paragraph, I attended the University of Illinois in the late 60s and studied euphonium. We were unaware of anything called T.U.B.A. In high school prior to that, I was made aware of the differences between baritone and euphonium. In conversations with "somewhat-educated (high school graduate, let's say) grocery sacker"s the talk would go "What do you play?" "Euphonium." "What's that?" "It's like a baritone." "Oh, like the sax?" "No, it's like a trombone but darker."
The bagger also would not recognize terms like flugelhorn, mellophone, cimbasso, bombardon or helicon, but then again, most of the music we played was not written or arranged by high school graduate grocery sackers. My expectation would be that composers and arrangers would have a more intimate understanding of instrumentation than a stock boy. (or not)
Probably most arranger/composers do not have an overdeveloped concern of whether a part is performed on a trumpet or cornet, baritone or euphonium, CC tuba or BBb bass (or string bass for that matter).
The available instrumentation for performance will go a long way to determine what is actually used. That leaves lists like this for long discussions of what is the correct brass instrument for playing Bydlo.
In true low brass tradition, though, go have the raging debates and then buy each other a beer.
Randy "who has a hard time playing Festive Overture on either baritone or euphonium" Beschorner