Posted by Chris Horsch on November 20, 2002 at 11:11:42:
WFMT played the full Vaughan Williams tuba concerto before 6 AM this morning (brave!). The recording was by Patrick Harrild and the LSO, the first time I've heard that one. I found it to be a good balance between the Fletcher and Jacobs recordings I am familiar with. The very high quality of both Harrild's upper and lower registers made me wonder what horn he was playing. Anybody know?
What horns did Fletcher and Jacobs use?
What, in your humble opinion (not that there has ever been a humble opinion expressed here), would be the right horn to use, not based on what you own or can afford?
I'm inclined to think that the distinction we tend to make here between bass tuba and contrabass tuba is not universally shared, particularly if you go back a few years. My edition of Bill Bell's book (an early one) simply calls it a tuba, and a Bb (not BBb) tuba at that. When Vaughan Williams said bass tuba, do you think he meant not contrabass tuba? The first time I heard the concerto it was played by Roger Bobo on a contrabass tuba, and as you might expect, it was quite good.