 Soprano saxotromba in E♭ | |
| Brass instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | |
| Playing range | |
 Written range | |
| Related instruments | |
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Saxhorn, Saxtuba Trumpet, Bugle Tuba, Wagner tuba Cornu, Buccina | |
The saxotromba is a valved brass instrument invented by the Belgian instrument-maker Adolphe Sax around 1844.[1] It was designed for the mounted bands of the French military, probably as a substitute for the French horn. The saxotrombas comprised a family of half-tube instruments of different pitches. By about 1867 the saxotromba was no longer being used by the French military,[2] but specimens of various sizes continued to be manufactured until the early decades of the twentieth century, during which time the instrument made sporadic appearances in the opera house, both in the pit and on stage.[3] The instrument is often confused with the closely related saxhorn.
The technical specifications of the saxotromba and the original constitution of its family are not known with any certainty. Initially, the instrument had the same vertically-oriented design as its close relation the saxhorn (i.e. with the bell pointing upwards), but later models of both families were designed with bells that faced forwards (pavillon tournant).[4] The mouthpiece for a saxotromba was cup-shaped, and its bore was conical, probably with dimensions intermediate between the cylindrical bore of the natural trumpet and the conical bore of the natural horn; the taper was slower than that of the saxhorns and cornets.
The name of the instrument combines Sax's surname with the Italian word for "trumpet" (tromba).[5] In Germany the instrument is known by the name Saxtromba; in France the term saxotromba is generally applied to another close relative, the Wagner tuba.
- ^ Pratt, Waldo S. (2004). The History of Music: A Handbook and Guide for Students. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 9781417938711. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
Page 475: In 1845, he devised the 'saxhorn', a developed bugle, and the 'saxotromba.'
. But for another opinion see: Carter, Stewart (1998). Perspectives in Brass Scholarship. Pendragon Press. ISBN 9780945193975. Retrieved 3 December 2008.Page 190: [Kastner] was quick to praise Sax' innovations, reporting on the saxo-tromba family in the 1844 Supplement [to Kastner's Traité général d'instrumentation] ...
- ^ New Grove (2000), "Saxotromba".
- ^ Carter (1999), p. 154.
- ^ Clifford Bevan in The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments, p. 154. According to Haine (1980), p. 71, Sax first altered the vertical bell of the saxotromba in 1859. Pavillons tournants were characteristic of several of the new instruments Sax invented in the 1840s for the French military. According to Carse (2002), p. 310, Sax's original saxhorns were designed with pavillons tournants, the vertical bell being the innovation. Whichever type of bell came first, the pavillon tournant was undoubtedly inspired by the artist Jacques-Louis David's investigations into the brass instruments of ancient Rome, such as the cornu and buccina - see Bevan (1990).
- ^ The English plural of saxotromba is saxotrombas, though saxotrombe (the Italian plural) is sometimes found in English as well. The term saxtrumpet refers to a modern instrument that is quite different from the saxotromba: viz. a valve trumpet designed to resemble a saxophone.