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 Model 110 Double tuba in F/B♭
built by Gebr. Alexander Mainz. Rhein. Musikinstrumentenfabrik GmbH (Mainz, Germany) | |
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The Wagner tuba is a four-valve brass instrument commissioned by and named after Richard Wagner. It combines technical features of both standard tubas and French horns,[1] though despite its name, the Wagner tuba is more similar to the latter, and usually played by horn players. Wagner commissioned the instrument for his four-part opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, where its purpose was to bridge the acoustical and textural gap between the French horn and trombone.[2]
The sound produced by this instrument has been variously described as "smoky", "metallic", "unearthly" and "majestic".[3] Wagner tubas (or Tenortuben and Basstuben) are also referred to as Wagnertuben, Waldhorntuben, Bayreuth-tuben, Ring-tuben, or Horn-tuben by German writers, but it is most common to refer to them in English as Wagner tubas. Wagner's published scores usually refer to these instruments in the plural, Tuben, but sometimes in the singular, Tuba.[4]
- ^ Bevan, Clifford (2001). "Tuba (i)". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.28525. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Bryant, Raymond (2001). "Wagner tuba". Grove Music Online. Revised by Anthony C. Baines and John Webb. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.29794. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Jepson, Barbara (April 4, 2013). "Music: It Takes Brass to Play the Wagner Tuba". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Keays, James Harvey. "An investigation into the origins of the Wagner Tuba", DMA diss., (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1977).