Midsummer Night's Dream - low brass excerpts with ophicleide

The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra low brass section demonstrates an excerpt from the Wedding March in Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, using first modern instrumentation, then the instruments Mendelssohn actually wrote for (including alto trombone and ophicleide), and finally period appropriate instrumentation.
The ophicleide used in this video is a Gautrot 10-key in Bb, built in the 1860's. It was fully restored by Jim Engele of Osmun music.
The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra will be performing Midsummer Night's Dream Saturday, June 16th 2018 at Kresge Auditorium at MIT in Cambridge.

[@2bonk22]

The original instrumentation is much more balanced. All the parts come through, nothing gets lost or overpowered.

[@Jack-ot9vq]

Agreed

[@jwhill7]

I would like to hear this with the addition of three slide trumpets, which Mendelssohn called for.

[@denniwn]

As much as I can appreciate the timbre of the ophicleide in this, I would probably still never opt to play this on one. Arguably an ideal substitute would be the French C tuba, but you could potentially use a euphonium and achieve similar results with a nicer overall sound when compared to the ophicleide. You could maybe substitute a cimbasso, though you have to focus on sounding more like a tuba and less like a trombone..

[@jomarluke]

Yay! Some more great ophicleide!

[@kenrup]

Nicely done presentation! I found it informative and very interesting.

[@nokhimchan7966]

Mendelssohn didn't write the part for Ophicleide originally. The part was English bass horn, or corno inglese di basso, which was also used for the premiere of it.

[@CambridgeSymphony]

I knew he had scored for bass horn originally, but then changed it to ophicleide. I thought that change in scoring happened before the premier because of the availability of musicians, but, to be fair, that is totally anecdotal, as I can't remember the source. Either way, you are absolutely correct, the part was originally scored for English bass horn.

[@CambridgeSymphony]

Nope, I stand corrected! I just found a review of the 1827 performance in which Adolph Marx specifically mentions the English bass horn as a great characterization of "the Boorish Bottom." So you're right, bass horn was used at the premier, and it looks like the part wasn't changed to ophicleide until an 1832 publication. Good call!

[@johnrobinsoniii4028]

The Ophicleide was also a part of the Orchestral score of the Berlioz “Fantastic Symphony”.

[@Kris9kris]

​@@CambridgeSymphony Hold the phone: in 1827, or 1832 for that matter, the incidental music, of which the Wedding March is a part of, wasn’t yet written by Mendelssohn, only the Overture. By the time the incidental music was completed in 1842, and subsequently premiered in 1843, the superior Ophicleide was already widely prevalent in orchestras of the time, so Mendelssohn would have had no reason to retain the English Bass Horn.

[@beaglemanzzz]

Modern bass trombone is too much for the poor opheclide. The tenor with f attachment is better but it would be cool if you could get a G bass trombone.

[@Decrepit_Productions]

I was thinking the same... A real lower-pitched bass trombone rather than a B-flat with F-attachment. Still, I do prefer the all-old instruments combo the other two options.

[@mason11198]

It sounds like a lighter tuba

[@wyattt-m6343]

Needs more views

[@jamesburnett7085]

Does anyone else hear something reminiscent of saxophone when they hear the ophicleide?

[@mason11198]

not quite but I can see how that happened, because it's pad system is simmilar(isshhhh) in concept

[@GrantDolanMusic]

The legend is that Sax just put a bass clarinet mouthpiece on a ophicleide and made a bari sax.

[@Potter5416]

Sounds good but I think they would use the sackbutt and the base sackbutt instead of the trombones

[@goa9176]

Where's the euphonium

[@mason11198]

@Jackson Stradley owch

[@loganwillis4644]

the euphonium wasn't invented until 16 years after this piece premiered

[@MrMarcvus]

It sounds better played on the instruments it was written for! Thank you! The tuba was boring!

[@andriesvdl]

sweet.

[@BlueMeeple]

1:10
3:17
5:05

[@BryceRogers_]

goat

[@mason11198]

The old version was better. Tuba is fantastic, but very very very bold. It is almost too warm for this circumstance.

[@gingersroc]

A 6 minute video demonstrating why the tuba is a superior instrument

[@geoffbakerhytch5623]

I'm a tuba player and enthusiast, but I must admit that I think the ophicleide sounds better for this particular piece.

[@spicytubaroll]

I’m sorry, but the bass trombonist looks so dead inside lmao. Cool video though

[@tarasorlov3869]

Tuba is better 🎉