History
The ophicleide was invented in 1817 and patented in 1821 by French instrument maker Jean Hilaire Asté (also known as Halary or Haleri) as an extension to the keyed bugle or Royal Kent bugle family. It was the structural cornerstone of the brass section of the Romantic orchestra, often replacing the serpent, a Renaissance instrument which was thought to be outdated. Its long tubing bends back on itself, and it is played with a cupped mouthpiece similar to modern trombone and euphonium mouthpieces. It originally had nine keys, later expanded to as many as twelve keys, covering the large tone holes. Examples exist in E♭, C, B♭, and A♭ (soprano), F and E♭ (alto or quinticlave), B♭ and C (bass), and E♭ (contrabass). The most common members are the bass ophicleides pitched in B♭ or C. Soprano and contrabass instruments are very rare. Adolph Sax and the modern maker Robb Stewart have built examples of soprano ophicleides an octave above the bass. Currently, only five contrabass ophicleides are known to exist. Three are in museums, and two are privately owned: one in Cooperstown, New York and one in Petaluma, California. Those in private hands were both made by Robb Stewart and are the only playable examples.
The bass ophicleide was first scored for in the opera Olimpie by Gaspare Spontini in 1819. Other famous works which employ it include Felix Mendelssohn's Elias and Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream (originally scored for English Bass Horn), as well as Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, which was originally scored to include both an ophicleide and a serpent. The instrument was standard in French mid-19th century serious operas by Meyerbeer, Halevy, and Auber, as well as English operas by Michael Balfe, Vincent Wallace, and others. Verdi and Wagner also composed for the ophicleide as did Sir Arthur Sullivan in his Overture Di Ballo (which, like Wagner's Rienzi, also has an additional part for serpent).
The ophicleide (oficleide) was used in Brazilian choro bands well into the 20th century—soloist Irineu de Almeida was the major performer on the instrument—until it was superseded by the saxophone.
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Complete family of ophicleides.
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Valved "ophicleide" built by Leopold Uhlmann, Vienna, 1838–40, now in MOMA.
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