History
The instrument is claimed to have been invented by Canon Edmé Guillaume in 1590 in Auxerre, France, and was first used to strengthen the sound of choirs in plainchant. This date for the invention of the serpent did not appear until 1743, in Jean Lebœuf's "Mémoires Concernant l’Histoire Ecclésiastique et Civile d’Auxerre." Herbert Heyde asserts the serpent evolved from a type of bass cornetto and was invented in Italy in the 16th century. Around the middle of the 18th century, it began to appear in military bands and orchestras, but was replaced in the 19th century by a fully keyed brass instrument, the ophicleide, and later on by valved bass brass instruments such as the euphonium and tuba. After that the serpent dropped off in popularity for a period of time.
Bernard Herrmann used a serpent in the scores of White Witch Doctor and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959).
In the 1970s, instrument-maker Christopher Monk began playing, and later making Serpents, and in 1976 he founded the London Serpent Trio. Since then, the instrument has undergone a revival of sorts. In 1987, Simon Proctor wrote the first concerto for the instrument. The Serpent Concerto was first performed on October 21, 1989 at the First International Serpent Festival (celebrating the 399th anniversary of the serpent) with serpent soloist Alan Lumsden. Since then, the Serpent Concerto has been performed in public on many occasions, most notably by Douglas Yeo of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra, who played the solo part with the Boston Pops under the direction of John Williams. The concerto appears on a commercial CD recording, Le Monde du Serpent (The World of the Serpent), on the Berlioz Historic Brass label, BHB 101, with the Berlioz Historical Brass, Gloria Dei Cantores choir, members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra et al. In 2008, Douglas Yeo premiered another serpent concerto, "Old Dances in New Shoes" by Washington D.C.-based composer Gordon Bowie, with the Boston Classical Orchestra, conducted by Steven Lipsitt.
In July 14, 2012 in Monopoli Conservatory of Music (Italy) world premiere of the Serpent Concerto of the title "Diversita' : NO LIMIT" by Italian composer Luigi Morleo.
Read more about this topic: Serpent (instrument)
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