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Playing the Wagner Tuba

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Playing the Wagner Tuba Playing the Wagner Tuba A Handbook for Hornists John Ericson HNE 003 © Copyright 2007 Horn Notes Edition 674 East Maria Lane Tempe, AZ 85284 USA International Copyright Secured ISBN 978-0-9801030-2-1 CONTENTS Preface iii A Brief Introduction to the Wagner Tuba 1 Instruments 2 Holding the Instrument 2 Mouthpieces 3 Special Keys to Intonation 5 Notations 5 Mutes and Doubling 6 Richard Wagner 7 Götterdämmerung, Trauermusik beim Tode Siegfrieds Tuba tenor I and II in Eb 8 Tuba tenor I and II in F (transposed part) 10 Tuba bassa I and II in Bb basso 12 Tuba bassa I and II in F (transposed part) 14 Anton Bruckner 16 Complete parts for Symphony No. 7 Tenor tuba I in Bb alto 17 Tenor tuba I in F (transposed) 21 Tenor tuba II in Bb alto 25 Tenor tuba II in F (transposed) 29 Bass tuba I in F 33 Bass tuba II in F 37 Richard Strauss 41 Horn Notes Edition Excerpt from Eine Alpensymphonie Tenortuba I in Bb basso 42 Tenortuba I in F (transposed) 44 Tenortuba II in Bb basso 46 Tenortuba II in F (transposed) 48 Tenortuba III in F (basso) 50 Tenortuba III in F (transposed) 52 Tenortuba IV in F (basso) 54 Tenortuba IV in F (transposed) 56 Other Composers 57 Concluding Thoughts 58 Fingering Chart 59 Recent Resources 61 Index 62 Playing the Wagner Tuba Preface The Wagner tuba has long fascnated me. As a professonal, I have enjoyed opportuntes to perform on the Wagner tuba wth groups ncludng the Rochester Phlharmonc, the Indanapols Symphony, and the Phoenx Symphony, and I personally look forward to each new opportunty to perform on the Wagner tuba. Ths s not the usual reacton of many other horn players, however. The Wagner tuba can be an nstrument of mystery; t s rumored to be dffcult to master, and especally to play well (the parts are oddly notated, the ntonaton s very challengng, etc.). Whle t s tradton that Wagner tuba parts are assgned to talented, smart horn players whom management beleves wll fgure out how to play the nstrument, there s a better way than word of mouth and tral by fre. Ths publcaton attempts to brdge ths gap and s an expanson upon the materals I have regularly presented to advanced horn performance students at the college level. One general grammatcal note should be made at the outset. It s common n Englsh to call one or more Wagner tubas “tuben” or even to refer to several nstruments as “tubens.” However, “tuben” s the plural form of the word “tuba” n German, and for that reason the word “tuben” should be avoded n Englsh when referrng to a sngle nstrument, and “tubens” should always be avoded. It s my hope that through ths volume, more horn players wll learn to play the Wagner tuba well, perhaps entcng more composers to wrte for ths beautful nstrument. John Ercson Horn Notes Edition A Brief Introduction to the Wagner Tuba The Wagner tuba s a dstnct member of the brass famly and s performed by horn players. The bore of the Wagner tuba s mdway between that of the horn and the tuba and the nstrument utlzes a horn mouthpece. Ths tuba s constructed n an oval shaped tradtonal German euphonum pattern n two ptch lengths (tenor n Bb and bass n F); the bell emerges at a slght angle to the rght, and four valves are operated by the fngers of the left hand. Because of ts relatonshp to the horn, the Wagner tuba s sometmes referred to as a “horn tuba.” Bb Tenor and F Bass Wagner Tubas (Mirafone) Accordng to “Bayreuth tradton,” Wagner conceved the sound of ths tuba as beng solemn, dgnfed, and heroc. Most other composers who have utlzed the Wagner tuba have adopted ths tonal deal as well, wrtng most often for a quartet of nstruments generally utlzng the lower range, often n four-part harmony. If assgned to play Wagner tuba, the frst step s to acqure the nstrument and musc as early as possble. Problems you may face nclude readng an odd notaton n a bad key sgnature, odd fngerngs, strange ntonaton, mutes, and doublng. In professonal stuatons, management wll frequently pay for an extra sectonal rehearsal. Horn Notes Edition 1 Richard Wagner Although scholarshp has shown that the dea for an nstrument of ths general type s not orgnal to Wagner, Wagner assured contnued use and longevty through hs compostons. Wagner’s desre was for a new tonal color dstnct from that of the horn, trombone, and tuba. Wagner used a quartet of these small tubas extensvely n the Ring cycle of operas (Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Die Walküre, and Götterdämmerung, premered n 189, 180, 18, and 18, respectvely), wth the ffth and seventh horns doublng on the tenor n Bb and the sxth and eghth horns doublng on the bass n F. Wagner used three dfferent notatonal systems for the Wagner tuba. In Das Rheingold, completed n 185, he notates the tenor and bass tubas the same as for horns n Bb alto and n F, usng old notaton for bass clef as on the horn. In the prelude to Götterdämmerung, completed n 18, he notates the tubas n the same manner but one octave too hgh, that s, n Bb basso and n F basso. In the remander of Götterdämmerung, Die Walküre (completed n 185) and Siegfried (completed n 181), he notates the tenor tubas n Eb and the bass tubas n Bb basso. Hs note n the score asks for the parts to be wrtten out as for Das Rheingold but ths was not mplemented. From the angle of performance, t s easest to read the parts as transpostons to F. There are many passages that could be hghlghted among the works of Wagner for the Wagner tuba. Here follows a popular orchestral selecton from act three of Götterdämmerung, whch exhbts Wagner’s second notaton system, presented n the orgnal notaton and transposed to F. Horn Notes Edition 10 Playing the Wagner Tuba Anton Bruckner Other composers followed Wagner’s lead by utlzng the Wagner tuba n ther works. The frst sgnfcant and most performed works employng extended quartet passages are by Bruckner; he called for a quartet of Wagner tubas n hs Symphones No. , 8, and 9 (188, 1890, and 189). He wrote for tenors n Bb and basses n F n the same system of notaton used by Wagner n Das Rheingold or the prelude to Götterdämmerung, dependng on the edton. Also note that Bruckner requested the frst and second to play tenor tuba and the thrd and fourth to play bass. Ths arrangement s common n composers other than Wagner. Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony s an deal model for part wrtng for Wagner tuba. The range s very domatc; the challenges are prmarly ones of beng accustomed to the nstrument and readng the notated parts. The followng secton presents the complete Wagner tuba parts for Bruckner’s Symphony No. , along wth alternate transposed parts to F for the Bb tenors. Try to use the Bb parts f you can; they are mental challenges that can be won wth practce, much lke readng horn n H n the works of Brahms. 1 Playing the Wagner Tuba Horn Notes Edition 21.
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