A Slide Tuba?

Author(s): Arnold Myers

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 42 (Aug., 1989), pp. 127-128
Published by: Galpin Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/842631 .
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 5 Charles Burney, A History of WesternMusic, vol. VI (London, 1789),
p. 396.
6 Eric
Halfpenny has discussedthis instrumentin GSJ XIII (1960), pp. 7-13.
The only known specimen is the one in the Museum of London, which dates
from 1787. I think it may have been used a bit! It plays really well.
7The Woodham-Rodenbosteltrumpet(asdescribedin PeterBarton'sarticle
in this issue) has a fine-tuning device on the finger-rod which is so simple and
effective that I cannot understandwhy it was not permanently adopted.
* Editor'snote: Crispian Steele-Perkins is Professor of Trumpet at the
GuildhallSchool of Music and is currentlySolo Trumpeterwith The Academy
of Ancient Music, The English Baroque Soloists, The King's Consort, The
Parley of Instruments,and The King's Trumpeters.

A SLIDE TUBA?

The splendidinstrumentin P1.XXIV is the most impressiveof the

interestingcollectionof brassandothermusicalinstruments at Cliffe
CastleMuseum,Keighley,WestYorkshire,whereit hasbeen sinceit
waspresentedby R.B. Marrinerof GreengateMills,Keighleyin 1932.1
It wasmadeby Besson& Co., London,to the designof JohnMidgley,
the basstrombonistin Marriner's PrivateBand,Keighley.Midgleywas
a musicsellerby trade,accordingto the entryformforMarriner'sBand
in the 1861 and 1862 CrystalPalaceBrassBandContests.
Althoughat firstglancea cumbersomemonster,it is a responsive
instrument,with a large compassand capableof a wide range of
dynamics,andquitepassablyin tuneat A4= 440 hz with its associated
mouthpiece.Itsinventormusthavebeenpleasedwithit too:atthe 1861
CrystalPalaceBrassBandContest,usingthisinstrument, he carriedoff
theprizeforthebestbassplayerin thewholecontest.(Theprizewasan
E bassSonorophone,an instrumentapparentlyno longerextant.)
The designis the subjectof a BritishPatentdated1860?Bothin the
patentandon thecontestentryform,andalsoin thepressreportsof the
contest,the instrumentis describedas a double-slidecontrabass(or
doubleB flat) trombone.
In the catalogueof the 1862LondonExhibition,a verysimilarB flat
instrumentis advertisedby Messrs. Boosey & Sons, under the
appellation,'TheBassoProfondo',withthestatementthatthesoleright
of manufacture hadbeen purchasedfromthe inventorof the original
instrument.The similaritybetweenthe BassoProfondoandBoosey's
'KingKong'modelcontrabass tromboneis obvious,thoughtheselatter
are more commonlypitchedin C? Only one or two of the extant
127

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Boosey contrabasseshave the large loop in the tubing for the player's
arm to pass through (as in the illustrationin the 1862 catalogue).
A close examinationof the Keighley instrumentreveals that the bore
increasesin each bow of the slide section, the bores of the inner slide
legs being 12.9, 13.9, 15.1 and 16.1. These are comparablewith the
Boosey instrumentin the FrankTomes Collection (13.8, 14.7, 15.5 and
16.5), the Thibouville Lamyinstrumentin the collection of Christopher
Baines (11.7, 11.9, 12.3 and 12.9) and a later SalvationArmyinstrument
in the TomesCollection (10.6, 10.6, 12.0, 12.0). The Besson instrument,
however, is uniquely characterisedby its large bell proportions, fully
the size of a fairly large EL bass or a smallishBb bass, the bell diameter
being 321 mm.
George Case4gives D. J. Blaikley and himself credit for remodelling
the double-slide trombone and claims that it was a Boosey instrument
used in the 1861 Crystal Palace Contest. Commenting on the
instrumentin a letter to EnderbyJackson,SH. L. Marrinerconfirmsthat
it was Midgley's own idea, conceived while playing in his privatebrass
band; but he says the prototype was built by Wigglesworth of Otley6
Associated with the instrument is a mouthpiece by J. Higham of
Manchester(which one would not be surprisedto learn was made for a
BB6 bass). The instrumentis very responsive to the player, very 'free-
blowing' and tuba-like in tone in close positions, only offering slightly
more resistanceand capableof giving a trombone'sedge to the tone in
the distant positions. One can imagine a skilled player choosing
alternativepositionsto achievethe tone qualitybest suitedto eachpassage.
The proportions of cylindrical and expanding tube are such that,
although its inventor thought of it as a contrabass trombone, this
instrumentcould surely with more accuracybe describedas a slide tuba
- a unique example. ARNOLD MYERS

NOTES
Arnold Myers, Catalogueof the BrassMusicalInstrumentsat Cliffe Castle.
1

Unpublished; compiled 1988. (Acquisition No. 8692.)

2
G. B. Provisional Patent no. 3194, dated 31st December 1860: John
Midgley, John Sugden and William Clapham.
3 Examples can
be found in the collections of the Birmingham School of
Music, the Leningrad State Museum, and of Frank Tomes of Merton Park,
London- the latterbeing illustratedin Robin Gregory, TheTrombone (London,
1973), Plate XIV.
4 George Case, 'The ContrabassTrombone', MusicalNews (21st November
1896), vol. XI, no. 299, p. 446.
5 Letterdated 28th November 1896, preservedin the collection of Raymond
Ainscoe, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria.
6 Possibly an earlier version before the
design was taken to London?
128

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 PLATE XXIV
trombone
Double-slidecontrabass (ortuba?)byBesson& Co.,

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