Description
Preface
On 12 September 1835 in Berlin, a ten-year patent for the chromatische Bass-Tuba was
granted jointly to the bandleader, administrator and composer Wilhelm Wieprecht and
Hofinstrumentenmacher (royal-appointed instrument builder) Johann Gottfried Moritz.
While the instrument proved to grow in popularity in both military bands and orchestras
from this time onwards, it also quickly found a role as a solo instrument, notably in Sweden.
[…]
The work begins with a substantial overture for the band followed by a fanfare and introduction from the soloist. The band then presents a theme (likely inspired by the second movement of Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G major (Hob. I:94), the “Surprise Symphony”) which is followed by a series of variations from the soloist including a Siciliano in the parallel minor and finally a Polonaise and Trio. While this work is performable today on various members of the trombone and tuba family, instrument selection should consider comparison with the parameters of the bass tuba patented by Wieprecht and Moritz in 1835 for which the work is clearly well suited, with no modern instrument being able to easily replicate the range of registers and timbres which it demands. Musicians interested in obtaining a modern instrument similar to that which would likely have been used when this work was first performed are recommended to contact the instrument builder Louis Jake Kline (https://berlinertuba.com/).
