Instruments | Ophicleide | Late Romantic | Classical
Patented in 1821, the ophicleide was a French invention. Although the name is intended to mean ‘keyed serpent’, the instrument is not a serpent, but rather a development of the keyed bugle, undertaken by Halary in Paris. The instrument comes in various sizes with various ranges, but all built to the same pattern. Built in a tight U-shape, the ophicleide is held upright, with the bell opening a little above the player’s crown and the mouthpiece at the end of a crook at 45 degrees to the instrument’s body. Generally made of brass (wooden instruments were known: the maker Thomas McBean Glen of Edinburgh called his ‘serpentkleides’), it had anything from nine to 12 keys.
The ophicleide was taken up by military bands, but can also be found in the scores of Berlioz, Verdi and Wagner.
Styles & Forms | Late Romantic | Classical
Instruments | Guitar | Modern Era | Classical
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