Newsletter of the
American Brass Band Association
Vol. 3 No. 2 Autumn 1998
Please forgive the
lack of umlauts in this article. We are
aware that there are German, English, and American spellings of the word
Flugelhorn.
At the beginning of the 18th
Century in Germany, the flugelhorn was a large semicircular hunting horn of
brass or silver carried by the “Flugelmeister” who directed the various
phases of a proper ducal hunt. It
became a military instrument during the seven years war in Europe. This instrument of the hunt was the direct
parent of the bugle, which evolved into the flugelhorn.
In 1810, Halliday added keys to this instrument, culminating in his keyed bugle. The substitution of valves for keys took place in Germany or Austria before 1840. The resulting instrument made a great impression in France and suggested proportions for the saxhorns of Adolph Sax.
A
soprano saxhorn or ‘bugle’ was sold in England from about 1846, and the name
‘Flugelhorn’ entered literature under the influence of the German bandmasters
around this time. An equally important
instrument in the larger continental bands of Europe is the small flugelhorn in
Eb (and sometimes F) known in Germany as ‘pikkolo’ and in France as ‘petit bugle’.
Even
today, German Brass bands utilize flugelhorns to a greater extent than do the
brass bands of other nations.
To
illustrate the difference between the saxhorns and the ‘true’ (or clear)
brass—the cornet, trumpet, French horn and trombone—We can say that the
flugelhorn compares with the trumpet or cornet the same way the baritone
compares with the trombone.
It should
be pointed out that a primary difference between the two brass groupings is
illustrated by over-blowing. In creasing the blowing
in a cornet, trumpet or trombone may cause the tone to become brassy, while the
flugelhorn and baritone (both of the saxhorn group of brass) will retain their
characteristic mellowness at any volume.
Accordingly,
the saxhorn family of brass constitutes an additional brass section in the
brass band. The orchestra does not have
the distinction of having two brass “sections”.
In band arranging, either brass grouping can be used separately or together at the option of the composer or arranger. This is a primary point in scoring for brass bands, and the principle of two brass sections in brass bands must be fully appreciated.
Combining both brass sections
(‘groupings’) produces a more full and less brassy effect somewhat similar to
an imaginary great organ. These effects
can provide interesting variety to the band and are instrumental in the production
of the haunting tone quality and blend of individual brass bands. The saxhorn family of brasses constitutes a
bridge between the clear brasses and the reed sections in a military style
band.
When a brass band deletes the flugelhorn part, as is often done in smaller bands, the ‘saxhorn family of brass is deprived of its soprano member.
The following table illustrates the two
groupings:
Clear
Brass (‘True
Brass’)
Cornet
Trumpet
Trombone
French Horn
‘Saxhorn Brass’
Flugelhorn
Eb Tenor Horn
Baritone & Euphonium
Tuba
In French
and Italian bands, the 1st flugelhorn is as important as the solo
cornet. The instrument is softer, more
lyrical, and more flexible than the cornet, with easier emission throughout its
entire compass.
The second cornet and/or third cornet parts in brass band can be played by the flugelhorn, making for interesting textures and individualization in sound, voicing, and blend.
Bb
flugelhorn is essential to the Brass Band blend. It plays its own part, or may supplement second (or third) cornet
parts. It combines well in harmony with
the Tenor Horns. One flugelhorn is
essential, a section with two or three is a security measure, or if your brass
band gets larger than the contesting standard (25).
Flugelhorns have undergone a renaissance in high school bands. They are in Bb, read treble clef, and should present no mysteries to anyone who has ever played a cornet.
Most brass companies are now manufacturing a flugelhorn. I would check out the Getzen as well as the Conn, Besson (Boosey and Hawkes) and Holton. Jupiter manufactures Bb flugelhorns at a very reasonable price, attention beginner’s bands! The Jupiter is a great instrument for the price.
Pitched in Bb, the flugelhorn
has the same range and compass as the Bb cornet. It has the conical bore, wide bell, and large format of its
parent instrument, the keyed bugle. The
mouthpiece cup is deep and almost funnel-shaped. A sliding mouth-pipe serves as the tuning-slide. The tone of the flugelhorn is round and
suave, albeit rougher and
somewhat bugle-like when playing at louder dynamic levels.
It is imperative that the flugelhorn be played with a flugelhorn mouthpiece, as either a cornet or trumpet mouthpiece will alter the nature of the flugelhorn sound and cause bad intonation. Some report that a french horn mouthpiece is a suitable substitute. The french horn mouthpiece is closer to the funnel-shape of the true flugelhorn mouthpiece.
In
Europe, the flugelhorn plays a leading role in many Brass Bands and Military
Style Bands. It has thus performed its
role for over a century. Military bands
in England and the United States do not generally utilize the flugelhorn. In the Brass Band, at least one flugelhorn
is obligatory.
The flugelhorn represents the Soprano instrument of the group described as the ‘Saxhorns’. The other instrument so f the saxhorn group of bras are the Tenor horns, Baritones and Euphoniums, and the Tubas. Many consider the ‘true brass’ as being the grouping of cornets, trumpets, French horns and trombones. Balance between these two brass groups may be what individualizes the sound of brass bands.
The
flugelhorn plays from its own part, or it is played from the same part as the repiano
cornet. In the later instance, the
flugelhorn part is frequently marked ‘Solo’ or ‘Unis’ (with the
instrument specified).
The word ‘repiano’ is apparently a distorted version of ‘ripiano,’ which means supplementary. The function of the repiano and flugelhorn players therefore, is to supplement the solo cornets.
Flugelhorn players in brass bands then, read from the same part as the cornet player whose part is labeled Repiano & Flugel. In modern scores, there is generally a separate flugelhorn part.
Denis
Wright in Scoring for Brass Band (Colne, Lancashire: Joshua Duckworth Ltd. 1935) makes the
following statement about the flugelhorn:
“Although most bands nowadays employ one
flugel (but one does occasionally meet with two), there was a time when they
were more extensively used, as being fuller in tone than the lower cornets for
accompanying work. Even now on the
continent, the Flugel plays a large part in the brass and military band, often
there will be half a dozen flugels and only a couple of cornets but in England,
the standard number is one per band.
It is unfortunate that the Flugel should
have to double the repiano, for it could be employed far more usefully as a
free-lance, available for helping the horn section or the lower cornets. But very seldom do publishers issue separate
Flugel parts, so for practical purposes, the arranger may consider that the
Flugel will expect to play from the repiano part. Any solo passages for Flugel should be so marked. Second and third cornets can fill in
harmonics above the repiano.
The indication “& Rep” should be added where the cornet is to join
in. Si9milarly, if only the cornet tone
is desired, such passage should be marked, “Rep.”
Wright
also states:
“In tutti passages it will usually double the solo cornets’ melody,
when a phrase rises too high, the repiano will then join the accompanying
sections or even drop down and double the melody an octave lower, above the
repiano. The more usual procedure,
however, when the melody goes too high for repiano, is for the part to be
doubled at the octave below the (sic: in the?) solo horn and for the repiano to join in with the lower cornets
on the accompaniment.”
“The flugelhorn in the brass bands of
England was, and is, of secondary importance (c. 1930). However, the lower
pitched valved ‘bugles” such as Eb tenor horns, baritones and euphoniums and
tubas, are intimate parts of the brass band.
Keep in mind that the flugelhorn is the soprano instrument of this
‘saxhorn’ group.”
At this
point, I would like to give credit where it is due. This article on Flugelhorn was drawn from the resources of
Frederick Allen Beck’s DMA Thesis: The Flugelhorn: Its History and
Literature, University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, 1979. It is available from University Microfilms
International.
The
second major resource for this article is The New Grove Dictionary
of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan
Publishers Limited, 1980. Anthony
Baines contributed the section on Flugelhorn.
Finally, an important article by Lucien Caillet, 1961, entitled Flugelhorn,
was borrowed from the Brass Anthology, a compendium of brass
articles published by The Instrumentalist
Company, Northfield, Illinois.
Newsletter
American Brass Band Association
Extracted from Vol. III No. II
Autumn 1998