The Euphonium

I was writing a piece for the euphonium but I just recently decided to go with the bassoon instead. I think the bassoon will better fit what I'm looking for in my piece for multiple reasons. The euphonium is an instrument that often doesn't find a place in much concert music. The reason why that is because there are many challenges that come about when attempting to write a solo piece for the euphonium.


During my attempt of composing for the euphonium, I did a little research on the history of the instrument. The euphonium is a fairly new instrument. It was invented in 1843 by Sommers of Weimar. The intonation had many flaws in its early life. In the late 1870's, someone noticed that while playing multiple valve combinations, slightly pressing the fourth valve down improved the tone. As the instrument was being improved and experimented with, it started to become more popular. It was mostly used in the military in the 1800's. People began experimenting with songs from composers such as Ravel, Wagner, and Strauss which were composed specifically for wind bands. The instrument began to be played more and more. Today, it is greatly appreciated in orchestras.


The word Euphonium comes from the Greek word "euphonia" which means sweet sounding. It was nicknamed the "serpent" because of it's snake-like appearance, which is often confused with the baritone horn. Both the baritone horn and the euphonium look similar, but the baritone horn has 3 valves and the euphonium has 4. The euphonium also has a slightly lower timbre than the baritone. It is a Bb, tenor voiced instrument with the wide range of about four octaves. The instrument takes a lot of skill to play. In order to obtain the beautiful, sweet sound, the musician must be well-trained with the ear and lips. Though there were improvements in the tonal quality, it is still takes a lot of work to get the warm tonal quality it's known for.


A popular song played on euphonium is Fur Elise by Beethoven. There are many other popular songs by composers such as Bach, Hartley, Schubert, and Lindberg. The euphonium is a beautiful instrument that really brings out the beauty of such songs. I was looking forward to writing a piece for it, but as I wrote more and more, I noticed how difficult it would be to play those melodies on such an instrument. My composition is very disjunct for the most part. The jumps would be very hard to play on the euphonium with the staccatos and a fast rhythm. I decided to change my piece to a bassoon solo, however, I do plan to write a euphonium piece in the near future.


Below is a link to a video of a beautiful euphonium duet I found onYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNQcPZFbnwE