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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Upright Serpent
The serpent is a low-pitched early wind instrument in the lip-reed family, developed in the Renaissance era. It has a trombone-like mouthpiece, with six tone holes arranged in two groups of three fingered by each hand. It is named for its long, conical bore bent into a snakelike shape, and unlike most brass instruments is made from wood with an outer covering of leather. A distant ancestor of the tuba, the serpent is related to the cornett and was used for bass parts from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.

In the early 19th century, keys were added to improve intonation, and several upright variants were developed and used, until they were superseded first by the ophicleide and ultimately by the valved tuba. After almost entirely disappearing from orchestras, the serpent experienced a renewed interest in historically informed performance practice in the mid-20th century. Several contemporary works have been commissioned and composed, and serpents are again made by a small number of contemporary manufacturers. The sound of a serpent is somewhere between a bassoon and a euphonium, and it is typically played in a seated position, with the instrument resting upright between the player's knees.

Construction

Although closely related to the cornett, the serpent has thinner walls, a more conical bore, and no thumb-hole. The original serpent was typically built from hardwood, usually walnut or other tonewoods like maple, cherry, or pear, or sometimes softer woods like poplar. In France, the instrument was made from bonding two double-S-shaped halves, each carved from a single large piece of wood. In England, it was usually made from several smaller curved tubular wooden segments, each made by gluing two hollowed halves together. The whole instrument was then glued and bound with an outer covering of leather. A small number were made instead from copper or brass; one brass serpent in the Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica in Bologna was built in 1773 with an added outer layer of leather.

The instrument uses a mouthpiece about the same size as a trombone mouthpiece, originally made from ivory, horn or hardwood. The cup profiles of most historical serpent and bass horn mouthpieces were a distinctly hemispherical or ovate bowl shape, with a sharper-edged and narrower "throat" at the bottom of the cup than modern trombone mouthpieces, before expanding more-or-less conically through the shank. The mouthpiece fits into the bocal or crook, a small length of brass tubing that emerges from the top wooden segment.

The serpent has six tone holes, in two groups of three, fingered by each hand. It is initially challenging to play the instrument with good intonation, due in large part to the positions of the tone holes. They are arranged mainly to be accessible to the player's fingers, rather than in acoustically correct positions, which for some of them would be out of reach. The lower tone holes are too small to act effectively to shorten the air column, but by dampening resonances they nevertheless aid note selection and contribute to the serpent's characteristic soft timbre. While early serpents were keyless, later instruments added keys for additional holes out of reach of the fingers to improve intonation, and extend range. A mid-19th century model by London instrument maker Thomas Key has 14 keys, and survives in St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff, Wales.

Modern replicas are made by several specialist instrument makers, employing acoustic analysis and modern fabrication materials and techniques to further improve the serpent's intonation. Some of these techniques include use of modern composite materials and polymers, 3D printing, and changing the placement of tone holes. Swiss serpent maker Stephan Berger in collaboration with French jazz musician Michel Godard has developed an improved serpent based on studying well-preserved museum instruments, and also makes a lightweight model from carbon fibre. English serpent player and musicologist Clifford Bevan remarks that Berger's instruments are much improved, finally allowing players to approach the serpent "in partnership rather than in combat".

Sizes

Douglas Yeo with serpents in four sizes, from largest to smallest: contrabass, bass, tenor, and soprano

The majority of surviving specimens in museums and private collections are nominally bass serpents built in eight-foot (8′) C, thus having a total tubing length of about 8 feet (2.4 m). A few slightly smaller specimens were built in D, and military serpents could sometimes vary in pitch between D♭ and B♭.

The tenor serpent (or serpet; French: serpenteau) arose in the 1960s when English early music specialist and instrument maker Christopher Monk began his efforts to produce modern reproduction serpents by first building a half-sized pattern, which equated to a tenor size in 4′ C. Through a pantographic milling process, he scaled up the pattern by 2× to carve a bass serpent. Since he could just as easily carve at 1×, he was also able to produce tenor serpents popular in serpent ensembles, and usable by players with smaller fingers. The soprano serpent, or worm, was built by scaling the tenor serpent by 0.5× to produce an instrument in 2′ C, two octaves higher than the standard serpent. It first appeared in the 1980s, made as a novelty instrument by Monk. There is no repertoire or other evidence of the historical existence of these sizes.

Contrabass serpent, c. 1840. St Cecilia's Hall, University of Edinburgh

The contrabass serpent, nicknamed the anaconda and built in 16′ C one octave below the serpent, was an English invention of the mid-19th century with no historical repertoire. The prototype instrument was built c. 1840 by Joseph and Richard Wood in Huddersfield as a double-sized English military serpent, and survives in the University of Edinburgh museum collection. Its use of keys, progressively larger tone holes, and an open top tone hole make it essentially a serpent-shaped contrabass ophicleide. During the serpent's modern revival, two more contrabass serpents were built in the original serpent ordinaire form in the 1990s by Christopher Monk's workshop, by doubling the pattern for a bass serpent. They were called "George" and "George II". The first, commissioned by musicologist and serpent player Philip Palmer, was owned by American trombonist and serpent player Douglas Yeo for a time and features in some of his serpent recordings. At least four other contrabass serpents have also been built: one from PVC piping in 1986, two from box plywood based on a "squarpent" design by American serpent player and curator Paul Schmidt, and one in 2014 from spare tuba and sousaphone parts.

History

There is little direct material or documentary evidence for the exact origin of the serpent. French historian Jean Lebeuf claimed in his 1743 work Mémoires Concernant l'Histoire Ecclésiastique et Civile d’Auxerre that the serpent was invented in 1590 by Edmé Guillaume, a clergyman in Auxerre, France, which is generally accepted. Some scholars propose that the serpent may have evolved from large, curved bass cornetts that were in use in Italy in the 16th century, but the lack of knowledge of the serpent in early 17th century Italy, or surviving early serpents outside of France, counts against this idea. The serpent was certainly used in France since the early 17th century, to strengthen the cantus firmus and bass voices of choirs in plainchant. This original traditional serpent was known as the serpent ordinaire or serpent d'église (lit. 'ordinary serpent' or 'church serpent').

Around the middle of the 18th century, the serpent began to appear in military bands, chamber ensembles, and later in orchestras. In England, particularly in the south, the serpent was used in west gallery music played in Church of England parish churches and village bands until the mid 19th century.

Military serpents

Towards the end of the 18th century, the increased popularity of the serpent in military bands drove the subsequent development of the instrument to accommodate marching or mounted players. In England, a distinct military serpent was developed which had a more compact shape with tighter curves, added extra keys to improve its intonation, and metal braces between the bends to increase its rigidity and durability. In France around the same time several makers produced a serpent militaire initially developed by Piffault (by whose name they are also known) that arranges the tubing vertically with an upward turned bell, reminiscent of a tenor saxophone.

Upright serpents and bass horns

Several vertical configurations of the serpent, generally known as upright serpents (French: serpent droit) or bass horns, were developed from the late 18th century. Retaining the same six tone holes and fingering of the original serpent, these instruments resemble the bassoon, with jointed straight tubes that fit into a short U-shaped butt joint, and an upward-pointing bell.

Basson russe

Among the first of the upright serpents to appear around the turn of the 19th century was the basson russe, lit. 'Russian bassoon', although it was neither Russian nor a bassoon. The name is possibly a corruption of basson prusse since they were taken up by the Prussian army bands of the time. Many of these instruments were built in Lyon and often had the buccin-style decorative zoomorphic bells popular in France at the time, shaped and painted like a dragon or serpent head. Appearing around the same time in military bands was the serpent à pavillon (lit. 'bell serpent') which had a normal brass instrument bell, similar in flare to the later ophicleide.

English bass horn

The English bass horn, developed by London-based French musician and inventor Louis Alexandre Frichot in 1799, had an all-metal V-shaped construction, described by German composer Felix Mendelssohn as resembling a watering can. He admired its sound however, and wrote for the instrument in several of his works, including the overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826) and his fifth "Reformation" symphony (1830), although when the Overture was first published, the part was changed to ophicleide for unknown reasons. The bass horn was popular in civic and military bands in Britain and Ireland, and also spread back into orchestras in Europe, where it influenced the inventors of both the ophicleide and later the Baß-Tuba.

Early cimbasso

The serpent appears as serpentone in early 19th century Italian operatic scores by composers such as Spontini, Rossini, and Bellini. In Italy it was replaced by the cimbasso, a loose term that referred to several instruments; initially an upright serpent similar to the basson russe, then the ophicleide, early forms of valved tuba (pelittone, bombardone), and finally by the time of Verdi's opera Otello (1887), a valve contrabass trombone.

Other upright serpents

In Paris in 1823, Forveille invented his eponymous serpent Forveille, an upright serpent with an enlarged bell section influenced by the (then newly invented) ophicleide. It is distinguished by being made from wood, brass tubing being used only for the leadpipe and first bend. It became popular in bands for its improved intonation and sound quality. In 1828 Jean-Baptiste Coëffet patented his ophimonocleide ("snake with one key"), one of the last forms of the upright serpent. It solved a perennial problem of the serpent, its difficult and indistinct B♮ notes. The instrument is built a semitone lower in B♮ and adds a large open tone hole that keeps the instrument in C until its key is pressed, closing the tone hole and producing a clear and resonant B♮. The instrument also has a unique pompe, a double tuning slide that (combined with adjusting the bocal) could change the pitch by up to a major second and allow the player to switch between the different pitch standards of the time (diapason de l'opéra and diapason de la cathédrale).

Contemporary revival

The London Serpent Trio, 1989: Andrew van der Beek (left), Christopher Monk (center), Alan Lumsden (right)

The era of upright serpents was brief, spanning the first half of the 19th century from their invention to their replacement by the ophicleide and subsequent valved brass instruments. German opera composer Richard Wagner, by the 1869 première of his Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle, was writing his lowest brass parts for tuba and contrabass trombone. Consequently, the serpent had all but disappeared from ensembles by 1900.

The serpent has enjoyed a modern revival of interest and manufacture since the mid-20th century. Christopher Monk began building his own replica cornetts and serpents and playing them in historically informed performances. In 1968 he and instrument maker Keith Rodgers devised a method of constructing cornetts inexpensively from a composite wood-resin material, which helped to raise interest in these instruments and increase their availability. In 1976 he established the London Serpent Trio with English players Andrew van der Beek and Alan Lumsden, performing new works and historical arrangements, both serious and whimsical, throughout Europe and North America. At the same time in France, historical instrument specialist Bernard Fourtet and jazz musician Michel Godard began promoting use of the serpent, and reintroduced serpent teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris. Among the graduates are Volny Hostiou, who has recorded a significant serpent discography, and Patrick Wibart, also an accomplished ophicleide player. Wibart succeeded Godard as the serpent teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris, and also teaches serpent at the Conservatoire de Versailles Grand Parc [fr].

Range and performance

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The serpent's range typically covers the two and a half octaves from C2 two octaves below middle C to G4. The range can easily extend downwards to A1 or even F1 by fingering the low C note with all holes covered, and producing falset tones, by slackening the embouchure ("lipping down"). Proficient players can play upwards to C5.

Monk writes that due to its inherent mechanical and acoustical defects, the serpent is one of the more difficult wind instruments to play well. Although played with an embouchure similar to that used with other brass instruments such as the trombone, the instrument is easily over-blown so the player must use a more gentle air stream. The tone holes do not always serve to shorten the air column as they do in woodwind instruments. The lower tone holes in particular are too small and behave more like air leaks, working largely by dampening resonances in the air column, thus altering the note selection and influencing the timbre. Consequently, the player must rely much more on a strong, controlled embouchure to produce the correct pitch than on other brass instruments. The serpent's natural tones with all holes covered (the harmonic series on C2) are fuller and richer than those produced with fingering, so the player must also focus on consistency of timbre and a cantabile approach throughout the serpent's range.

Production of pitch can be lowered by a semitone or more by slackening the embouchure given the same fingering. This is due to the serpent's coupling of a "strong" acoustical system of embouchure and mouthpiece, with the relatively "weak" system of the air column in the serpent body. This results in the mouthpiece having a stronger influence on selecting the instrument pitch than the air column. The mismatch of embouchure and air column length also contributes to its timbre.

Repertoire

Michel Godard performs on a serpent in the Adrabesa Quartet, 2020

Serpents were originally used as an instrument to accompany church choral music, particularly in France. For this purpose, very little was specifically written for the serpent per se; the serpent player would simply play the cantus firmus, or bass line. The serpent began to be called for in orchestras by opera composers in the mid-to-late 18th century, and their subsequent adoption in military bands prompted the publication of several method books, fingering charts and etudes, including duets for student and teacher.

Among the serpent's first appearances in orchestral scores is George Frideric Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749), although he later removed it. Italian composers in the early 19th century often called for serpentone, in operas by Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini. Mendelssohn paired serpent with contrabassoon in his 1828 overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and fifth "Reformation" symphony (1830), and Hector Berlioz included serpent and ophicleide in his early revisions of Symphonie fantastique (1830).

After disappearing almost entirely by the late 19th century, the serpent began to reappear in the mid-20th century in film scores and new period instrument chamber ensembles. American film composer Bernard Herrmann used a serpent in the scores of White Witch Doctor (1953) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), as did Jerry Goldsmith in his score for Alien (1979).

In jazz, French tubist Michel Godard has incorporated the serpent into his music, and has frequently collaborated with Lebanese composer and oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil.

Modern works for the instrument include a concerto for serpent and orchestra by English composer Simon Proctor, commissioned in 1987 to mark the first International Serpent Festival in South Carolina, where it was premièred by London Serpent Trio member Alan Lumsden in 1989. Also premièred at the festival was composer Peter Schickele's comic P.D.Q. Bach piece "O Serpent" written for the London Serpent Trio and an ensemble of vocalists. Douglas Yeo premièred "Temptation" for serpent and string quartet, written by his Boston Symphony Orchestra colleague, trombonist and composer Norman Bolter, at the 1999 International Trombone Festival in Potsdam, New York. Yeo also premièred a serpent concerto in 2008 by American composer Gordon W. Bowie entitled "Old Dances in New Shoes". Italian composer Luigi Morleo wrote "Diversità: NO LIMIT", a concerto for serpent and strings, which premièred in Monopoli, Italy in 2012.

American composer Austin Wintory's Grammy-nominated and BAFTA-winning soundtrack for the 2012 PlayStation 3 video game Journey includes a serpent as one of the five soloists, played by Noah Gladstone.

Players

  • A prop was used in the 1999 film of A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart. It was featured in the scene during Fezziwig’s Christmas party.

References

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Bibliography

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