Oh Ophicleide, Ophicleide!

Oh what a marvel is the Ophicleide! A brass instrument of the early 19th century that most of the world had abandoned by the 1870's, it somehow remained part of French musical culture and appears in early 20th century photo postcards.

Here  M. le curé répétant un solo = Monsieur the curate repeats a solo, perhaps with ill effect. But it shows an instrument and performer clearly familiar to the French public so fond of humorous postcards.

The Ophicleide is a bass instrument from the family of keyed bugles, and uses a mouthpiece like a trombone but with keys similar to a saxophone. The name comes from the Greek for "keyed serpent". A more detailed description can be found here: Ophicleide

The instrument was invented in 1817 and used in early opera orchestras and military bands, but the piston and rotary valved saxhorns proved more practical and colorful to musicians. So by the 1870s the ophicleide was obsolete, replaced by more popular technology. Except in France, where it found a useful niche in the Catholic church, supporting the tenor and bass vocal  lines in the musical service. 

But there were a few other performance opportunities for an ophicleide player, but not on the big stage (or even in the pit) of the opera house. In this postcard, two comic actors imitate typical French street buskers -

Chanteurs des Cours or 

Singers of the Court.

 

Jeunes filles, gardez bien
Ce qui vous appartient. = 

Young girls, Keep well 

What is yours.

It is part of a set of comic postcards published by A. Bergeret in Nancy, showing clowns and actors from the French vaudeville stage of the 1900s. Again, the instrument and performer was understood as part of the prevailing culture, the humor was in the buffoonery.

Check out my previous post on French postcards. The Serpent and The Ophicleide

















The postcard was sent in 1903 and I include it only to show the wonderful handwriting, a kind of calligraphy that we rarely see anymore. Alas, one more beautiful art form knocked out by new technology. OMG LOL

And finally a YouTube video with the sound of an actual Ophicleide. The clip comes from the excellent collection of instruments at the Edinburgh University and the performer is Clifford Bevan.

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My contribution to Sepia Saturday