SERPENTS AND OPHICLEIDES
Although the merits of the bassoon have been lauded in song, we Know ; of no lyric in which js recorded dr .extolled the ancient glory of those wonderful, instruments, the Serpent and Ophicleide. This fate seems altogether .unwarranted because both instruments have performed a noble part in the history of church and orchestral music. The Serpent was invented about the year 1590 by Edme Guillaume, a Canon 'of Aiixerre. For upwards of two centuries it was used to lead the singing in French churches. Shaped like a double query mark) plus a long tail, it was usually about eight feet long, could produce seventeen diatpnic notes, and the intermediate. chromatics by half-stopping. The Ophicleide (a compound word derived from the Greek woi;ds meaning “snake” and “key”) was an improved form of the Serpent and in shape resembling more closely the bassoon. Made generally of wood and metal, it had eleven or twelve keys, was pitched in “C” for orchestral •work, and in B flat for military bands.
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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 2 June 1930, Page 2
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170SERPENTS AND OPHICLEIDES Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 2 June 1930, Page 2
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