Instruments that Time Forgot: The Serpent and the Ophicleide

Classical music is timeless, but the instruments on an orchestra’s roster are not. Just as the sounds of Mozart’s harpsichord are considered an anachronistic novelty in today’s classical music performance, music history is full of instruments that enjoyed their heyday only to be eclipsed by a newer sound.

So that they will not be relegated solely to museums and the expensive neighborhoods of eBay, here is a profile of two obsolete contrabass wind instruments. Currently, the tuba has a monopoly on their spots in an orchestral lineup.

The Serpent

This Renaissance instrument looks like a simple horn with finger holes. Its chassis traces out a boustrophedonic path to a dramatic circular loop, terminating with the bell. Although the serpent is traditionally made of walnut and leather, it is considered a brass instrument; it has a bell-shaped mouthpiece like a trumpet. Though it originated as a vertical instrument, it evolved to be held horizontally like an elephantine flute.

Playing the serpent is a bit problematic. There is no set fingering strategy, and the note-holes themselves are generally nothing more than lacunae in the instrument’s body, like an elegant artisan Flute-O-Phone.

As more elaborate keyed instruments became de riguer in brass ensembles and orchestras of the early 1800’s, the serpent was replaced. However, it lived on in the hearts of aficionados; artisans produce modern serpents, and the serpent’s very first concerto was performed under the direction of John Williams in 1989.

The Ophicleide

Its ancestor was the serpent. Its nearest relatives are the enigmatic keyed bugles. Its stately verticality evokes a saxophone crossed with the noblest and most refined of hairpins. It’s the ophicleide, a brass instrument that was an orchestral standard of the Romantic era.

Though the ophicleide is keyed, it has a confounding fingering system as well. It isn’t clear whether this fingering system is the reason that the ophicleide never experienced the resurgence of the serpent. There are no modern ophicleides to be found. Since its position was usurped by the modern tuba, there are only four known to exist.