Contrabass Digest
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1998-05-12

 
list                           Tue, 12 May 1998           Volume 1 : Number 70

In this issue:
 

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Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 17:02:42 +0000
From: Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk
To: list@contrabass.com
Subject: Contrabass Serpent + Radio Broadcast

Given the recent interest in the contrabass serpent or 'Anaconda' I thought members of the list would like to know that such an instrument has been recorded on CD although not solo.
Saydisc CD-SDL-361 (now deleted but Saydisc still had a few in stock 12 months ago) Fill Your Glasses: Convivial English Glees(1986) is recorded by the Canterbury Caerkes with the London Serpent Trio whose personnel are:

This instrument is the original Anaconda and is unique. Presumably Mr Yeo was playing a copy or a modern instrument.
There are some unaccompanied glees, some accompanied by Serpents and some items for serpents alone.
The disc is well worth listening to and, as far as I remember, it is possible to pick out the anaconda.

I also mention a broadcast on radio 3's (British radio) Jazz programme Jazz Notes during Holy Week. There was a track played from Scott Robinson's new CD. They said that it was of him playing the contrabass sarrusophone but it was (disappointingly?) clearly a contrabass sax. track especially as they described how he found it in Italy (Paul Cohen descibes this but it was the Sax not Sarrusophone which he borrowed from Jack Silver which was found in Italy) and how the only other player they had heard was Anthony Braxton who, to my knowledge, has never played sarrusophone and how the instrument was about 8 foot tall (definitely not a sarrusophone). However, the playing and music sounded good and I must get the CD some time.
Francis Firth
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk

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Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 15:12:44 -0500
From: bonedaddy@Connections.ultranet.com
To: list@contrabass.com
Subject: Anacondas

LI>From: Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk
LI>Subject: Contrabass Serpent

LI>Given the recent interest in the contrabass serpent or 'Anaconda' I thought
LI>members of the list would like to know that such an instrument has been
LI>recorded on CD although not solo
LI>Saydisc CD-SDL-361 (now deleted but Saydisc still had a few in stock 12
LI>months ago) Fill Your Glasses: Convivial English Glees(1986) is recorded by
LI>the Canterbury Caerkes with the London Serpent Trio whose personnel are:
LI>Christopher Monk, Serpent d'Eglise by Baudouin
LI>Clifford Bevan, Ophicleide
LI>Andrew van der Beek, Military Serpent by Pretty and Contrabass Serpent by
LI>the Wood Brothers, Huddersfield
LI>This instrument is the original Anaconda and is unique=2E Presumably Mr Yeo
LI>was playing a copy or a modern instrument
LI>There are some unaccompanied glees, some accompanied by Serpents and some
LI>items for serpents alone
LI>The disc is well worth listening to and, as far as I remember, it is
LI>possible to pick out the anaconda

I attended Doug Yeo's lecture demonstration at the Museum of Fine Arts
historical instrument gallery. Doug mentioned an earlier Anaconda that
was in the "military" configuration, which is played in the "W" position
instead of the "S" position, presumably while on horseback or for
parading, but that's my own guess, not concrete fact. The Anaconda
played by Doug Yeo was built in 1989 by Christopher Monk, completed on
St. George's Day, hence it's nickname "George". The original Anaconda
was made in 1840 in England and had a reverse action, that is, normally
closed, whereas a normal serpent's keys are normally open. The new
Anaconda was one of the last serpents made by Christopher Monk,
commisioned by Phil & Connie Palmer, the current owners. The sound is
like a tuba morphed with one of those colored plastic trumpets you can
buy at parades...the 3 foot long straight ones. Add a touch of wooden
sound to it and you have it. If you'd like a WAV file of the
demonstration, I recorded it on my little cassette recorder and Doug Yeo
has heard the WAV file and has approved it for upload. Anyone who wants
it can email me and perhaps Grant would like a copy for his website.
The file is a bit over 1 Meg in 8 bit, 11 Khz Mono format.
I spoke to Gary Stewart before the lecture/demo, as we were the first
two there and I believe he has played both the English 1840 Anaconda as
well as the 1989 Monk. Gary was for 13 years Conservator & Associate
Professor of Museum Science at the Shrine to Music Museum at the Univ.
of S. Dakota in Vermillion and is now Conservator at the Wolfsonian
Museum in Miami Beach, FL. His early interest in serpents inspired him
to build a serpent in the style of the French made Baudouin serpent.

For more info on serpents you can subscribe to the Serpent Newsletter
for a donation of your own choosing. their address is...
Serpent Newsletter, PO Box 954, Mundelein, IL 60060.
The Serpent Homepage is <http://shoga.wwa.com/~ocleide>.
Doug Yeo's Home page is <http://www.yeodoug.com>.

That'sssssss all.
Cheerssss!
Bonedaddy@connections.ultranet.com

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Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 11:13:34 -0700
From: Grant Green <gdgreen@contrabass.com>
To: list@contrabass.com
Subject: More stuff FS...

The latest online garage sale ;-)
 


Enjoy!

Grant
 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant D. Green                  gdgreen@contrabass.com
www.contrabass.com     Just filling in on sarrusophone
Contrabass email list:             list@contrabass.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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End of list V1 #71
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End of list V1 #70
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