Cimbasso

The Cimbasso is a brass instrument in the trombone family, with a sound ranging from warm and mellow to bright and menacing. It has three to five piston or rotary valves, a highly cylindrical bore, and is usually pitched in F or Bb. It is in the same range as a tuba or a contrabass trombone.

The modern instrument can be played by a tubist or a bass trombonist.

"Bent" cimbasso

History

The cimbasso is most commonly used in opera scores by Verdi from Oberto to Aida and Puccini in Le villi only, though the word also appears in the score of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, premiered in 1831 when Verdi was 15 years old. In addition to opera orchestras, the cimbasso can be commonly heard in motion picture soundtracks.

It's not certain whether an instrument by that name actually existed during Bellini's era; rather, "cimbasso" might have referred to a particular part in the score, usually covered by bass horn, ophicleide, or serpent. The instrument had also been featured on Korn's Unplugged concert with MTV.