The octobass is a very large and rare string instrument played with a bow. It was first created around 1850 in Paris by the French instrument maker Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875). The instrument has three strings and is a larger version of the double bass. An example in the collection of the Musée de la Musique in Paris is 3.48 metres (11 ft 5 in) long, while a full-size double bass is usually about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) long.
Usage
The octobass has a very long neck and thick strings. Because of this, the musician uses levers and pedals to play it. The levers activate metal clamps placed above the neck at certain spots. These clamps act like frets when the performer presses the levers. The instrument was not made in large numbers and was rarely used by composers. However, Hector Berlioz praised the instrument and suggested it should be used more widely.
The only known 19th-century musical piece that specifically requires an octobass is Charles Gounod’s Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cécile. In this work, the octobass appears only in the "Benedictus" and "Agnus Dei" sections. It is tuned to B♭0, E♭1, and B♭1. The octobass usually plays one octave below the double bass.
Besides the Paris instrument, octobasses are displayed in the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is the only orchestra in the world that owns and uses octobasses in performances. The first modern octobass was created in 2010 by luthier Jean-Jacques Pagès of Mirecourt, France.
Two other octobasses are owned privately. One was made in 1995 by luthier Pierre Bohr and belongs to Italian musician Nicola Moneta. This instrument is based on designs by Vuillaume but includes new mechanical features. A collection of sound samples from this octobass was created by Daniele Bertinelli and Giorgio Riolo with SoundIron. Another octobass was made in 2007 by Italian luthier Antonio Dattis.
Range and tuning
According to Berlioz, the three open strings of the octobass were tuned to C1, G1, and C2. This tuning allowed the instrument to play notes one octave lower than a cello and at the same low range as a modern double bass with an extended low C. However, when the octobass was first created, the double bass could not reach as low as C1, only down to E1 or G1. The instrument’s mechanism allowed each string to play notes across a perfect fifth range, giving it a high range up to G2. The octobass at the Musée de la Musique in Paris uses gut strings from the period and is tuned this way (though some recordings show the tuning is a half-step lower).
The octobass at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix uses modern wound metal strings and is tuned to C0, G0, and D1. This tuning allows it to play notes two octaves lower than a cello and one octave lower than a modern double bass with an extended low C. Berlioz mentioned this tuning in his book on orchestration but called it incorrect. Like the Paris instrument, the mechanism allows each string to cover a perfect fifth range, giving it a high range up to A1. The basic sound frequencies of the lowest notes in this tuning are below 20 Hz, which is the lowest sound most people can hear. However, these notes are still audible because of the extra sounds they produce. An organ’s 32′ stop also produces sounds below this limit.
The octobass used by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra is tuned to A0, E1, and B1, uses gut strings, and has a high range up to F♯2.