Diameter: 31.13 mm
Cup Diameter: 19.50 mm
Rim Width: 6.07 mm
Bore Size: 5.20 mm
Back Bore: V-type
The tenor horn somehow got its name in the mid-19th century, when it was one of Adolphe Sax?s new inventions. A more logical name for it would have been Alto Horn -it is in E flat like the alto saxophone, after all and the great Sax invented both. The Germans always had a B-flat tenor horn, rather like the British baritone, just to confuse the issue still further. In America the definition is clear; it is an alto horn.
Whatever we call it, this, the smallest of Adolphe Sax?s mini-tubas, has always seemed to me to be something of a Cinderella instrument. My earliest experiences of it were as a brass band player in my teens; I thought it feeble and almost useless. So when Boosey and Hawkes began to develop a new range of band instruments on the early 1970s and after the great success of the 921 cornet, which I had worked on with the legendary Tommy Wilson, they asked me for new ideas, I suggested that their tenor horns needed to be completely re-designed. With the help of their chief tester, Geoffrey Emerson, who had been a (french) horn player in the Scots? Guards, we cobbled together a new model, using, amongst available various bits-and-pieces, a trumpet valve group and a bass trombone bell. B&H management were not about to pay for expensive tooling! After months of trial-and-error work, we eventually had a very good instrument, which was much more powerful than anything anyone had ever heard, and which we refined until it had excellent intonation and a very even response. Geoffrey did most of the work, with some of the excellent old-fashioned craftsmen who were then working for B&H. I described my role as something between a referee and a midwife!
New mouthpieces were also needed, so with Bill Cox, the engineer who had by now made my trombone, cornet and trumpet models, we worked with Geoffrey to make 3 sizes. We began with the smallest, the No.5, at 17.5mm, much in the style of a french horn mouthpiece; very deep and funnel-shaped. The next size up was the 3, at 18.5mm, which we thought should be a bit shallower. Finally, the No.2, 19mm, the biggest, we made correspondingly shallower. I thought prudent to leave a gap for a possible No.4 at some time in the future.
The new Sovereign tenor horn was launched to wide acclaim, although players and dealers complained that the No. 5 mouthpiece supplied with it, was MUCH too big!
After 10 years or so, it was suggested that we it should be sold with a bigger mouthpiece, so the No. 3 was used. After another 10 years, in response to player/dealer requests, we put in a No.2! This may have something to do with evolution, I suppose.
All this is ancient history, but I think the story should be told. The Sovereign tenor horn gave new life to the upper middle of the brass band, which became more able to balance with the more powerful cornets, euphoniums and trombones which the best bands were beginning to use.
The Heritage mouthpiece idea was proving really successful with trombones and cornets, so I decided that we should carry over the idea to tenor horns. Realising that the length of parallel section is absolutely crucial, we made various experimental lengths and eventually came up with the perfect result. Then I thought that that the gap idea from 1971 could be useful and (38 years later!) introduced the No. 4 at 18mm Bearing in mind the evolutionary trend, we also introduced a larger, 20mm version, the No.1. For good measure a deeper 2 (2A) and 1 (1A) made up the set. So now there are 4 extra models and they are all also in the Heritage series.
The results are all I had hoped for, with more extreme dynamics, volume and definition. Cinderella no more! If only Gustav Mahler could have heard it!