[1] This article lacks the five photographs of family members printed in the original article.
[2] Ventils here surely means valves.
[3] Perhaps indoor?
[4] Valves
V.F. Červený & Sons’. Metal Wind Instrument Factory,
Königgrätz, Bohemia, Austria, and Kiew, Russia.
The Musical Courier,
Vol 31 #25 (Dec 18 1895), p. 41-42, 44[1]
The foundation of all theoretical musical development is the knowledge of historic truth. This alone leads to a just judgment on the achievements of the present, for their value can only be established by comparison with those of earlier times.
In musical science, as in every other, the new grows out of the old; it supplements and carries further what has been previously done and found to be good. This struggle for a more thorough examination of materials, the efforts for continuous improvements, and the ceaseless activity of the spirit of invention express themselves clearly in the effective labor bestowed on the means for the practical cultivation of music. The eternal laws of nature cannot, indeed, be overthrown, nor can the old forms be quite put aside, but art in every branch can be growth to a higher level by improvements in its materials. It must be confessed that practice without science has often instinctively taken the path of progress. Yet a scientific groundwork has never been neglected, for it is requisite to give to the inventive faculty the support without which the most fertile talent can leave no permanent result. The history of musical instruments convinces us of this fact at every period. It teaches us unmistakably that scientific knowledge must be the foundation for thorough reforms.
Out task in this article is to sketch the reformatory activity of Weszeslaus Franz Červený, the founder of the famous firm of V.F. Červený & Sons in Königgrätz, Bohemia, Austria to the genius of which we owe a complete revolution in the construction of metal wind instruments, and therewith an extraordinary enrichment of tone in orchestral music.
In olden times the orchestra was quite different from that of to-day. In the Middle Ages men used instruments which had come down from the Hebrews and Greeks to Italy, and had been carried from Italy to other countries. Then Arabian influences were felt, but it was not until the sixteenth century that Germany, Italy, France and England had an epoch of independent activity on the part of the makers of metal wind instruments, whose achievements really aided the development of modern art. At the beginning of the fifteenth century the co-called “Blockflöten” for diskant, alto, tenor and bass were mostly in use. They were held straight between the lips, like the Greek aulos or flute; the mouth was in organ pipe form. Such instruments soon acquire keys and a peculiar thin tube, so they may be said to have constituted the beginning of the fagotto form. The side flute was known I antiquity, for a wall painting at Pompeii represents Echo a flute player. When later in the previous century clarinets and horns were introduced into the orchestra it was not necessary for the orchestra to be especially composed of instruments for each piece of music, but it could in a consolidated form be used for every great composition. The clarion trumpet was discontinued because the high tones of the clarinets and the improved flutes took up the register. Hence came, too, the necessity for altering the pitch of the trumpets. These trumpets were later provided with keys, and after the invention of ventils[2] with those accessories. Crooks were always used to alter the pitch of the instrument. The ventils were used only for the production of chromatic intervals, while for the rest the trumpets could be played in only one key. It was reserved for Červený to effect a thorough change. He did this by the invention of his tone changing device (at the beginning of the forties), which attained a high state of perfection in 1846. It was thus possible to change in an instant, as required, the fundamental tone of each instrument, from C to B [flat], or from F to E flat, D, &c. the insertion of the crook or shank was thus avoided, and the greatest facility assured to the performer. This tone changing device won acceptance with extraordinary rapidity, and was soon so common that it was used in the mouth harmonica. But this success did not satisfy Červený.
He was born in 1819 at Dubec, in Bohemia, and in his twelfth year was a good performer on all brass instruments. His teacher, Stelik, induced his father to place young Wenzel for instruction with the then well-known firm of Bauer, musical instrument makers in Prague. There he learned his trade, and then worked in Prague, Brünn, Presburg, Vienna and Pesth, till in 1842 he established himself at Königgrätz.
He was in his twenty-third year when he started his factory for brass instruments with slim resources, and the field he covered extended from the fortresses of Königgrätz and Josefphstadt south to the garrison town of Pardubitz, which cities altogether possessed four military bands. Soon afterwards he had the good fortune to marry a woman who had energy, industry, intelligence and education, and was a true helpmate to her husband. Under such circumstances he soon developed restless energy. Every instrument that proceeded from the hands of this talented maker and distinguished musician was a model. By a purely empirical method he succeeded in forming an entirely new system in the construction of the acoustic tubes of wind instruments.
His genius urged him to still further efforts. One invention succeeded another, and a whole new family of cornets arouse which in richness of tone color can scarcely be surpassed by a string quartet. So, from the factory started in Königgrätz in 1842 there came in quick succession genuine children of Červený’s brain, the córnon, the contrabass, phonikon, baroxiton, the metal contrafagotto, the althorn obligato, the turnerhorn, jägerhorn, the army trombone, the primhorn, and after its success the complete waldhorn quartet (the primhorn, E flat alto, F waldhorn, B flat tenor waldhorn, F basso primo, D flat basso secondo), which Červený regards as his best work. He then made the subcontrafagotto, the subcontrabass and improved the euphonion, the Russian signal horns, the screw drum and church kettledrums, and imitated the Turkish cinellen and the Chinese tam-tams. All these were designed to enrich music and new, acoustically beautiful and effective tone color. Most careful consideration was paid to the breathing organs of the players, and the utmost possible ease in handling. He paid especial attention to the carrying power of the tone, but the nuancing of which the enjoyment of music in salon or theatre, as well as in the open air, was promoted.
By their easily produced and powerful tone waves these instruments are admirably adapted for archesm[3] and military movements in the field, as even in the furtherest ranks the troops can perceive the measure, and even at a great distance a market indication of the tempo. This sufficiently explains the general approval that each of Červený’s innovations has met with in the most different countries. The cornons in E [flat] were indented to [be used by] park and military bands. They are remarkable for their clear horn tone and soon became popular. In 1845 Červený invented the contrabass in C and B, which for years was regarded as the best and had large sales. “The invention of 1848 was the phonikon, a solo baritone instrument for enclosed spaces. In order to be able to use the waldhorn in the orchestra, Červený in 1853 improved his waldhorns after the style of the above mentioned cornon, and by a considerable widening of the tube succeeded in obtaining an easier utterance and a full, round, yet soft tone. In the same year he completed his orchestral trombone, which was imitated by others and received various names, such as “Jericho trombone,” &c.
The complete transformation of the old tritonhorn as a contrafagotto dated from 1856. The strength and purity of the tone if this instrument soon introduced it to Austria, Germany, Russia and Spain. In t1859 the althorn obligato in F and E flat was invented, and two years later an improvement of the cylinder mechanism was undertaken with the cone downward instead of upward. By transferring the pressure of the heavy side an easier movement of rotation, better closing and mobility was attained. The so-called turnerhorns in F, with or without mechanism, and in C as a bass instrument for accompaniment were given to the public in 1867 and introduced at once to most of the turner societies in German, Bohemia and Moravia. From the same period dates the jägerhorn. The army trombone in alto, tenor, bass and contrabass, which found acceptance in a year, were distributed in all countries, as their tone, light, powerful, sharp in high and how notes, was of the purest quality.
The octave waldhorn known as primhorn was the next epoch making invention of Červený. This remarkable horn is narrower than the other waldhorns, has a smaller bell and differs somewhat in the whole form of the tubes, It is in F, with tone change to E flat, an octave higher than the older waldhorn in F. The middle register sounds like the upper register of the common waldhorn. The tone is pure, correct, and is maintained by the weakest performer, not only in legato but in staccato passages. The length of the primhorn is 6 ½ French feet. The main improvement in the construction is that the sliding tube is not placed cylindrically in the middle, but the change is effected in the upper part of the mouthpiece, which as a shank is connected with the main tube by a screw, so that it can be drawn out to the required extent. Thus the cone of the main tube is in no way interrupted, except the ventil mechanism, a matter of importance in a horn of such a small length of tube. In spite of the shortness of the conical part of the tube its sound capacity is sufficient, as there is no difference in the thickness of the tube, and the performer has only to accommodate his breath to the shorter relations of the column of air. The advantages of the octave horn are prominent in lighter tone, longer continuance, and increased security in striking the intervals.
The Kaiser kornett quartet was originally called Crown Prince of Russia cornet quartet. It consisted of the sound cornets B I, and B II., cornet alt E flat and tenor cornet B [flat]. this quartet was expanded into a whole family of cornets at the suggestion of the Czar Alexander III., then Hereditary Grand Prince, who wished to have a B [flat] bass instrument as round and small as possible. Červený constructed a contrabass cornet in B [flat] which has a length of 558 cm., breadth of bell 20 cm., and 65 cm round, weights half of the weight of the common contrabass, and has a compass from contra F to F – that is, three octaves.
Afterward he expanded this family of cornets and dedicated it to the Czar Alexander III. The first instrument was constructed for the personal use of the Russian Emperor and handed to him by the inventor, and was received with expressions of gracious acknowledgement. This contrabass cornet is of remarkably small size; the diameter of the circle formed by the tube is only 6 ½ decimeters, the opening of the bell 200 millimetres, while the common contrabass measures 290 in diameter. This instrument is tuned in B [flat], and extends from F to F. Among the tenor horns the Kaiser tenor, and among the baritones the Kaiser baritone, deserve special mention on account of their thoroughly conical construction and their peculiar tone color. The Kaiser baritone was issued in 1882; it is tuned in C or B [flat], has four rollers[4], with a compass of three octaves from B [flat] to D2. It is the first instrument constructed on a theoretically rational principle, and like the Kaiser tenor, the Kaiser bass and the constructed baroxiton (exhibited by Stanislav Červený for the first time at the Chicago exhibition), has a mathematically conical tube in which the ventils have a bore increasing in proportion to their position; thus the first is the narrowest, the fourth the widest. Naturally the ventil mechanism is also of different sizes. The obilgato alt horn reminds one somewhat of the ‘cello, but is of less compass than the Kaiser baritone, although it extends, with its three rollers, from A to G2. It is remarkable as a melody carrying instrument.
The chief peculiarities of the Červený construction are seen in the more difficult, deep wind instruments, as e.g., in the conically formed subcontrasbass, the Kaiser tuba, with its powerful massiveness, and yet with surprisingly clear and full effectiveness in sound. Also the contrafagotto in E flat (from E flat to E flat), with side openings and 14 keys, with a height of 10.9 decimetres, must not be forgotten.
In addition to these Červený finally invented the subcontrafagotto. It is deepest of all musical instruments, for it gives accurately to 64 foot B3 and reaches to B flat, d.h. [i.e.] a whole tone lower than the largest organ. The height of the instrument is 13 decimetres. The arrangement of the Bohem key mechanism in these two instruments is very ingenious. The touch of the various keys is in a chromatic sequence as in a piano, B flat, B,D, D sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp. The blowing of these instruments can be learned in a few hours.
In addition to a fundamental improvement of the signal or flügel horn Červený devoted his genius to instruments of percussion. His army and kettle drums are hung free in a three-legged stand, the circle of which, beneath the ring of the skin, bears the kettle itself. In place of the ten screws to tighten the skin, which requires the use of keys, Červený has only four or six in pairs, with a handle, easily moved by the hand. For the kettle of his tympani uses brass, as it is richer in tone than copper. As the vibrations of the kettle are not interrupted by the feet of the stand, the waves of air within it are not reflected, unchecked, from side to side. The undisturbed vibration of the metal produces a musical tone stronger or weaker, as required. A pair of such kettledrums was presented by Červený to the Votive church at Vienna as an ex voto. At the same time he placed on the door of the sacristy instead of a bell a pyramid of eight bells. When the bell pull is pulled eight hammers strike at once and produce the A minor chord and its octave, A, C, E, A. Such a “bell accordion” was placed on June 9, 1880 at the entrance of the Červený factory when the Emperor Franz Josef visited it, to greet his Majesty.
Further, Červený is the inventor of a very effective triangle, open at the base, and arms of which, bent outward at the extremities, can be struck lightly or strongly and give the purest bell tone. This triangle is preferably employed on large stages for imitations of bells and in the orchestra to produce similar effects.
In 1861 Červený invented the cylinder mechanism, and received an Austrian patent for five years. It is superior to the usual cylinders in the fact that the opening and closing of the inner tubes are always kept correct and the movement of the cylinder ventil rendered as light and accurate as possible.
Amid all these different inventions Červený found time to occupy himself with imitations of Chinese, Japanese and Turkish instruments. The cinellen made in his foundry surpass their Oriental models in quality and power of sound and in the continuance of vibration, and are remarkable for their greater endurance and ductility. After numerous attempts by mechanicians, both at home and abroad, for over 400 years, Wenzel Franz Červený, in connection with his son Jaroslav, succeeded in surpassing the Turkish products, on the basis of a chemical analysis of the material of the Turkish cinellen, after the system of Jean d’Archet, the discoverer of the physical properties of bell metal, a success only rendered possible after it has been proved that the purest bell metal must be employed in the Turkish cinellen.
The child which the head of the firm cherished most carefully was the roller mechanism, which is based on the same principle as the cylinder mechanism. It is a cylinder mechanism rotating on a horizontal axis, with ventil covers arranged over the ventils. Its advantages are (a) the mechanism does not stand up like the cylinder, but lies horizontal; (b) the inner ventil is in a horizontal position, like a roller, and by physical principles much easier to move than if vertical; (c) before and behind the spring a stud is place, which prevents any loosening of the ventil and assures a correct motion, as well as the permanence of the whole mechanism. The ventil covers are arranged over the ventils so that water can run through the ventils. A water key beneath mechanism renders this proceeding always possible. Jaroslav Červený improved the roller device of his father with double key levers by making direct pressure on the ventil through the application of a one armed lever. The mechanism thus constructed with direct action on the roller axis formed the ideal of such a device in the most complete fashion.
This invention, like all other creations by Červený, soon became popular, and received prizes at all exhibitions to which it was sent. And such exhibitions were not few! We mention the chef of them: New York; 1853; Munich 1854; Stettin, 1865; Oporto, 1865; and Moscow, 1872, gold medals of honor; Paris, 1855 and 1867, and London, 1862, prize medals, as also in Chicago, 194. Červený was in 1867 Government delegate in Paris, and in 1873 at Vienna he was engaged as juror and president of a group in Section III. At the Paris exposition of 1855 and 1867, at London in 1862, and at Vienna in 1873 he displayed the collection of instruments of his competitors from Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Holland against France, and thus obtained many medals for German exhibitors.
This trait of unselfish exertion and support to his fellow competitors marks the noble character of Červený, who is not only a great artist and inspired inventor, but a thorough man of honor. Ever indefatigable in his factory and his business, he has spent labor, tine and money, and shrunk from no personal exertions, and met many bitter disappointments into the bargain, in his ascent from small beginning as a simple brass instrument maker to his position as a manufacturer of world wide fame. His great, well ordered factory is one of the sights of Königgrätz. Over 100 workmen are busy at the cutting and drawing machines at his various foundries and smelting works, and at the bending machines for carving the lead filled tubes. The material in his storehouse is immense. Separate buildings contain the various constituents for musical instruments of all kinds and the various metallic parings which, after being smelted on the premises, are again used in the workshops.
Only by such careful management and such extensive machinery has it been possible to deliver the immense number of instruments with which the house of Červený has provided almost the whole world. In two years alone 6,000 instruments were supplied to the Russian army. At the same tine Siberia, the Amoor District, Turkestan, China, Honolulu and the Sandwich Island, North America, the Spanish fleet at Cuba, Paraguay, many countries in Europe, England, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Roumania, Bulgaria and Turkey, have received Červený’s instruments in large quantities.
Official documents prove that, after the Franco-Prussian war, in the Prussian army 66 military bands received their musical equipment from the Königgrätz works. The Emperor Franz Josef bestowed on Červený the Franz Josef order, with gold cross of merit. Foreign princes, too, have honored him. King John of Saxony, in 1862, decorated him with the Royal Saxon gold medal of the Albert order. Dom Luis of Portugal presented to him in 1865 the Portuguese cross of the order of Christ, the Emperor William I., the Knight’s cross of the Prussian of the Crown, and Alexander II., of Russia, the great gold medal of the St. Ann’s order, with the ribbon to be worn on the neck, &c.
The 50 years jubilee of the business in 1892 took the form of a very different sort of honor when the authorities of the royal city of Königgrätz made him an honorary citizen. The general sympathy of the population proved to him what a sincere affection he had won among his fellow citizens. His upright character, his marked beneficence3, his practical views, his energy and perseverance in carrying out his undertakings or the functions laid upon him, led to the bestowal on him of all possible municipal honors. He did not decline them, in spite of all the business cares that were on his shoulders, and he performed essential service for the public interest. He took especial interest in education and by his influence the city erected a building for the Realschule, and at the same time he was active in the financial questions of the city government. In late years the gray haired senior has somewhat retired from business and devolved the chief burden to his sons.
The oldest son, Johann, who died in 1866, accompanied his father the year before to the International Exposition of Oporto. At the age of 21 he began to take part in the business, and on his return from Portugal stopped in Paris, inspected the workshops there, and worked with Holaag, justifying the brightest hopes for his future. Cruel destiny hurried him hence! Of 10 sons only four now remain, and early death having removed th others, including Vacslaw, who in his 16th year perished while extinguishing the conflagration in a sugar house in Königgrätz.
The oldest surviving son, Otakar Červený, whose portrait we present, is head of the branch at Kiew, and a worthy representative and successor of his gifted father. The factory which he erected there in the Wosnessenski strasse No. 12, on property of his own, is not connected with the original house, and proclaims its inherited and self-won praise literally “with trombone clang and trumpet blare.” When, in 1867, the reorganization of the Austrian army was undertaken, no fewer than 150 military bands were dissolved, some of which contained 100 musicians. This was a serious blow for most of the instrument makers of the monarchy. They lost a large field. Only those firms which had previously turned their attention to the broader states, [such] as Germany and Russian, did not suffer much. In the front rank of such stood V.F. Červený, in Königgrätz, as he supplied to foreign bands not only the most perfect but the newest instruments.
Unfavorable tariffs and various frontier troubles made business difficult, and therefore it was resolved to form a branch hose in Kiew, an establishment which, as we have said, has been brilliantly successful. The three younger brothers of Otakar Červený, Messrs. Jaroslav, Stanislave and Bohnmil Červený (aged 28, 25 and 18 years respectively), supported their father in the business at Königgrätz. Their technical and practical training, their artistic knowledge and mercantile insight, with many other characteristics of their father, guarantee that under their leading the name of Červený will remain as that of a guiding spirit in the field of the brass instrument industry.
At the Barcelona Exposition of 1888 Jaroslav Červený was a member of the jury, and received for his services the Golden Medal with the crown. The firm, on account of his being on the jury, declared their exhibits to be hors concours, as it did also at the Chicago Exhibition. There the firm had a magnificence pavilion of rococo style, very tasteful and elegant, containing sixty selected instruments, artistically arranged. The greatest attention was attracted by the aluminum drums, for which a special distinction was awarded. Their wooden drums, on account of their weight, are inconvenient on long marches, and the brass drums of large dimensions are very heavy. The tone color, too, if often injured by changes of the weather, from the effect of damp on the wood. These troubles are avoided in the aluminum drum entirely. They are very light, of a resonance previously unknown, and uninjured by change of temperature.
Another instrument was exhibited for the first time, to the admiration of all, the Triumph cornet. It united the advantages of the French cornet with those of Červený’s roller mechanism. As the Stimmzunge of the ventils are placed over the latter, not a drop of water can enter the crooks or the ventils. The slightest sound can thus be given. The tone is soft and capable of crescendo, the intonation pure as gold – truly a Triumph cornet; a salon instrument beyond comparison.
No one need be surprised that purchasers crowded around the Červený display, and that business success was united to ideal achievements.
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