Trombone
It’s not quite as odd as the title sounds. I just added the below caption and image to the post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images.
c. 1790—London, England: An engraving depicts a regiment of Foot Guards in front of St. James’s Palace. Included among the soldier-musicians is a serpent player (see below detail; public domain; Strachan, British Military Uniforms, pl. 27) (Scottish United Services Museum).
I just added the below image and caption to the post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images, bringing the total number of images on that post to 81. The angel’s playing position is interesting—makes the instrument almost look like a bari sax!
1704-14—Saalfeld, Germany: Carlo Ludovico Castelli paints an angel playing a serpent in Saalfeld’s Schlosskapelle (see below image; public domain).
Enjoy traditional jazz? How about the French Alps? How about the two together?
The New Hot 5, a traditional Dixieland ensemble I recently joined, will be performing at Festival Jazz en Vercors, a jazz festival held in 6 villages in the French Alps. It runs July 30 through August 7, and the New Hot 5 will be performing at several different venues. If you happen to be in the area, come and say Hi! Here’s a program.
Also, stay tuned for the debut album of the New Hot 5, due to be released soon. Some great music, with CD artwork from the renowned visual artist, Walter Askin!
Quick little piece of self-congratulatory news: Last Saturday I was fortunate to win the principal trombone position with the Utah Chamber Orchestra/Ballet West. The orchestra is based in Salt Lake City and performs 70 services a year for Ballet West. The 2nd trombone position, which was also open, was won by Steve Hunter, a BYU graduate and recent DMA recipient (University of North Texas). It was a blind audition process with auditionees from multiple states (Utah and Colorado).
Although I sub with the Utah Symphony, it’s been a number of years since I officially belonged to an orchestra (Cedar Rapids Symphony and Waterloo Symphony ending in 2004 and Arkansas Symphony before that), and I look forward to working with this distinguished group! May the Nutcracker never grow old!
I just added the below image and entry to the post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images.
mid-19th century—Brussels, Belgium: A catchpenny print entitled Afbeeldingen van soldaten (Images of Soldiers), produced by Hemeleers-Van Houter, includes a musician playing serpent (see below detail; public domain) (Catchpenny Prints of the Dutch Royal Library).
I just added the below image and entry to the post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images. It’s from a French dictionary by Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc that is in the public domain.
1858-1875—France: An engraving by Guillaumot of a serpent appears in the French dictionary, Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français de l’époque carlovingienne à la Rénaissance (see below image; public domain).
Just added the below image and entry to the Trombone History Timeline (18th century). Interesting visual perspective—and definitely an unorthodox grip if it’s a trombone.
c. 1705—Irsee, Germany (near Kaufbeuren): A fresco by Magnus Remy (1674-1734) decorating the ceiling of Irsee Abbey features angels playing various brass instruments, including what appears to be a trombone (see below image; public domain).
Yesterday I added the below entry and image to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century—2nd half). I will also be adding it to the article Backward Advances: Rear-Facing Trombones Throughout History, as well as the blog post Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images (notice the serpent on the far right of the full image).
c. 1660—Pierre Paul Sevin’s drawing of a performance of a mass for 4 choirs includes what appears to be a group of 3 trombones, including at least one rear-facing instrument (see facing detail and full image below; public domain) (Marx, The Instrumentation of Handel’s Early Italian Works).
I just added the below image and caption to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century—2nd half). Elsewhere I have posted numerous examples of trombonists perched on organ pipes, but I believe this is the first picture I’ve added with a trombone on organ shutters. Included below but not in the timeline is a view of the full organ pipes and shutters.
1686—Amsterdam, Netherlands: The organ for Amsterdam’s Westerkerk (west church) is built. Included on the organ shutters painted by Gerard de Lairesse (1641-1711) is a depiction of a trombone (see detail and full image below; public domain).
This morning I added the below image and caption to the ever-expanding post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images. There are now 77 pictures there, with more on the way. Enjoy!
1865—A satirical cartoon titled “The serpent starting to tempt the woman once again,” printed in Le monde illustré, features a woman playing a dragon-belled serpent (see below image; public domain) (Le monde illustré, 9, no. 442; Sept 30 1865).