Got a note this morning from Patryk Frankowski, senior assistant at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Poznan, Poland. According to Mr. Frankowski, one of the alto trombones listed by Trevor Herbert in his book, The Trombone, and subsequently listed in my page on Extant Alto Trombones, is actually a tenor trombone. Apparently the instrument, a Georg Schmied 1697 trombone held in his museum, was brought to the museum with an original tenor trombone bell, but with an alto trombone slide section that had been added later. I quote Mr. Frankowski: “Georg Schmied 1697 trombone which is in our museum is tenor trombone and only bell part is original. Instrument comes to museum with alto trombone slide part so probably it is why Mr. Trevor Herbert list this instrument as alto. I presume that he got wrong information.” Thank you to Patryk Frankowski for the information; I will make a note of it on the Extant Alto Trombones page!
Note from Museum of Musical Instruments–Poznan, Poland
Alto in Treatises
Trombone History: Added a new page, Alto in Treatises, that gives quotations from more than 45 treatises, dictionaries, and methods, most of them primary sources. It is arranged chronologically and spans from 1600 through the first quarter of the 20th century, offering a compelling view of the role of the alto trombone in trombone history. The sources, taken as a whole, strongly suggest 1) a relatively common instrument, 2) an instrument pitched in the E-flat orbit (D, E-flat, F), and 3) an instrument closely correlated with alto clef.
Facing image: Alto trombone position chart from Albrechtsberger’s treatise, translated by Novello. Positions are shown in reverse order, 6th to 1st.
Trombone History: Painting of Female Trombonist
Although it has perhaps not been widely known, there are records of female trombonists throughout trombone history, dating back to the 16th century. The Trombone History Timeline shows, for example, entries from 1594, 1600, 1613, 1618, 1630, and 1632 that detail activities of trombone-playing nuns in the Italian cities of Ferrara, Venice, and Bologna. The following painting by Italian Pietro Paolini (or his school), dating from c. 1625, offers a rather clear representation of a female trombonist among a group of musicians (source: Patrizia Giusti, Pietro Paolini: pittore lucchese, 1603-1681. Maria Pacini Fazzi editore in Lucca, 1987, p. 158).
Pietro Paolini, Gruppo di giovani suonatori con vaso di fiori
Trombone History: Moravian Trombone Choir
Added 3 images from 1944 to the Trombone History Timeline (20th century). Three photographs, which show soprano, alto, and tenor trombones, document a Moravian trombone choir performance in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Taken by Howard R. Hollem, they bear the title “The Moravian trombone choir which plays chorales before the opening of each performance of the Bach choir,” and belong to the American Memory collection of the Library of Congress. Numerous other timeline entries, dating back to the 18th century, detail the extensive Moravian trombone choir tradition in trombone history.
2 More Primary Sources: Digitized Festival Books from British Library
Added entries to Trombone History Timeline from 2 new primary sources: 2 festival books from the British Library. The British Library has digitized 253 Renaissance festival books (printed accounts of special occasions, often kept by courts) and made them available online here. If you’re a history buff, this is an intriguing collection to browse! The documents are facsimiles of the original sources.
The specific relevant posts in the Trombone History Timeline are 1536 (the entry of Charles V into Siena, Italy) and 1641 (the entry into London of Charles I on his return from Scotland); both occasions include celebratory music by trombones.
Alto in E-flat: More Primary Sources
Added 8 more primary sources to the Alto Trombone Timeline, bringing the total number of primary sources for that timeline to more than 2 dozen. The sources (Gevaert, Riemann, Jadassohn, Saro, Galli, Mayerhoff, Coon, and Corder) are 19th and early 20th century orchestration texts from a wide range of locations (Germany, Italy, Belgium, England, and the United States), all of them clearly indicating a “small” alto trombone in E-flat. The sources leave very little ambiguity in this respect, providing clear diagrams of the alto trombone range and key or alto trombone position charts. This is significant because it adds to the body of evidence suggesting the alto trombone is historically a D or E-flat instrument (on this subject, see also Extant Altos).
Note from Conservator at Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Just got a kind email about the site from Markus Raquet, Conservator of Musical Instruments at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and maker of historical brass instruments. The Germanisches Nationalmuseum holds an extensive collection of early trombones (see, for example, the “holders” of the many early alto trombones in my post on extant altos). I also added an entry in the Trombone History Timeline (16th century) based on a recent Historic Brass Society Journal article that Mr. Raquet authored about a newly-rediscovered 1576 trombone. The instrument, a tenor trombone made by Schnitzer of Nuremberg, was initially discovered in 1903 in an organ case being dismantled in a church in Altötting, Germany (southern Bavaria). The trombone was then displayed in the church’s Schatzkammer (treasure chamber), but has since been moved and is on display in Altötting’s Wallfahrt- und Heimatmuseum (Museum of Pilgrimage and Local History), located near the church. According to Mr. Raquet, this Altötting trombone is probably the oldest dated instrument by Schnitzer and the third-earliest signed trombone in existence.
Webpage Updates
November 20, 2008
Trombone History Timeline: Posted an entry from another primary source. This one, an English dictionary titled A New and complete dictionary of arts and sciences, printed in London in 1763-64, is noteworthy because it describes the sackbut, even at this relatively late date, as “a sort of trumpet,” and because it mentions multiple sizes of trombones.
November 19, 2008
•Alto Trombone Timeline: Added an alto trombone entry from an important 17th century primary source, Syntagma Musicum, vol. III (1619), a treatise by Michael Praetorius. Praetorius mentions the alto trombone several times throughout this particular volume, suggesting it for a number of different musical settings.
•Added an entry in both the Trombone History Timeline and the Alto Trombone Timeline on Kresser’s 12 Quatuors (1844), which are scored for either 4 cornets or 3 cornets and alto trombone. This piece is interesting because it is from France, where alto was not as common as it was in other regions, and because the date represents a time period in which the alto trombone is normally said to be in decline.
November 17, 2008
•Trombone History Timeline: Added entries from 2 new primary sources: Francis North’s A philosophical essay of musick (1677) and a record of the coronation of George III from The Royal Magazine or Gentleman’s Monthly Companion (1761). Also added 2 lithographs of Belgian infantry trombonists (1831 and c. 1850), who seemed to favor rear-facing horns (see also Belgian infantry image of 1824). Also of note regarding trombone playing in Belgium during this period are comments by British travelers George Smart (see 1825) and Vincent Novello (see 1829).
November 7, 2008
•Trombone History Timeline: Finished posting works from the “Chronological Overview” of Klaus Winkler’s book, Selbständige instrumentalwerke mit Posaune in Oberitalien von 1590 bis 1650. The sheer number of instrumental pieces (Winkler lists more than 150) scored for trombone from this period and region (upper Italy from 1590 to 1680) is noteworthy. Why is it that one doesn’t hear more about early Baroque music for trombone? Most of us know Gabrieli’s music, for example, but what about all the sonatas of Castello and Buonamente or the canzoni of Banchieri and Picchi? There may be a body of original music we’re not really utilizing.
November 4, 2008
•Got a nice note about the historical parts of the site from Stewart Carter, Executive Editor of the Historic Brass Society Journal. (Added a link to Historic Brass Society under “Organizations” on front page.) He is working on a book on early trombone history, which I’m sure will be excellent. Stay tuned for details!
October 28, 2008
•Trombone History Timeline: Posted color images of The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, an oil painting from 17th century Mexico City by artist José Juárez. The painting depicts several angel-musicians, including an angel playing trombone. The numerous paintings and other entries indicating trombone activity in the region are noteworthy in trombone history because, for whatever reason, most brass historians make little or no mention of the trombone in colonial Latin America.
October 27, 2008
•Trombone History Timeline: Posted image from 18th century from the title page of Hirschberger’s Philomena Cisterciensis (Burghausen, 1743). Almost any trombone activity during this century is of interest, since historians point to this period as one of steep decline for the instrument.
October 24, 2008
•Trombone History Timeline: Posted several 19th century entries on Anton Bruckner, an important composer in the history of the trombone. Examples include his Zwei Aequale for 3 trombones, as well as numerous works for choir and trombones. The source is Keith William Kinder’s The Wind and Wind-Chorus Music of Anton Bruckner.
October 23, 2008:
•Trombone History Timeline and Alto Trombone Timeline: Added two entries about extant instruments from the 19th and early 20th centuries, with photographs used by the gracious permission of Brass Players Museum: www.neillins.com/brass.htm. The alto trombone, manufactured in England in the 1870s, is interesting in that it dates from the time of the supposed decline of the alto and is a valved instrument.
•Updated post about American Brass Quintet mini-residency at BYU. All events are open to the public! All events except the formal concert are free!
October 22, 2008:
•Trombone History Timeline: Posted entries from the 19th century on the career of German trombone virtuoso Carl Queisser, who performed as soloist at Leipzig’s prestigious Gewandhaus a remarkable 26 times–more than many of the era’s most famous instrumental soloists, including Paganini, Liszt, Hummel, and Clara Schumann. In light of the fact that many historians claim that trombone was never a solo instrument until well into the 20th century, the career of this prominent trombone soloist is truly intriguing. A respected music periodical of the time summed up Queisser’s influence thus: “Truly we live in an age of trombones.” Also added to the timeline are entries about trombone soloist Friederich Belcke, who seems to have paved the way for Queisser, as well as a few other soloists who followed Queisser. The information comes from Michael Lewis’s excellent article, “Solo Trombone Performances at the Gewandhaus” (ITA Journal, Summer 1992).
October 20, 2008:
•Added Spanish altarpiece with a young trombone-playing angel, dating from c. 1620-24 to Trombone History Timeline.
October 16, 2008:
•Added several entries about Moravian trombone playing in the 18th century to the Trombone History Timeline.
•Added 2 paintings by Italian artist Lionello Spada that include clear depictions of the trombone in the early 17th century.
October 13, 2008:
•Added newly-released Utah Trombone Authority CD to the Store. Check it out!