Trombone History: New World Trombone Angels

Added the below image and caption to the 16th Century Trombone Timeline. Not only is it an unusual visual depiction from relatively early in trombone history (1550-1556), but it is from the New World. There is another image in the timeline that’s from 16th century Mexico, a fresco in the church of San Esteban in Tizatlan, Tlaxcala, that features a trombonist-angel, but I have not been able to pinpoint a date more specific than the 16th century.

Posa chapel1550-1556—Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico: A stone carving on one of the 4 posa chapels occupying the corners of the atrium of the church of the Franciscan monastery of San Miguel, Huejotzingo features 2 trombone-playing angels (see facing image; public domain) (Viñuales and Gant 23; Donahue-Wallace 12).

Trombone History: More Trombone Angels

Added the below drawing and caption to the Trombone History 16th Century Timeline. I was only able to add the detail of the trombone, not the full image, because of some technical problems (I don’t think WordPress likes how big these pages are getting; I may have to start splitting up centuries), but I’ve included the full image in this post.

All these images of trombonists as angel-musicians (see also posts here and here, as well as the Trombone Timeline in general) seem to reflect the trombone’s role as a sacred instrument, an association that has faded over time, making these images somewhat surprising to modern eyes.

Brizio detailBrizioLate 16th century—Italy: Bolognese painter and engraver Francesco Brizio includes trombone among numerous angel-musicians in his study, Lunette with Musical Angels in the Clouds (see facing detail; public domain) (Bohn 532).

Trombone History: More Trombone Iconography

Added the below image and info to the 16th Century Trombone History Timeline. The artist, Cornelis Court, was well known for making engravings that were copies of pre-existing artworks. In this case, the engraving is after a work by Flemish Renaissance artist Frans Floris. The image, which is obviously symbolic, features a relatively small-looking trombone hanging on the upper right area of the wall. It is nearly impossible to tell, and artists are often less than literal, but the instrument could be an alto trombone. (Compare it proportionally, for example, with the other instruments nearby.)

Cort1565—Musica, an engraving by Dutch artist Cornelis Cort from a series called the Seven Liberal Arts (after works by Frans Floris) includes a small trombone hanging on a wall in the background (see facing image; public domain) (Burgers 99).

Trombone History: 16th Century Paintings of Trombonists

Added several new images to the 16th Century of the Trombone History Timeline. They include, respectively, a detail and 2 paintings by Caravaggio (the less-famous Caravaggio, sometimes known as Polidoro Caldara) (c. 1520, Rome, Italy), as well as a detail and full color version of a painting by Schelhas (c. 1600, Augsburg, Germany). The Caravaggio paintings, dealing with the muses, reflect the symbolism attached to trombone during this period of trombone history. The Schelhas painting, depicting an aristocratic dance, appears to be much more literal, highlighting the trombone’s role as a dance instrument at this time.

Caravaggio-musesCaravaggio 847Caravaggio 846Schelhas detailSchelhas full

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.