Added an article, Angel Trombonists Throughout History: 41 Images, to HubPages. The pictures span from the 15th century through the 18th century and include many not generally known in the “trombone world.” Check out the article here.
trombone iconography
How Do You Hold This Thing? Trombone Grip in Iconography
Added another article to HubPages, How to Hold a Sackbut: The Grip of the Trombone in Pictures. The way the early trombone was held has performance implications, including where first position was, what key the instrument was in, etc. Check out the…
Old Germany: The Trombone in Augsburg
Augsburg, second only to Trier among Germany’s oldest cities, has been the site of considerable trombone activity since the trombone’s beginnings in the 15th century. A painting of the Augsburg Cathedral that I recently added to the Trombone History Timeline…
Melody for 200 Trombones: Caricatures by J.J. Grandville
I recently added some images by J. J. Grandville (1803-1847; original name: Jean-Ignace-Isidore Gérard), a famous French caricaturist who frequently portrays musical subjects, to the 19th century timeline (1st half). The four Grandville images that include trombone, shown below, represent…
2 French Rear-facing Trombones
Added the following 2 entries to the Trombone History Timeline: 19th century (first half). Iconography seems to suggest that the rear-facing trombone was quite common in the early 19th century. It’s noteworthy, also, that they’re both depictions of dances (see…
Euterpe, Greek Muse of Music, Playing with a Trombonist?
Last week I posted on an image by Peter de Witte (Peter Candid) that can be found on an impressive array of media: canvas, paper, silver, and glass. While I was researching that image, I found another by the same…
Missing Something? Bell-less Trombones in Art
The slide is one of the most identifiable visual characteristics of the trombone in artwork. However, when a slide turns up without a bell, it can be problematic. Could it still be a trombone? Are we trying too hard to…
Moravian Trombone Ensembles
Just finished adding numerous entries on the Moravian use of trombones from Stewart Carter’s excellent “Trombone Ensembles of the Moravian Brethren in America” (in Brass Scholarship in Review, 1999). The entries can be found in the 18th century, 19th century…
New Timeline Image: Trombone and Serpent Together
Added the following somewhat unusual depiction of a trombone player and serpent player together to the 17th century timeline (first half). The crossed legs, as in the images in this earlier post, would have never made it past my grade…
The Evolution of a Trombone Painting
Several weeks ago I blogged about a red chalk drawing by an artist named Il Volterrano (also known variously as Baldassare Franceschini and Franceschini Baldassare detto Volterrano). The image, a preparatory drawing for a 17th-century Florentine fresco, features trombone prominently among two other…