1731—Herrnhut, Germany

Several residents from the Moravian village of Herrnhut visit nearby Berthelsdorf to serenade Pastor Rothe on his birthday with trombones. Later that year, trombones accompany the singing of a chorale to celebrate the arrive of colleagues from Moravia. Still later that year, trombonists accompany voices at a funeral in Herrnhut: “First they sang Mein edler Geist and afterward Wie schön ist unsers Königs Braut, and at the interment, Die Seele Christi heilge mich–all to the accompaniment of trombones.” Herrnhut, incidentally comes to function as the spiritual and administrative center of the Moravian faith (Carter, Trombone Ensembles of the Moravian).