Baroque Trombonist on Horseback

Just added the following caption and picture to the 17th century timeline (first half). If you go to the post, Hi Ho Brass! Trombones on Horseback, you can see several other pictures of brave souls who apparently attempted the feat of playing the trombone while on horseback. Also, for more trombones in processions, see here [...]

Maximilian in Color

max 78 color

The famous series of woodcuts entitled The Triumph of Maximilian, executed primarily by artist Hans Burgkmair, includes the trombone in four different plates. The series depicts an imaginary procession of the court of Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519), who died before the project was actually completed. You can read more about the individual entries and instructions for [...]

Trombone History Image: Another 16th Century Wind Band

A few weeks ago I mentioned adding an image of a 16th century wind band from Spain to the Trombone History Timeline (16th Century). Today I added another 16th century wind band image, this one from Germany. The trombonist appears to be playing the horn in a very vertical position, although it is difficult to [...]

Music Reading and Trombone History: 10 Early Images

I recently added the below image of a wind band from the Seville Cathedral (1564) to the Trombone History Timeline (16th century). This image brought to mind a discussion in a book I’ve been reading regarding exactly when, in the history of the trombone, players began reading from printed music. Here is the assertion: Speaking [...]

Trombone History: Pair of 18th Century Images

Trombone images from the 18th century are somewhat difficult to find, largely due to the fact that the trombone itself was a bit difficult to find during that era. However, I’ve recently added a pair of interesting images to the Trombone History Timeline (18th century). They’re shown below, along with their captions/references. 1716-1727—Germany: Protestant minister [...]

Old Germany: The Trombone in Augsburg

Augsburg-1493

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 (17th century, 1st half) spurred me to put together this post. This fairly specialized post [...]

Early Trombone and the Dance

I recently found the below video, showing a number of different dances in which the trombone serves as a member of what is commonly called the alta capella. Below the video I have added a selection of entries and pictures from the Trombone History Timeline that highlight the trombone’s role in dance music, a major [...]

Milan: Fashion, Opera, and Trombone?

Luini Angels

Milan is a city known for both high fashion and opera (home of Giuseppe Verdi and La Scala opera house). But trombone? I recently added a number of entries centering around Milan to the Trombone History Timeline, revealing a fairly active trombone performance tradition in that city. The history of the trombone in Milan seems [...]

Wedding Bells: Trombone in Wedding Celebrations

Gay Procession

I just added another image to the 19th century timeline (2nd half), another depiction of a wedding celebration that includes trombone (c. 1885, shown below). Wedding celebrations constitute a fairly common theme in trombone history, with a total of 14 related images spread throughout the Trombone History Timeline. They’re shown together below. The bulk of [...]

Earliest Depiction of Black Trombonist?

Detail, The Engagement of St. Ursula and Prince Etherius

Today I added a color version of the below image, along with a nice detail of the musicians, to the 16th century timeline. An apt example of the trombone in the wind band tradition (alta ensemble, waits, pifferi, Stadtpfeifer), it is one of only a small handful of trombone paintings from late 15th/early 16th century, [...]