WILL KIMBALL» E-flat alto trombone

Trombone History: Another E-flat Alto Trombone Source

wkimball — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:38:41 +0000

Added the following to the Trombone History Timeline (19th century), Alto Trombone History Timeline, and Alto in Treatises pages. Notice that, as with the vast majority of written sources, the alto trombone is not only in the key of E-flat, but is also the only trombone shown in alto clef.

1870—London, England: Adam Wirth’s trombone method, Posaunen-Schule für Alt, Tenor und Bass-Posaune…Instruction Book of the Simple and Valve-Trombone, written in both German and English, is apparently intended for a wide audience. It includes a “Table of the different Trombones” that shows alto trombone in E-flat (like the vast majority of written sources), valve and slide tenors in B-flat, and bass in F (see facing image; public domain) (Herbert, Trombone 192).

Trombone History: Timeline Updates

wkimball — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:23:59 +0000

Added the following to both the Alto Trombone Timeline and the General Trombone Timeline–19th Century (2nd half):

1891—London, England: Explanatory notes from an exhibition of musical instruments includes the following about the trombone family in England: “The family of trombones consists in the present day of the alto in e-flat or f, the tenor in B-flat, and the bass in G or F. The F bass trombone is in constant use in Germany, but unfortunately is little employed in this country” (Day, Descriptive Catalogue 176).

Alto Trombone Timeline Updates

wkimball — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:11:15 +0000

Many of the entries from the Alto in Treatises page had not yet been included in the Alto Trombone Timeline, so those were added to the timeline. They include many primary sources relevant to alto trombone history, including those by Seyfried/Albrechtsberger, Prout, Barrett, Claus, Schroeder, Vincent, Elson, Ergo, Clappé, Forsyth, Gilson, and White.

Update to Alto in Treatises Page: Summary of Alto Trombone Keys

wkimball — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:30:57 +0000

Made the following update to the Alto in Treatises page, giving a summary of specific keys that writers have historically assigned to the alto trombone. For more on alto trombone keys, see also the Extant Altos page, which lists alto trombones manufactured before 1800, along with their respective keys.

OVERALL KEY TOTALS:

40 D/E-flat

4 F

2 B-flat

1 E

GERMANY: 14 D/E-flat, 1 B-flat

Praetorius (1619)—D

Speer (1697)—D

Niedt (1721)—D

Majer (1729)—D

Christoph and Stössel (1736)—D

Eisel (1738)—D

Koch (1802)—D

Fröhlich (c. 1811)—B-flat/E-flat (contradictory)

Riemann (1882)—E-flat

Saro (1883)—E-flat

Jadassohn (1889)—E-flat

Schroeder (1889)—E-flat

Hofmann (1893)—E-flat

Mayerhoff (1913)—E-flat

UNITED KINGDOM: 10 E-flat, 3 F, 1 E

Bertini (1830)—E-flat

Mandel (1859)—E-flat, E, F

Prout (1877)—E-flat

Stone/Grove (1879-90)—E-flat, F

Hunter (1879-88)—E-flat

Encyclopaedia Britannica (1888)—E-flat, F

Corder (1896)—E-flat

Vincent (1897)—E-flat

Fitzgerald (1902)—E-flat

Forsyth (1913)—E-flat

FRANCE: 5 E-flat

Braun (c. 1795)—E-flat

Kastner (1839)—E-flat

Berlioz (1844)—E-flat

Gevaert (1863)—E-flat

Lavignac (1895)—E-flat

AUSTRIA: 1 E-flat, 1 B-flat

Seyfried/Albrechtsberger (1826)—E-flat

Nemetz (1827)—B-flat

BELGIUM: 3 E-flat

Mahillon (1897)—E-flat

Ergo (1908)—E-flat

Gilson (1921)—E-flat

ITALY: 1 E-flat

Galli (1898)—E-flat

US/CANADA: 6 E-flat, 1 F

Coon (1883)—E-flat

Claus (1884)—E-flat

Olker (1889)—E-flat

Henderson (1899)—E-flat

L. Elson (1900)—E-flat

A. Elson (1922)—F

White (1924)—E-flat

A remarkable Brahms Letter: “genuine little alto trombone”

wkimball — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:39:32 +0000

I recently posted, in both the 19th century timeline (2nd half) and the Alto Trombone Timeline, a remarkable quotation from an 1859 letter written by Johannes Brahms to his friend and fellow-musician, Theodor Avé Lallemant (Avins and Eisinger, “Six unpublished letters from Johannes Brahms” in For the Love of Music: A Festschrift in Honor of Theodore Front, Lucca, Italy: Lim antiqua, 2002). The letter has only recently been published and, as far as I can ascertain, is not generally familiar to most trombonists and trombone historians. After discussing some logistics of an upcoming performance of Begräbnissgesang, Brahms makes a firm, specific request about the instrumentation of the trombone section, a request that is of note because 1) there has been significant modern scholarly debate about performance practice and use of alto trombone in Brahms’s music; and 2) there has been some recent discussion about the use of alto trombone (or lack thereof) in the 19th century in general. Here is what Brahms says in the letter:

“On no account 3 tenor trombones! One genuine little alto trombone and, if possible, also a genuine bass trombone” (“Daß keine 3 Tenor Posaunen kommen! Eine ächte kleine Alt-Pos. u. wo möglich auch eine ächte Bass-Pos.”) (emphasis in original; Avins 127, 136).

(Avins and Eisinger point out, incidentally, that Brahms deliberately misspells the word echt as ächte in order to mimic the local dialect [Avins 128]).

It may be worth pointing out the similarity of Brahms’s request with that of another important composer of the era, Hector Berlioz. Less that 30 years earlier, Berlioz demands a “true alto trombone” for Symphony Fantastique (Trombone History Timeline–1830): “The alto trombone part must not be played on a big trombone, as is often done in France: I demand a true alto trombone.”

The Brahms quotation would seem to suggest that Brahms may have had an affinity for the alto trombone and bass trombone. The Brahms and Berlioz quotations together would seem to indicate that the “true” or “genuine” alto trombone of that time was “little” (and not simply another tenor with a small mouthpiece; Berlioz describes it as an instrument pitched in E-flat in his orchestration treatise), and that there were prominent 19th-century musicians who had some fondness for this “genuine little” instrument.

Trombone History: Early Trombone Method Books, Other Updates

wkimball — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:35:40 +0000

I continue to add to the Alto in Treatises page. As indicated by the subtitle of the page (treatises, dictionaries, and methods), my criteria are quite broad for this post. I recently added a trio of early trombone method books: Braun (c. 1795), Fröhlich (c. 1811), and Nemetz (1827). I also added info from Praetorius’s Syntagma Musicum II (1619), as well as images from Praetorius (1619), Eisel (1738), and Albrechtsberger (1790). With the numerous other written sources, these help shed light on the role of the alto in trombone history. The document, which spans from 1600 to 1925, now includes well over 50 sources, the majority of them primary sources. Many of these will eventually be added to the general Trombone Timeline.

Trombone History: Lyon & Healy Alto Trombones

wkimball — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:29:06 +0000

Added the below entry to the Alto Trombone History Timeline. Lyon & Healy, a Chicago company that later specializes in manufacturing harps, offered numerous models of alto trombones, both slide and valve, all pitched in E-flat. Several other companies, including Zimmerman (Germany), Boosey & Co. (England), Sears & Roebuck (US), and Montgomery Ward (US) offered multiple models of E-flat alto trombones in the late 19th century.

1894—Chicago, Illinois: The catalog for Lyon & Healy, an instrument distributor and manufacturer, advertises numerous valve alto trombones, all specified as E-flat instruments. Several bear a resemblance to valve alto trombones offered by other US distributors during the same time period, such as Montgomery Ward and Sears & Roebuck (see 1895, 1897) (Lyon & Healy 1894, 35, 39, 43, 50). In addition, the catalogue offers a slide alto trombone in E-flat, not pictured (Lyon & Healy 1894, 53).

Trombone History: Update from Museum of Musical Instruments–Poznan, Poland

wkimball — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:38:02 +0000

An update from Patryk Frankowski, senior assistant at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Poznan, Poland: Mr. Frankowski has shared information about 2 additional alto trombones, both pre-1800, not listed in Trevor Herbert’s book, The Trombone, or subsequently on my list, Extant Altos. Both held at Mr. Frankowski’s museum, they are a 1722-71 Ehe alto trombone in E-flat and a 1793 Flemming alto trombone in E. I also received a related personal email from Trevor Herbert verifying that such omissions are not uncommon, as compilers often have to rely on communication from museum curators, etc.

These instruments are now included on the Extant Altos page, with a brief note of explanation. This is noteworthy information, bringing the overall tally of extant pre-1800 trombones to 64 tenors, 31 altos, and 22 basses.

Mr. Frankowski has also recently offered important information about another instrument on the list (see related entry). Thank you, Mr. Patryk Frakowski, for the excellent information!

Alto in Treatises

wkimball — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:23:05 +0000

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 Update

wkimball — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:32:46 +0000

Added several new entries to the Alto Trombone Timeline, including Stössel (Germany, 1736), Eisel (Germany, 1738), Koch (Germany, 1802), Kastner (Germany, 1840), and the trombone article from the 1888 Encyclopaedia Britannica (Scotland, 1888). Also expanded the Daniel Speer entry (Germany, 1697). Like many, many other sources, these seem to add to the preponderance of evidence in favor of a “small” alto trombone pitched in the E-flat orbit.