1842—Mannheim, Germany: Berlioz, on a tour of Germany, visits Mannheim, where he is forced to change his program because of the orchestra’s trombones. In his Memoirs he says, “I remember only that I wanted to give my second symphony (Harold) complete but that at the first rehearsal I had to suppress the finale (the Orgy) because the trombones were manifestly unequal to it.” A valve trombone is also adapted as a substitute for ophicleide: “There is no ophicleide; Lachner [the regular conductor] had attempted to devise a substitute for this instrument, which is used in all modern scores, by having a valve trombone made with a compass extending to bottom C or B. In my opinion it would have been simpler to send for an ophicleide and much better from the musical point of view, as the two instruments have little in common” (Berlioz-Cairns 288).

1842—Leipzig, Germany: Berlioz, on a tour of Germany, visits Liepzig. He reports in his Memoirs that “the ophicleide, or rather the meager brass object masquerading under that name, bore no resemblance to the French variety, having practically no tone,” so it was “replaced, after a fashion, by a fourth trombone” (Berlioz-Cairns 300).

1843—France: A depiction of a theatre orchestra includes a prominently-positioned dragon-bell trombone (buccin). The image is printed in “La Parodie de la Vestale,” Chants et Chansons Populaires de la France II, 1843 (see below image; public domain) (London, British Library; Remnant, Musical Instruments of the West 216).

1843—Berlin, Germany: Hector Berlioz visits Berlin, where he hears 2 bass trombones in the opera orchestra. Complaining that there are none in Paris, he says, “Parisian musicians refuse to play an instrument that is so tiring to the chest. Prussian lungs are evidently more robust than ours.” He is not, however, impressed with the balance of the trombone section there; he reports: “Their combined volume of tone is so great as to obliterate the alto and tenor trombones playing the two upper parts. The aggressive tone of one bass trombone would be enough to upset the balance of the three trombone parts as written by composers nowadays. But there being no ophicleide at the Berlin Opera, they give the part to a second bass trombone. The effect of having two of these formidable instruments one above the other (the ophicleide part being frequently written an octave below the third trombone) is disastrous. You hear nothing but the bottom line; even the trumpets are all but drowned. When I came to give my concerts I found that the bass trombone was much too prominent—although in the symphonies I was using only one—and had to ask the player to sit so that the bell of the instrument was facing into his stand, which acted as a sort of mute, while the alto and tenor trombonists stood up to play with their bells pointing over the top of their stands. Only in this way could all three parts be heard” (Macdonald 213).

1844—Boston, Massachusetts: Simon Knaebel publishes brass quartet arrangements for 2 bugles in B-flat, trombone, and ophicleide in Keith’s Collection of Instrumental Music (Dudgeon, Keyed Bugle 173).

1844—Milan, Italy: Fermo Bellini’s Teoriche musicali discusses the use of trombone with ophicleide: “The modern custom, adopted by some composers, of forming a quartet consisting of three trombones and an ophicleide does not seem very sensible, given that the tone colour of the trombones, so dominant and in high relief, is very different from that of the ophicleide; it would be better for this instrument to double the bottom line, or else to find some way to give the trombones a good cantabile bass whenever they are on their own” (Meucci).

1844—France: Another illustration by J. J. Grandville in Un autre Monde depicts a Concert of Steam (Concert a la vapeur) in response to a prediction about steam changing the world. Included in the “steam orchestra” is a trombone (see below image; public domain) (Fromrich 133).

1847—Paris, France: Eugene-Hippolyte Forest’s satirical print, The Conservatoire, Classe d’Ophicléide, is published in Paris Musical. The subtitle reads “Court of the Tiny Ones–Section of the Prodigies” (see below image; public domain) (Fromrich, 139).

1849—London: England: A Promenade Concerte, one of 40 satirical drawings from Richard Doyle’s Manners and Customs of Ye Englyshe in 1849, depicts a large orchestra that includes trombone (see below image; public domain) (Doyle pl. 40).

1853—London, England: H.G. Hine’s The Waits at Seven Dials portrays a group of “Christmas waits” or street musicians, including a trombonist. After the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, there were no more official waits as funded by British municipalities, but ad hoc musicians would often form at Christmas time in hopes of raising money (see below image; public domain) (Illustrated London News, December 1853).

1858—London, England: An illustration of the band of the French National Guard published in London’s Illustrated Times includes trombone (see below image; public domain).

c. 1860—Peru: Artist Pancho Fierro depicts a trombonist performing with a wind band for a Peruvian wedding celebration in Fiesta de Matrimonio (see below detail and full image below; public domain) (Lavalle 38).

1860—England: An early photograph of the famous Besses o’ th’ Barn band shows 2 trombonists among an ensemble of primarily brass instruments (see below image) (Baines, Brass pl. XIV).

1862—France: Consequence of the Tax on Pianos, a print by satirist Amédée-Charles-Henri de Noe, aka Cham, is printed in Journal pour rire (see below image; public domain) (Fromrich 150).

c. 1870—Carl Bernhard Schloesser’s Une Repetition General depicts a lively band rehearsal, probably set in the Swiss canton of Neuchatel. A mixture of young and old players are represented, the trombonist taking a break to refresh himself (see below lithograph by Thielly after Schloesser; public domain).

1871—Milan, Italy: Giuseppe Verdi makes the following comment about bass trombone in a letter to his publisher about the forthcoming Italian premiere of Aida: “I must insist on the fourth trombone. That bombardon is impossible. Tell Faccio [the conductor] to consult the first trombonist if he thinks fit, to see what should be done. I should prefer a bass trombone, which is of the same family as the others: but if it proves too tiring and difficult to play, take one of the usual ophicleides which go down to low B. In short, do whatever you please, but not that devil of a bombardon which does not blend with the others” (Leavis, Cimbasso).

1872—London, England: A humorous depiction of an ensemble titled German Band is published in The Graphic, an illustrated weekly newspaper (see below image; public domain).

1877—Artist Jules Worms depicts an ensemble of musicians with animal heads for the cover the piano score of La Lutte Artistique (The Artistic Struggle), a quadrille by E. Marie. The trombonist has what appears to be the head of a rooster. The conductor, of course, is represented by a monkey (see below image; public domain) (source: Library of Congress).

1888—Paris, France: Fernand Pelez’s Grimaces and Misery depicts poor circus workers situated on a platform, including a group of three seated musicians (see below detail and full image beneath; public domain) (Musée du Petit Palais, Paris).

1889—London, England: Author George Bernard Shaw, in his music criticism column, comments on his family exposure to trombone: “I believe that a taste for brass instruments is hereditary. My father destroyed domestic peace by immoderate indulgence in the trombone; my uncle played the ophicleide—very nicely, I must admit—for years, and then perished by his own hand. Some day I shall buy a trombone myself.”

c. 1895—Rome, Italy: Spanish painter José Gallegos y Arnosa (1857-1917) depicts the ophicleide as a member of a small sacred ensemble accompanying a young boy’s chorus in two paintings, Choir Practice and Chorus (see below images; public domain). For a print based on these paintings, see here.

1912—Milan, Italy: In Ettore Panizza’s 2nd revised and updated Italian edition of Berlioz’s orchestration treatise, Panizza discusses contrabass trombone: “Berlioz does not mention the contrabass trombone. Its pitch corresponds to an octave below that of the tenor trombone. In Italy the introduction of a new instrument of this type was due to Giuseppe Verdi, and it adopted the name of this great musician. I refer to the ‘trombone basso Verdi’ in B flat. Its tone is fine, mellow and homogeneous, especially in its middle range, while being slightly weak in the bottom and high register. It is notated at concert pitch, that is the written note is the actual note sounded, in spite of the instrument being pitched in B flat. Verdi, who, as we have seen, had been its inspiration, wrote an important part for it in his Otello and later in Falstaff. Today this trombone has become very common in Italian orchestras, and almost all the parts for ophicleide or for tuba are played on the trombone Verdi” (Meucci).

Robert Chase’s Dies Irae: A Guide to Requiem Music is an excellent source for learning about many of these works. The clips here represent only a fraction of those that could be included. YouTube is hit-and-miss, and I obviously didn’t find all of the requiems ever to include trombone, but 16 is a nice sampling. Here they all are, below, along with their captions from the Timeline. In terms of trombone solos that shaped Mozart’s trombone solo in particular, I would point to the first one below, Emperor’s Requiem by J.J. Fux (Vienna, 1720) as a starting point.

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1720—Vienna, Austria: Johann Joseph Fux, Kapellmeister at the Imperial Court, writes the Emperor’s Requiem for the funeral of the widow of Emperor Leopold I. The work, which reportedly continues to be used at royal funeral services up until 1743, utilizes 2 trombones to double the lower vocal lines and for an obbligato role in the “Tuba Mirum.” The obbligato use of trombone in the “Tuba Mirum,” of course, foreshadows Mozart’s Requiem (Chase 153). (The “Tuba Mirum” in the YouTube clip below begins at :43.)

c. 1740—Dresden, Germany: Bohemian composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, an important contemporary of Bach and Handel, composes his Requiem in C Minor. The piece utilizes 3 trombones, which perform in every movement, often doubling the lower vocal lines (Chase 181). Trombones, which are the only brass in the work, play a particularly prominent role in the “Dies Irae.”

1760—Paris, France: François-Joseph Gossec composes Messe des morts, a Requiem Mass first performed at the Jacobean monastery of the rue St. Jacques, and subsequently performed at least a dozen times in Paris before the Revolution. Three trombones, along with several other wind instruments, appear offstage in the “Tuba mirum” (Guion, Trombone 169; Chase 200). Later, Gossec makes the following comment about the piece: “In the two strophes Tuba mirum and Mors stupebit et natura of the Dies irae, people were frightened by the terrible effect of three trombones with four clarinets, four trumpets, four horns, and eight bassoons hidden in the distance and in an elevated place in the church to announce the last judgment” (Guion, Trombone 170). For the “Tuba Mirum,” see 2:52 in the below YouTube clip.

c. 1785—Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, colleague and personal friend of both Mozart and Haydn, writes his Requiem in C minor. The work calls for 3 trombones that double the lower vocal parts (Chase 195).

1791—Vienna, Austria: Mozart writes his Requiem, which includes the famous “Tuba Mirum” solo. The first 18 measures are composed by Mozart; the following portion is added later by Süssmayr (Guion, Trombone 139).

1803—Vienna, Austria: Joseph Leopold Eybler’s Requiem in C minor, which includes alto, tenor, and bass trombone, is performed at the funeral of Emperor Leopold II (Chase 197).

1803-09—Vienna, Austria: Bohemian composer Anton Reicha, teacher of Liszt, Berlioz, and Franck, writes his Missa pro defunctis. The requiem utilizes 3 trombones that double the lower vocal parts (Chase 221).

1804—Vienna, Austria: Antonio Salieri, teacher of Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt, writes his Requiem in C minor. The piece, which calls for 3 trombones, is later performed at Salieri’s own funeral. Regarding Salieri’s use of trombone in the work, one commentator notes, “The bulk of the orchestration is for strings, but when the composer wanted to suggest solemnity, he used the trombones” (Chase 224).

1816—Paris, France: Luigi Cherubini composes his Requiem in C Minor, which calls for 3 trombones. Commissioned by Louis XVIII to commemorate the deaths of Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, it is first performed at the Crypt of St. Denis. Considered by some to be among Cherubini best works, it is the model that Beethoven said he would use if he ever composed a requiem. Although Beethoven, of course, never composes a requiem, the Cherubini’s requiem is performed at Beethoven’s funeral (Chase 192).

1818—Paris, France: Portugese composer João Bomtempo writes Messe de requiem consacrée a Cameos, which calls for 2 trombones and features a brass fanfare at the opening of the “Tuba mirum” (Chase 247). The “Tuba mirum” in the clip below begins at 2:16.

1837—Hector Berlioz writes Messe des Morts, a requiem which is one of the earliest works by a major composer to call for trombone pedal notes (the earliest known example is actually Hérold’s Zampa, 1831). Berlioz later remarks that “although at the first rehearsal of this work five or six of the eight trombone players exclaimed with indignation that this was impossible,” they were able to get the notes to sound “quite full and pure—played by artists who did not believe in the existence of these notes” (Burton 173). Berlioz includes the following sentence in the score: “These notes are on the instrument and the players must get them out” (Gregory 60). Regarding this passage, Cecil Forsyth, who had never heard it, later says, “It probably sounds very nasty,” to which Gordon Jacob responds, “The present writer has heard the passage. It does!” (Macdonald 217). The requiem, which calls for 16 trombones, is premiered at the entombment of General Charles de Damremont (Chase 245).

1849—Anton Bruckner writes his Requiem in D Minor in honor of his friend, Franz Seiler. The orchestra consists solely of strings and 3 trombones, with a horn briefly replacing one of the trombones in the Benedictus (Chase 251).

1855—Franz von Suppé, famous for his German operettas, writes his Requiem in D Minor for his deceased friend, Franz Pokorny. Von Suppé utilizes 3 trombones prominently for the dramatic choral recitative, “Domine Jesu Christe,” as well as for an introduction and postlude in the “Tuba mirum” (Chase 298).

1874—Giuseppe Verdi composes his Manzoni Requiem, often called his “greatest opera,” in honor of poet-patriot Alessandro Manzoni. Premiered a year later at the Church of San Marco, Milan, the work calls for 3 trombones. The “Dies irae,” in particular, in which “volcanic anger is depicted by the powerful brass and timpani,” utilizes trombone prominently (Chase 300).

1890—Antonin Dvorak composes his Requiem, which calls for 4 trombones (Chase 260).

1980-84—Krzysztof Penderecki writes his Polish Requiem, which requires 4 trombones. Trombones take part in a powerful brass chorus in the “Tuba mirum” (Chase 347), which begins in the clip below at 1:37.

“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.