Melody for 200 Trombones: Caricatures by J.J. Grandville
July 1, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
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 something of a shift in iconography, and perhaps the way trombone is seen by the public at large. Throughout much of its history, of course, the trombone is depicted as a sacred instrument; see, for example, posts such as Perching on the Pipes and Trombone and Altarpieces, as well as those including angel musicians in general. However, it is during the period that Grandville is active (early-mid 19th century) that trombones begin to be depicted more and more in the context of caricatures or other humorous settings. From the sublime to the ridiculous? You be the judge. (For all references, see Trombone History Bibliography.)
1828—Paris, France: Caricaturist J. J. Grandville depicts a country dance in his lithograph, Sundays of a Good [Middle-Class] Citizen. At the front-center of the orchestra is a rear-facing trombone (see below image; public domain) (Fromrich 29).
1844—France: Famous caricaturist Jean-Ignace-Isidore Gérard (also known as J. J. Grandville) publishes a caricature entitled Melody for 200 Trombones in Un autre Monde. A parody of perceived overuse of brass in contemporary music, it depicts 2 long lines of trombonists, this first one on the left having a slide so long it requires a trap door. The caption instructs that the piece be played “with fire, fortissimo, repeated 300 times, then louder still” (see below image; public domain) (Thomson 61; Fromrich 134).
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).
1845—Paris, France: A caricature by J. J. Grandville depicts Berlioz conducting a monstrous orchestra that includes a cannon and at least 7 trombones (see below image; public domain) (Hindley 252).
Trombone Saves Man’s Life
March 12, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
Just added this touching story to the 19th century timeline (2nd half):
1875—New York: Harper’s Magazine publishes a humorous fictional piece, “The Story of a Trombone,” with illustrations by Charles Reinhardt. The story is about a man who lives below a French trombonist whose practicing has become an annoyance. “It is not to be endured,” the man complains to the landlord. “My rest is disturbed, my waking hours tortured, by this rasping fiend of a horn!” The complaining neighbor soon finds out, however, that the trombonist has an attractive daughter, and he is faced with the difficulty of putting aside his dislike for the trombonist’s playing in order to court the daughter (who, of course, is soon to join a convent). The conflict comes to a head when a fire threatens to destroy the apartment building and the daughter sends the suitor to rescue her father. After saving the father, the suitor is forced back into the flames to rescue the trombone (“I will not leave it to perish,” the father cries; “My dear trombone!”). In his escape after reclaiming the trombone, the suitor is ultimately saved by the instrument, the slide of which he bends in order to assist in scaling the wall of the burning building. The trombone is easily repaired, the father gladly gives his daughter’s hand, and they all live happily ever after. The captions to the illustrations read, “The cheeks of Monsieur Rigaud became like huge balloons” (above-left) and “Then I sprang over the yawning chasm” (above-right) (images public domain) (Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 302 [July 1875], 225-230).
Bassoonist Does Battle
March 10, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
Another off-topic post, again about an image that I couldn’t pass up from Cassin-Scott and Fabb’s Military Bands and Their Uniforms (London: Blandford Press, 1978): We occasionally hear stories about military musicians pressed into actual combat situations. This picture, a 19th century engraving, captures a French bassoonist getting creative in order to hold off a Russian soldier (see below image; public domain) (Cassin-Scott 12).
Anonymous 19th-century engraving
Trombone History: Pair of Early Circus Posters
March 8, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
I continue to add to the 19th century timeline (2nd half). Over the weekend I added a pair of circus posters, both of them highlighting musicians. The first one, from Ringling Brothers, shows a large band with 10 trombones. The second, from Barnum & Bailey, features a small clown band as the focus of the image, including a trombonist. This second poster could be seen as related to the trombone-humor and trombone-clown themes in trombone history that I’ve mentioned elsewhere.
1895—United States: A Ringling Brothers circus poster advertises “A superb preliminary musical festival” by Liberati’s Band, billing the ensemble as “America’s grandest military concert band.” Pictured is a large band with 10 trombonists (see upper-right of below image; public domain).
1898—A circus poster for Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth features an 8-member clown band, plus conductor, that includes a trombone. The advertisement, with text printed in French, is from the circus’s European tour of 1897 through 1902 (see below image; public domain).
Head of a Dragon, Body of a Trombone
February 14, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
Added another image to the 19th century timeline. This one, a print from France’s L’Illustration, features a buccin, or trombone with a bell in the shape of a dragon head (see 1873, below). The instrument apparently saw its creation and heyday in the 19th century (1st half, 2nd half), fizzling out in the 20th century. Kind of a Romantic-era concept. I personally think it would be a real eye-catcher in a marching band. I’ve included all of the other timeline references to the buccin in the listing below, along with the new picture that was posted. Update: I’ve also added, at the very end of this post, an interesting modern performance on a buccin.
The Buccin in Trombone History (References from Trombone Timeline)—
c. 1840—Paris, France: A “buccin trombone” with a dragon-head bell is manufactured. The instrument is now held in the Edinburgh University Collection (Bevan 46).
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—Madrid, Spain: A dragon-bell trombone (buccin) is made by manufacturer José Ramis (Heyde, Metropolitan).
1873—Paris, France: Christmas Eve in a Spanish Church, a print after Miranda appearing in the Paris illustrated newpaper, L’Illustration, features a buccin, or trombone with a bell in the shape of a dragon’s head (see below image; public domain) (L’Illustration, January 4, 1873, pp. 10-11).
1942—Photograph, held in Köln, Germany, of “virtuoso” Paul Kaiser-Reka, playing a “buccin” valve trombone with a dragon-head bell (Kölnisches Stadtmuseum 302).
Below is an interesting video clip of a modern buccin performance. Enjoy!
Trombone Images from 19th Century London Newspapers
February 13, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
I have recently added quite a few trombone images to the 19th century timeline (1st half, 2nd half). Many of them originate from London. Collected below are all the pictures from the 19th century timeline that come from London. As it turns out, they are all from newspapers. Several are humorous in nature. A couple of them focus on waits, by then an old-fashioned ensemble tradition. As a group, the images provide an interesting glimpse into the way trombone was viewed in Romantic-era London.
1846—London, England: An image printed in the London Daily News depicts a “monster concert” staged by Louis Antoine Jullien at Covent Garden. The performing forces, comprised of Jullien’s orchestra and 4 military bands, include at least 7 trombones: 4 at the top of the first section, and 3 on the third row of the steeper risers (see below image; public domain) (Remnant, Musical Instruments of the West 218).
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).
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).
1896—London, England: The Illustrated London News publishes a print by A. Forester called Rival Waits, featuring a trombonist with aggressive technique (see below image; public domain) (Illustrated London News, Dec 19, 1896).
Another Circus/Clown Trombone Image
February 12, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
Added a trombone image to the 19th century timeline (2nd half). It’s quite a colorful poster, another image related to the circus/clown theme in trombone history that seems to comprise a trend in the late 19th century (see earlier post). This type of art (i.e., the circus/clown theme) appears to be centered in France, although the element of humor in general in trombone images can certainly be seen in numerous other areas, including Germany, England, and the US.
c. 1880—Wissembourg, France: A poster by C. Burckardt advertising for a circus features a life-sized caricature of a trombonist (see facing image; public domain).
19th Century Trombone Images: A Painting, A Postcard, and Two Posters
February 10, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
Added several images to the 19th century Trombone History Timeline (2nd half). I don’t know that there’s really any overarching theme here, unless perhaps it’s humor.
c. 1855—Artist Albert Kindler includes a trombonist in his painting After the Wedding. The trombonist stands in the musicians’ boat in the background (see below detail and full image; public domain).
1881—New York: A poster for Edmond Audran’s operetta, The Mascot (La Mascottein the original), features a trombone player. The operetta plays at New York’s Bijou Theatre (see below image; public domain) (source: Library of Congress).
c. 1892—A postcard features an image of two Victorian children playing with a trombone. The trombone appears to have an slide extension handle (see below image; public domain).
1898—New York: A poster advertising a touring “Rag Time Opera,” By the Sad Sea Waves, depicts a trombonist playing with piano. The duo, according to the caption, is “Playing ‘to beat the band!’” (see below image; public domain) (source: Library of Congress).
Circus Musicians: At Least They Have a Gig!
February 7, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
I recently added a painting, Fernand Pelez’s Grimaces and Misery, to the 19th century timeline (2nd half). Dating from 1888, it is an exact contemporary of Georges Seurat’s Parade de cirque (which I’ve also included below). Although there are obvious stylistic differences, the similarities in subject matter of the two paintings have been noted by art historians. It is interesting (from my viewpoint, at least) that both depictions include trombonists. The musicians are situated on opposites sides of the platform in two the paintings, with a trombonist replacing a clown in the center of Seurat’s image. They all look pretty gloomy. Art historian Robert Herbert, discussing these two paintings, explains, “The clown and the parade stand not for pure joy, but for the contrast between joy and sorrow, between the entertainer’s act and the reality of life behind the mask” (Herbert, Seurat 152). The musicians in Pelez’s painting are more intensely downtrodden—but as my wife remarked, “At least they have a gig!”
Detail from Pelez, Grimaces and Misery
Pelez, Grimaces and Misery
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 above detail and full image; public domain) (Musée du Petit Palais, Paris).
Seurat, Parade de Cirque
1888—Paris, France: Georges Seurat depicts a circus trombonist in Parade de cirque (see above image; public domain). In contemporary photographs the circus that Seurat portrays, identified as the popular Cirque Corvi, reveals a trombone hanging from a pillar near its entryway. Advertisement posters of the time depict a clown standing on the central pedestal occupied by the trombonist in Seurat’s painting (Herbert, Seurat 137-143). An exact contemporary of Seurat’s work is seen in Fernand Pelez’s Grimaces and Misery, which depicts a similar scene, this time with two clowns on the central pedestal and three musicians, a clarinetist, trombonist, and ophecleidist, seated to the right of center (Herbert, Seurat 152).
One more thing might be worth noting. As trombone images move from the intensely religious, particularly in the 17th century (1st half, 2nd half), to the many humorous depictions of the 19th century (2nd half), the association of trombones with clowns begins to take shape. It can be seen not only in the above two paintings, but in images such as the the Anquetin lithograph (below), the “Old Virginia” cover (below), and, later, even in solos like the famous Berio Sequenza V (1966).
Anquetin, Marguerite Dufay, 1899
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Cover of Old Virginia, 1899
Trombone History: Waits Images
February 4, 2010 by wkimball · Leave a Comment
Added the below image to the 19th Century Timeline (2nd half). There are a couple of other images related to waits in the timeline—they’re also included below, along with their captions. Waits were evidently taken more seriously in the tradition’s early centuries. Several other entries on waits can be found in the 16th century, 17th century (first half), and 17th century (second half) of the timeline.
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).
1896—London, England: The Illustrated London News publishes a print by A. Forester called Rival Waits, featuring a trombonist with aggressive technique (see below image; public domain) (Illustrated London News, Dec 19, 1896).
c. 1680—England: A wash drawing attributed to Marcellus Laroon depicts a group of 17th century town waits—3 shawms and a trombone (see below image; public domain) (Herbert, Sackbut 77; Parrott, Grett and Solompne Singing).