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.

_______________

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.

19th Century (1st half): Rossini, La Gazza Ladra; Schubert, Symphony No. 9; Berlioz, Symphony Fantastique; Wagner, Tannhauser; Berlioz, Hungarian March

19th Century (2nd half): Verdi, Requiem; Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries

The problem with YouTube clips for this kind of stuff is that it’s hit and miss: some are excellent (e.g., I was excited to find the old Chicago section playing Tannhauser under Solti), but many are less than desirable. Hopefully the ones included in the timeline are good enough to at least provide a taste for the trombone part and its role in the piece. I’ve embedded a few of the clips below to pique your interest; see the Timeline for the others!

1830—Hector Berlioz writes Symphony Fantastique, one of the earliest orchestral works to give trombones a prominent, independent role.

1845—Richard Wagner, Tannhauser (trombone soli in clip below is at 2:37).

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).

New Clips:
16th century: Striggio, Gabrieli (multiple)
17th century (1st half): Monteverdi (multiple), Massaino, Schütz, Schein, Grandi, Marini
17th century (2nd half): Hake, Locke, Schütz, Biber
18th century: Fux (multiple), Gossec, Mozart (multiple)
19th century: Schumann
20th century: Stravinsky, Bartok

Highlights:
1597—Venice: Giovanni Gabrieli writes several works that feature trombone prominently. Sonata pian e forte is an 8-part canzona for two choirs; the first calls for 3 trombones and a cornetto, the second for 3 trombones and a violin. Canzon Quarti Toni is a 15-part work that calls for violin, 2 cornetts, and 12 trombones. Canzon in Echo Duodecimi Toni is scored for 8 cornetts and 2 trombones, while Canzon sudetta accomodata per concertar con l’Organo calls for 8 cornetts, 2 trombones, and organ (Winkler 298). Many additional Gabrieli works feature trombone prominently, ranging from 4-part canzonas (1 cornett and 3 trombones) to 22-part canzonas. A large body of Gabrieli’s concerted music for voices with instruments also features trombone prominently; for example, Quem vidistis pastores a 14, which utilizes 3 trombones, and Surrexit Christus a 16, which calls for 4 trombones. According to musicologist David Schulenberg, “the most important instruments in this music [Venetian polychoral works]—after the organ, which furnished the basso continuo—were the cornetto and the sackbut.”

1607—Mantua, Italy: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, considered by many the first true opera, uses 5 trombones (2 altos, 2 tenors, and a bass). Trombones are particularly prominent in the underworld scenes (Daubeny 95). An ensemble of trombones and cornettos plays in acts III and IV.

1664—Heinrich Schütz writes his Christmas History, which includes a pair of trombones acting as obbligato instruments and specifically representing high priests (Smallman 151).

1767—Salzburg, Austria: The skeptical Archbishop locks 11-year-old Mozart in a room by himself to see if he can really compose without help from his father. Mozart writes the cantata Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, K 35, which uses solo alto trombone in Christ’s aria, “Jener Donnerworte Kraft.”

1918—Igor Stravinsky’s septet, The Soldier’s Tale, makes extensive soloistic use of trombone. The performance in the below YouTube clip begins at 11:40.

c. 1795—France: Trombonist André Braun publishes Gamme et Méthode pour let Trombones, the first complete modern method book written specifically for trombone. It also contains the first description of a tenor trombone in B-flat with seven chromatic positions (see below image; public domain). It specifically states that the alto trombone is in E-flat, the tenor and bass in B-flat. An influential method book–it informs several later methods, including Fröhlich and Nemetz–the method book also provides an alto trombone position chart clearly showing an instrument in E-flat (see Alto Trombone History Timeline). Editions of the method are subsequently published in German and Italian (Weiner, Braun; Weiner, Braun Revisited; Dudgeon 194).

1847—Paris, France: An article in the periodical L’Illustration titled “Le Pupitre de Palestrina” (“The Desk of Palestrina”) is accompanied by an image by Henri Valentin that includes a rear-facing trombone in what appears to be an attempt at a historical representation of a Palestrina-era performance (see far left of below image; public domain) (L’Illustration, vol. 9, May 1, 1847, p. 137).

1853—Paris, France: The illustrated newspaper L’Illustration publishes a graphic, “La danse aux camps,” depicting a military celebration with a four-man band in the upper-left that includes what appears to be a rear-facing trombone (see below image; public domain) (L’Illustration, vol. 22, July 23, 1853, p. 64).

1860—Paris, France: Jules Worms depicts a somewhat villainous-looking trombonist in Le cabaret du Lapin-Blanc, an art work published in the periodical L’Illustration (see above image; public domain) (Vol. 36, 1860, p. 403).

1877—Paris, France: 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 above image; public domain) (source: Library of Congress).

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).

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).

1466—Milan, Italy: The civic wind band consists of 4 pifferi and 2 trombones (D’Accone, Civic Muse 527).

1468—Milan, Italy: 6 trombones, 11 pifferi, and 33 trumpets play for a political gathering (Kurtzman, Trombe).

1469—Milan, Italy: Trombonists from Germany or the Low Countries are in the service of the Duke of Milan (Galpin, The Sackbut).

1490—Milan, Italy: At the Sforza court, a Festa del Paradiso is held in honor of Isabella d’Aragona. Shortly before the festa begins, “When everyone was seated, the piferi and trombones began to play. After they had played for a while, they stopped, and some tambourin players were ordered to play…” (Merkley 419).

1502—Louis XII of France travels to Milan, returning with 6 trombonists and shawmists, whom he employs at his court for 120 livres per year (Dobbins, Music 126; Cazeaux 240).

Milan, 1572

1553—Milan, Italy: Ferrante Gonzaga, governor of Milan, maintains a wind band that includes at least one trombone. When a trombonist by the name of Orfeo requests to be released from his service to play elsewhere, the leader of the ensemble expresses alarm, writing to the governor that it “would be in grand damage to the music of your Excellency” (Getz 170).

1559—Milan, Italy: Carnival celebrations at the Milanese court include “an excellent music of bowed viols, trombones [tromboni], cornets, and voices…playing their instruments so sweetly and harmoniously [soavemente che all'armonia]” (Getz 201).

1574—Milan, Italy: A mascherata held in honor of Duke Johann of Austria includes a pastoral scene in which numerous instruments are used: “5 trombetti…cornetto, trombone, cornamusa, fifre, dolzana, flauto, diana, spinetta, viola di gamba, violino, liuto, lira, cetera, piva, doulcemele, contralto di viola, triangolo, tamborino e zufolo, arpa, buttafoco, sordina e mantica, tiorba, quattro viole da braccio” (Boydell, Crumhorn 296).

Luini, Musical Angels

c. 1580—Milan, Italy: Aureliano Luini depicts an angel playing trombone in his fresco, Musical Angels (see facing image; public domain) (Milan, S. Simpliciano; Kendrick, Sounds of Milan 77).

1605-06—­­Milan Italy: During a diocesan inquiry about monks’ use of outside musicians at St. Amrogio, witnesses, including a paid trombonist himself, testify to the presence of singers, violins, trombones, and cornetto, along with an occasional lute (Kendrick, Sounds of Milan 79).

1610—Milan, Italy: Giovanni Paolo Cima specifies trombone in works from his collection Concerti ecclesiastici, including Sonata (trombone or violone) and Cappriccio d’Andrea Cima a 4 (1 trombone) (Collver 47).

1620—Milan, Italy: Francesco Rognione’s improvisational treatise, Selva di varii passaggi,includes a setting of Lassus’s song, Susanne un jour. Marked “Modo di passegiar il violone over trombone alla bastarda,” it features rapid technical passages to be played on either violone or trombone (Baines, Brass 114; Guion, Short History; Herbert, Trombone 87).

1649—Milan, Italy: Biagio Marini calls for trombone in a collection of his works (Selfridge-Field, Instrumentation).

1808—Milan, Italy: The Milan Conservatory is founded. A studio of horn, trumpet, and trombone is established, taught by the horn instructor. The first trombone class is established in 1882, with Gaetano Falda as instructor (Herbert, Trombone 130).

La Scala, 19th century

1814—Milan, Italy: La Scala orchestra includes 1 trombone (Herbert, Trombone 333).

1824—Milan, Italy: Francesco Mirecki, a Polish musician active in Italy, mentions trombone in his treatise, the earliest known Italian orchestration treatise. He considers bass trombone a useful alternative to serpent as the effective bass of the brass family (Meucci).

1825—Milan, Italy: La Scala orchestra includes 3 trombones (in contrast to 1 in 1814) (Herbert, Trombone 334).

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).

Giuseppe Verdi

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).

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).

1881—Milan, Italy: The newspaper Gazzetta Musicale di Milano runs an article titled “Visit by Verdi to the Pelitti factory,” detailing Verdi’s interest in the contrabass trombone. It says, in part, “Verdi having, however, expressed certain wishes regarding the range of the trombone basso, Cav. Pelitti undertook to build a new one for the following Thursday which would satisfy the Maestro’s requirements. Verdi, accompanied by maestro Boito and signor Giulio Ricordi, went accordingly on that day to the Pelitti factory where repeated experiments were made with the new trombone in B flat pitched one octave lower than the tenor. The new instrument gave splendid results regarding range, timbre, sonority, power, ease and facility of execution, blending perfectly with the other trombones. Resulting from this, two B flat tenor trombones, a bass trombone in F and the new bass trombone in B flat are necessary in order to achieve a trombone quartet that is perfect, homogeneous and effective without bringing into the orchestra a timbre from the band that would affect the instrumental blending of the various instruments” (Meucci).

1893—Milan, Italy: Giuseppe Ascalone says the following about the timbre of trombones in his Manualetto: “While on its own the bass tuba is an excellent orchestral instrument on account of its gentle voice, both agile and weighty, its dark sound is unpleasing to the ear when heard in conjunction with the clear tone of the trombones” (Meucci).

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).

Cazzani rotary valve trombone

1912—Milan, Italy: Rotary valve trombone by Giovan Battista Cazzani is manufactured sometime before this date (see facing image; used by permission of Brass Players Museum: www.neillins.com/brass.htm).

1920—Milan, Italy: Vittorio Ricci mentions bass trombone in connection with the term cimbasso in his orchestration text: “In Aida Verdi uses cimbasso (a kind of contrabass trombone) as the bass of the trombones” (Meucci).

1864—Paris, France: Two prints in the illustrated newspaper L’Illustration depict instruments by Adolphe Sax. The first, Audition des nouveaux instruments d’Adolphe Sax, shows a man demonstrating instruments on a stage. The second shows several instruments up close, including a “Nouveau trombone,” the six-valve instrument situated between the two drums (see facing image; public domain) (L’Illustration vol. XLIV, July 16, 1864, p. 48).