Renaissance slide trumpet

[robcat2075]

This is the first time I have seen one in operation.

Renaissance-style in that it has but one telescoping tube, presumed to be a precursor to the double-tube U mechanism of a true trombone.

AFAIK, no historical examples of this form survive, it is something hypothesized from the appearance of instruments seen in very old paintings.


The damsel on the far right is playing the slide trumpet...

[brassmedic]

I built one of these for Noah. He has photos on his website. http://brassark.com/museum/closeslidetrumpet.html

Catherine Motuz sounds wonderful. It is not an easy instrument to play.

[BGuttman]

Did you notice the Sackbut is Maximilien Brisson (Le Tromboniste)? I think he published another piece with this group.

[Posaunus]

Excellent performance, all the way around.

Would love to hear this ensemble in person.

[LeTromboniste]

Yes I think I might have posted this video here when it first came out.

Indeed no surviving specimen from its heyday in the 15th and early-16th century (hardly surprising, as there is only a single brass instrument of any kind surviving from that century!). I think there are surviving instruments from the 18th century (the use of such instruments had probably persisted in town bands, although it might also have been reinvented after having died out).

It's based on a bit more than just speculation on paintings though. Yes there are a number of images that only really make sense if we accept the existence of the instrument, that's true (based on the hand positions of the player and shape of the instrument), but most importantly, it's that we know what the typical combinations of instruments in the "loud band" were (from written sources and treatises), we know what kinds of music they played, and therefore we know that they had trumpets playing parts not limited to the harmonic series.

[Basbasun]

Beautiful playing! Nice to hear, thankyou for posting!

[BGuttman]

Catherine Motuz used to post on the old TTF but I haven't seen her here. I hope she at least checks in on us. I value her knowledge of trombone history (apart from her excellent performances with Maximilien).

[rickfaulknernyc]

Thanks for sharing! Great performance. I love the sound of the cornetto, too. It's incredibly hard to play, though; I tried dabbling in it for a minute but realized I'd need to really devote myself in order to play it well.

[X200]

As far as I can determine, the baroque era Huns Veit 1651 trumpet in Berlin is the oldest known surviving single slide trumpet (zugtrompete; tromba da tirarsi). According to Klaus (Trumpets and Other High Brass, Vol. 2, National Music Museum, South Dakota, 2013), the slide was damaged or lost during WWII and replaced. There is a photo of the horn (p. 8), purportedly all original, by Sachs from 1922 in the Klaus volume.

English maker John Webb produced a zugtrompete ca. 1990, which may have been inspired by the Veit trumpet:

https://emuseum.nmmusd.org/objects/1113 ... 75b&idx=10

I acquired a nearly identical Webb trumpet quite recently. It's lacquered, tuned at A-440, has seamless tubing and other historical inaccuracies, but it's a neat horn and I plan to spend this summer becoming acquainted with it

[HowardW]

According to Kraus (Trumpets and Other High Brass, Vol. 1, National Music Museum, South Dakota),

Klaus, Trumpets and Other High Brass, vol. 1, NMM, 2012

Howard

[X200]

According to Kraus (Trumpets and Other High Brass, Vol. 1, National Music Museum, South Dakota),

Klaus, Trumpets and Other High Brass, vol. 1, NMM, 2012

Howard

Full citation: Klaus, Trumpets and Other High Brass, Vol. 2, Ways to Expand the Harmonic Series, NMM, 2013
pp. 8-10, The German Baroque Slide Trumpet

My initial citation had multiple errors. Sorry.