INSTRUMENTS IN THE ORCHESTRA: (11) The Trombone

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 430, 19 September 1947, Page 15

INSTRUMENTS IN THE ORCHESTRA: (11) The Trombone

HE eleventh of a series of short articles on the instruments of the National Orchestra, written to help interested listeners towards a more informed appreciation of orchestral music and a better understanding ot the resources at the command of the conductor.

+ T was not until the! time of " Beethoven that the trombone found a place in the symphony orchestra. Even Beethoven ignored it when composing his first four symphonies, but its debut in the C Minor Symphony was a glorious one. The instrument is descended from: the sackbut, which had essentially the same form as the trombone has to-day. The ge sackbut was a popular instrument throughout Europe and was used in many different combinations of instruments. Handel used the trombone but, curiously, it seems to have fallen from

popularity after his death. A quarter of a_ century after Handel died, a service in memory of him was | held in Westminster Abbey, and concerning it Dr, Burney wrote, "In order to render the band as powerful and complete as possible it was determined to employ every species of instrument that was capable of producing grand effects in a great orchestra and spacious building. Amongst these, the Sacbut or Double Trumpet was sought; but so many years had elapsed since it had been used in this kingdom that neither the instrument, nor a performer on it, could easily be found. It was, however, discovered that . .. in His Majesty’s military band there were six musicians who played the three sev- | eral species of sacbut; tenor, base and double base." But within another 20 years the good doctor

was recording, "Tromboni and doubledrums are now so frequently used at the opera, oratorios, and in symphonies that they are become a _ nuisance to lovers of pure harmony and refined tones, for, in fact, the vibrations of these instruments produce Noise, not musical sounds." The trombone is a brass instrument with a cylindrical bore and a cup-shaped mouthpiece. The principles of playing are the same as for the trumpet and other brass instruments, but a pair of slides are used to bring into effect the extra sections of tubing used for bridging the gaps in the open scale. There

are seven positions of the slide, corresponding to the seven shifts on the violin and the seven positions on valve instruments. A species of trombone equipped with valves is occasionally used. Among the works in which the trombone has a prominent part are three quartets by Beethoven, Mozart’s Requiem, The Symphonie Funébre et Triomphale of Berlioz, and several concerti composed by the first travelling virtuoso of the instrument, F. A. Belcke. The National Orchestra has two B flat trombones and one in G.