Here is the best article:
Weiner, Howard “When is an Alto Trombone an Alto Trombone? When is a
Bass Trombone a Bass Trombone? – The Makeup of the Trombone Section in
Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Orchestras,” Historic Brass
Society Journal 17 (2005), 37-79.
Here is one post in which Howard refers to it:
----
The first trombone part of Beethoven's 5th was not written for alto
trombone for the simple reason that the alto trombone was unknown in
Vienna during the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, and indeed until
1883. The trombone section in Vienna during the 18th and early 19th
centuries was made up of 2 or 3 B-flat tenor trombones, with a smaller
mouthpiece for the 1st trombone and a larger mouthpiece for the 3rd
trombone. (From ca. 1835 to 1883 Bb-tenor and F-bass valve trombones
were the norm in Vienna.) For details about this you'll have to go to
the library and look up my article "When is an Alto Trombone an Alto
Trombone? When is a Bass Trombone a Bass Trombone? – The Makeup of the
Trombone Section in Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Orchestras"
in _Historic Brass Society Journal_ 17 (2005), pp. 37-79.
-----
I must say, John, that's an odd slant you give with your "the only
reason Mendelssohn used trombones in his 'Reformation' symphony was
because of that religious reference." Look at it a different way. For
Mendelssohn, trombones were strictly a sacred instrument, but within
this, he used them whenever he possibly could - the "Reformation", the
Second Symphony "Lobgesang," and in sacred choral works. The most
telling example is the incidental music to "Midsummer Night's Dream"
throughout the entire evening, the trombones play only the "Wedding
March," plus a short return of a few bars of the "Wedding March". This
is the work of a composer who really wants to use the instrument, but
only when it is appropriate. (This also proves that the composer
considered his "Wedding March" a sacred work, for all you organists who
may occasionally run into someone that argues that it has pagan origins
and shouldn't be played in church).
But your point is correct - just look at the trombone use in Mozart's
operas: In _Magic Flute_ the trombones play only when the chorus of
priests sings; In _Don Giovanni_ the trombones play when hell opens up
(and a little pre-rumbling). When we play Don Giovanni, the curtain goes
up at 8:00, we play about 10:20.
Raymond Horton
Bass Trombonist,
Louisville Orchestra
Christopher Smith wrote:
On Jan 20, 2009, at 11:17 PM, John Howell wrote:
And while I'm not entirely convinced about the use of all tenor
trombones for early orchestra music as quoted by Ray from someone
else, I don't know enough to specifically argue against it. But
history suggests the opposite. The OTHER metaphysical association
trombones had, besides the association with hell or hades, was with
religious music. Composers at LEAST from Schütz (and very likely a
century earlier) through Mendelsssohn knew and used that association
as well. Mozart called for alto, tenor and bass doubling the alto,
tenor and bass choral lines in many of his sacred works, and the only
reason Mendeslssohn used trombones in his "Reformation" symphony was
because of that religious reference.
Here's an article
http://www.britishtrombonesociety.org/resources/shifrin/chapter-1-from-beethoven-to-schumann.html
He deals with the post-Beethoven symphonic writing for trombone. The
gist is: even though the score may be written in a certain clef and
the tessitura may suit one instrument or another, there is no firm
rule determining what instrument was written for, preferred, or
actually used (the three are completely independent of each other.)
Since the tenor trombone was by far the easiest to play (alto requires
a strong lip and the intonation is more difficult; while the bass had
the unwieldy slide extension handle and was harder to control) and
most plentiful in most of Europe at the time, chances are that all
three parts were played by tenor trombones more often than not. The
tradition of writing the first trombone PART (not the same as the
score!) in alto clef up to the early 20th century has nothing to do
with which instrument was written for.
Since a lot of our documentation is published scores, it should be
pointed out that all three trombone parts frequently were written on
the same staff, and thus in the same clef, alto or tenor, in the
score. The parts are a different story, however.
When I read his procedure and conclusions, it seemed very convincing.
Christopher
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