The Renaissance Slide Trumpet: Fact or Fiction?

Author(s): Peter Downey

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Early Music, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Feb., 1984), pp. 26-33
Published by: Oxford University Press
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Peter Downey
The Renaissance slide trumpet
Fact or fiction?
buisine.3 Trumpeterscould produce no more than the
first four notes of the natural harmonic series on it,
giving the intervals of an octave, a 5th and a 4th
respectively.4As a result, the buisine's main role was in
the performanceof militarysignals, as it had been since
biblical times. However,it was duringthe ArsNova that
the buisine began to find a place in the performanceof
(Vrvt dance music at the courts, so that by the 1350s one
IF~ni'.r writercould state that 'shawmsand the loud trumpets
generally banish the sober fiddles from the feasts, and
111
l!CL1OI? the young girls dance eagerlyto the loud noise'.5In this
earlyhautsinstruments combinationthe dance melodies
Ql~zt were played on shawms, while a buisine added a drone
accompanimentfor which the trumpeterwould select
appropriatenotes fromthe availablenaturalharmonics.
It can be shown that only two natural harmonics are
needed to accompany surviving contemporarydance
music, although in some cases transposition is re-
1 The trombone, Italian trumpet, claret trumpet and S-shaped
quired:6they are harmonics 2 and 3, to which may be
trumpet: S. Virdung,Musica getutscht (Basle, 1511)
added harmonic 4, which sounds one octave higher
Amongthe developmentsthattook place in instrument- than harmonic 2. For example, a buisine accompani-
makingduringthe 14thand 15thcenturies werevarious ment for the Lamentodi Tristancould be constructed as
technical modifications to the instrumentsthemselves in ex.1. Indeed, this type of accompaniment was
and the emergence of idiomatic styles of writing for indicated by Konradof Megenberg(1309-1374) when
them. One instrument that underwent radical change he stated that 'the trumpet and shawm . .. sound well
was the trumpet.Althoughit had emergedfromthe Ars together accordingto due proportionsin 4ths, Sths and
Nova with an extremelylimited range and mainly as a octaves just as the characterof the melody requires'.7
militaryinstrument,by the beginning of the Baroqueit Towardsthe end of the 14th centurya new metallur-
was a fully fledged instrumentof music, the symbol of gical technique-the production of tightly curved
princely might employed just as widely at court and in metal tubes-was developed, possibly in northern
church as on the field, and its range, in the words of Franceor Burgundy.8By insertingtwo U-shaped tubes
MarinMersenne,'[surpassed]the keyboardsof spinets between the sections of the buisine a more compact
and organs'.' Its transformation during the Renais- trumpet was produced. This S-shaped trumpet was
sance has never been satisfactorily explained and has longer than its predecessor because of the additional
given rise to a number of theoretical propositions, tubing. It measuredabout 175cm and was pitched in F.
many of them contradictory, concerning both the Contemporaryillustrationstell us that in additionto the
instrument and its use. Indeed, the performance of usual military function, it was widely used in hauts
Renaissancemusic is now bedevilled by a'slide trumpet instrumentsbands at courtly dances.9 Anotherchange
madness' similarto the 'Bachtrumpetmadness' of the took place during the first half of the 15th century,
1950s that plagued Baroquetrumpetmusic.2Thereis a again in eitherFranceor Burgundy:the instrumentwas
need to redress the balance and provide a solution to folded back along itself to formthe twice-folded shape
the problem. still recognized today. This trumpetmay be called the
The trumpet of the Ars Nova, a straight instrument claret trumpet, for it was supplied with a somewhat
about 150cm long and pitched in A, was called the mysterious 'claret-piece'(discussed further below) in

26 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1984

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addition to the customary mouthpiece.t0 By now the
newly arrivedtrombone was replacing the trumpetin
hauts instrumentsbands, but a rudimentary type of
trumpetensemble music was established to providean
alternative accompaniment to dances. (The military
function, of course, continued.)
Duringthe last thirdof the 15th centurythe Franco-
Burgundian monopoly in modifications to trumpet
design and usage began to be challenged by north
Italian trumpeters.A largertwice-folded trumpet was
developed, possibly at Mantua." This instrument,
which may be called the 'Italian trumpet',was about
219cm long and pitched in C.12It was supplied with a
mouthpiece but no other accessory." In addition to
being longer and broaderthan the claret trumpet,the
Italiantrumpetwas also made much firmerby cordage
wrapped tightly around the parallel tubes near the
mouthpiece. Twosmall rings were providedas anchor-
age points, one on the inner curve of each U-tube; a
damask banner was also usually attached.14 It would
seem that the Italiantrumpetwas originallydesigned to
replace the claret trumpet only in ensemble music,
leaving the latter to perform the military function:
archival documents from this period refer to perfor-
mance by ensembles of trumpetsand tunable timpani,
which were just arrivingfrom the south-eastern limits
of the Holy RomanEmpireand which wereused only in
association with Italian trumpets.15
The gradualItalian ascendancy in music duringthe
first half of the 16th century had its effect also on the
trumpet.A new style of playing, the 'Italianstyle', was
established in northern Italy for the Italian trumpet,
Ex.l Lamento di Tristan, prima pars (London, British Library
Add.29987,ff.63r-v)
Primapars
Trumpet
[buisine]
IN
rg!!!?
j::4
AC
FRIM
.
A
,
,.r
w ,,
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possibly by the Mantuan trumpeters who had been
responsible for the instrument itself.16 It included
militarymusic adaptedforthe Italiantrumpetas well as
a highly organized and tightly formulated trumpet
ensemble music."1 The intention was clearlyto replace
the clarettrumpetaltogether,andthatwas accomplished
by the 1630s.18
ThethreeRenaissancetrumpetsmentionedabove,
andthe earlytrombone(discussedin n.43),areillustra-
ted by Virdung(illus.1).The S-shapedtrumpet,or
Thurnerhorn, wasby 1511usedonlybytownmusicians,
havinglongbeen discardedby 'privilegedtrumpeters'
(those servingat princelycourtsand in the free and
imperialcities of the empire);the clarettrumpet,or
Clareta,is narrowerand shorterthanthe largeItalian
trumpet,or Felttruiffet: note the two rings on the U-
shaped sections of the latter.
19Survivingmusicshows
thatthe Italiantrumpetwas a naturalinstrument,20as
was the buisine;but was the clarettrumpetalso?Its
shape shows that it was indeed basicallya natural
trumpet,buttheclaret-piecewithwhichitwassupplied
has to be takeninto consideration.Thisclaret-piece
wasplacedbetweenthemouthpieceandthebodyofthe
instrumentwhenrequired;it musthavebeen eithera
movableslidealongwhichthe entiretrumpetcouldbe
movedto produceextranon-harmonic notesinthe low
registerof the instrument,ora fixed-lengthcrookused
to lower the pitch of the instrument.21 The former
hypothesishas been advancedto supportthe belief
that the trumpet,whetherS-shapedor twice-folded,
couldhaveplayeda bodyof Renaissancemusicas the
slide trumpet.We aretold thaticonographyand sur-
vivingmusicgivesubstanceto thathypothesis.22 Such
a claimdeservesinvestigation.
One of the most importantand most often cited
representations is the HansMemlingtriptychof 1460
(illus.2),on two of whosepanelsareseen angeltrum-
petersplayinga buisineandtwoclarettrumpets.These
lastareapparently slidetrumpets,thaton theleftbeing
in an 'extendedposition'as the bodyof the trumpetis
furtherfromtheplayerthanthatontheright.Toenable
the clarettrumpetto bepushedalonga slideit is heldin
a special manner:one hand gripsthe middleof the
trumpetwhiletheotherpressesthemouthpieceagainst
the player'slips.Weareevenassuredthat,if theywere
naturaltrumpets,they would simply be held 'withboth
hands towardsthe centre of balance nearthe middle'.23
But this so-called 'special manner'was the norm until
cordage was wrapped around the Italian trumpet:
trumpets of 2nd-millenniumBCEgypt,2nd-centuryAD
EARLYMUSIC FEBRUARY1984 27
 ~EU-L~j i / ~CI~"~Pg~;-l.
~2, .' ss~~: aar-
Ij~
?: r-L 'k
?~~a~a~ .;
t ?;~~? CI~
r
t ~3:

b~I i i m:
;-?-8a'r ? uj~
I`r? a: g?
" ,isr i
r 1:: :s

c~??
~n , ~? ~aY~'E~~ ~"
P~ rs

~- 1) ~ _?61 ";
?~ ? Y `iC':'
\
)'? L\ ~n
i,

jlI

~
i
r I B s: J?~

Y 'i, ~"

i: ii s

.~...*
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,i ?:
~???
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"'I
,?.
IL~i~li~
~g

2 Angel musicians: two panels from a triptych(c1460)by Hans Memling(1430/35-1494) (Brussels,Institut Royaldu PatrimoineArtistique)

Tripoli, 8th-century Ireland, 14th-century Germany
and 15th-centuryFlanders,and from all over Europe,
were normallyheld in this time-honouredfashion. The
same method was employed for buisines, S-shaped
trumpetsand clarettrumpets(illus.3-7 and cover),and
even some of MaximilianI's trumpetersretained the
two-handed method of holding their Italian trumpets
(illus.8).Moreover,the buisine in Memling'striptychis
being held in the same way as the two clarettrumpets.
Therefore,unless all of these instrumentsweretrumpets
with movable slides, the manner in which they were
held cannot be used as evidence for the existence of the
slide trumpet.24Neither is the apparentdifference in
size of the slide extensions of any significance, for the
two claret trumpetsare themselves differentlypropor-
tioned, even allowing for perspective. (Thebell of that
on the left, for example, is much further from the
nearest U-tube than that on the right.)The same argu-
ment may be applied to other representations,and the
only reasonable conclusion is that iconographycannot
prove the existence of a slide trumpet.
Concerningactual music we turn to trumpetum, that
device of the early Renaissance which, according to
contemporarytheorists, occurs (mainly in connection
with vocal music) when one part in mensural music,
normally but not exclusively the contratenor, differs
from the rest 'by sounding like a Frenchtrumpet'and
'moving frequently to the 5th and octave'.25 Early
trumpetum music bearsthis out and contains partswith
indications such as 'ad modum tube', 'contratenor
trompetta','tuba gallicalis' etc, the last providing evi-
dence of the S-shaped trumpet's probable Franco-
Burgundianorigin.26The music is in three parts,either
for two trebles (often in canon) supported by one
trumpetumpart,or for treble and tenor together with a
trumpetumcontratenor. Later compositions are mod-
elled on Dufay'swell-knownGloria'admodumtube'with
its two trumpetum parts.Unlike the earlierpieces, they
contain no specially indicated part(s);rather,the only
indication is a general one such as 'Missa tubae' etc.27
Tinctoris,in his Liberdeartecontrapuncti of 1477,tells us
that trumpetumas applied to these later pieces is an

28 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1984

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 e All

1L.r

3Q.i;.~
41
't 101

Ir~
-4
409 :

imitation of the sound of trumpets.He also provides a and corresponds to a naturalthird-harmonicposition

musical example in which the trumpet imitation is
found in all the partsbut is somewhat diluted by being
blended with other, non-trumpetumpart-writing;the
same is found in late 15th-centurytrumpetumcompo-
sitions.28
Trumpetum partscontain two distinguishingfeatures:
rhythmic reiterations of one note, and triadic move-
ment, usually descending. Both may be seen in a short
extract from the Credo of Estienne Grossin's Missa
trompetta(ex.2): the rhythmic reiterations are marked
'A',triadicmovementis marked'B'.Therepeatednote is
often approachedfromeithera 5th below ora4th above
Ex.2 Estienne Grossin, Missa trompetta,Credo, bars 102-9 (Aosta,
Bibliotecadel SeminarioMaggiore,
78)
Trompetta
r- B -i
6r A--
r
I
on the trumpet.Similarly,the triadic motion indicates
the natural harmonics 3-6, which are themselves
triadic. We can discover the significance of these
implied natural harmonics by examining the military
signals of the Italian style.
Italian-style military signals are divided into two
groups.Onegroup,of fourallafrancesesignals, is based
on harmonics 2-4 with 3 the reiteratednote; they also
have French-derivednames. The other group, of two
al'Italianasignals,is found basedone harmonichigher.29
One militarysignal is found in both groups, and as the
alla franceseversion was not employed after 1620 we
may surmise that alla francesesignals were originally
intended for the claret trumpetand were later adopted
and modified by the Italianstyle forthe Italiantrumpet.
Theyarealso the signals imitatedby the reiterated-note
featureof trumpetum (ex.3).Shortpieces called toccatas
that were played both before and after alla francese

! 11 -p.- r
F
a signals provide the inspiration for the other feature.
(Al'ltalianasignals were only precededby a toccata, and
EARLYMUSIC FEBRUARY1984 29

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Ex.3 Magnus Thomsen, military signal Pottesella ('Boots and sad-
dles'), bars 12-17 (MS,before 1596-1612)

K
I ,I I I I I
- --

Ex.4
(a) Cesare Bendinelli, Toccata to Augetto ('Thewatch'),from Tutta
I'artedella trombetta(MS, 1614), bars 1-8
A C.C

-----------

(b) Ostinato figure from Guillaume Dufay,Gloria'ad modum tube'

(I-BeQ15)
A

3 Egyptiantrumpeter,from a relief from Abu-Simbel,cl200 sc

4 Roman tuba player mosaic, 2nd century AD(Tripoli,Museum of

Antiquities)
IIo
5 Angel of the Apocalypse: Irish illuminated gospel book, 8th i5:
Ali Y14
eo
I~L~IIN.
century (St Gall,Stiftsbibliothek, 51)

6 Two trumpet players with a schalmei player and drummer,1334

(Willehalm Codex: Kassel, Murhardsche Bibliothek und Landes-
bibliothek. 20 Ms.poet. et roman.1)

7 Playerwith an S-shaped trumpet, 1468/9 (Berlin.Staatsbibliothek 8 Imperial trumpeters: detail of a woodcut by Hans Burgkmair
Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Depot Breslau 1, Rehd.3,f44) (1473-1531) from The Triumphsof MaximilianI (1512-19)

30 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1984

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their musical structure is slightly different.)30These trumpetthe actual pitch range of harmonics8-12 is in
toccatas have descending triadic themes and indicate the very difficult tessitura fromf" to c"'. Crookingthe
that trumpetershad been able to extend the playable trumpetwith a claret-piece lowered its pitch range by
rangeof the instrumentto include harmonics5 and 6 in up to a 4th, giving the actual pitch range of the same
changing from the straightbuisine to the twice-folded harmonics as the range c"-g" (i.e. only a tone higher
clarettrumpet(ex.4a).Theyalso include versions of the than the highest naturalharmonicemployedin military
ostinato motif found in the two trumpetumparts of music for the uncrooked claret trumpet, harmonic 8:
Dufay'sGloria"admodumtube'(ex 4b):one such version the notef'). This concept of the claret-piece as a crook
is marked'C'in ex.4a. of a 4th is supportedby the fact that notes higher than
Thus trumpetumparts in early Renaissance music, a" were not played by trumpetersuntil the late 1620s.35
whether they were vocalized or performedinstrumen- The claret trumpetwould appear,therefore,to have
tally, contain features that derive ultimately from been a naturaltrumpetin Fon to which could be fitted a
contemporary military signal music, which was per- crook called the claret-piece when trumpetensemble
formed on a natural claret trumpet (that is, a trumpet music was performed. The later Italian trumpet may
capable of playing only the notes of the natural then be viewed as having the extra crook length
harmonic series). A modified and highly organized permanentlyincorporatedin the overalldimensions of
version of the same militarysignal music is preservedin the instrument, making it longer and broader,and as
allafrancesesignals of the Italian style. However,there owing its existence to the popularityof early trumpet
are no grounds whateverfor supposing that trumpetum ensemble music. Praetorius lends weight to this as-
parts were performedon any type of trumpet.31 sumption:
Experiments have been made with modern reproduc- Previouslytrumpetshadtheirfundamental, or bassnote,in
tions of slide trumpets.Ofthe compositions mentioned chamberpitchD(field-trumpeters stillusethese).Quitea few
above only half are theoretically performableon these yearsago,however,atsomeroyalandnoblecourts,theywere
instruments.Actualperformanceis extremelydifficult, lengthened,orelse crookswereplacedon to them,lowering
if not impossible, because of the inertia caused by theirpitchbyaboutatone,intoCaccording totheHypoionian
mode.36
moving the entire trumpet along a single slide.32
Moreover, the only slide trumpet that can in theory Praetoriuswas commenting on a transition that had
performthese pieces must be pitched in C. However, taken place before his time, and his 'abouta tone', if not
the only Renaissancetrumpetat this pitch-the Italian the precise difference in pitch between clarettrumpets
trumpet-did not appearuntil the last thirdof the 15th and Italian trumpets, is near enough.
century; moreover, it was a natural trumpet. All the Zarlinoshows in his Sopplimenti musicaliof 1588what
available evidence would seem to argue against the a pre-Italian-style trumpetensemble of crooked claret
existence of a slide trumpetduring the Renaissance. trumpetswould have played:a florid treble melody, or
Inthe absence of supportforthe single movableslide claretpart,supportedby a drone bass, ortrompette parts
the other possibility, the fixed-length crook, should be (ex.5).37(Notethat the drone-bassidea originatedin the
investigated. It is logical to assume that, by placing a early hauts instrumentsbands mentioned above.) The
claret-piece on his claret trumpet, a trumpetercould same is stated by Nicot, who in his Trisorde la langue
then performclaretpartson his instrument.Such claret
parts are mentioned in accounts of trumpet perfor- Ex.5 Gioseffo Zarlino, Sopplimenti musicali (Venice, 1588/RI966),
mance datingfromthe second half of the 15th century. p.284
They are high parts;33indeed, the actual harmonics
used areknown. CesareBendinelliincluded in his Tutta
l'artedella trombettaof 1614 a table of ranges for a
trombetta antiquapitched in F-the clarettrumpet.34(He
otherwise wrote only for the more modern Italian
trumpetin C,whose high registeris the clarinorange, so
we may be certainthat he is referringto the redundant
clarettrumpetin F here.) Theclareftorange given in the
table lies just above naturalharmonic8 and consists of .::'-t--
the diatonic harmonics 9-12. On an uncrooked claret

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1984 31

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franfoyseof 1606 tells us that a clarion(as he calls the 8Sources,to be mentioned later, often refer to folded trumpetsas
claretpart)formerlyserved as treble to trompettes which being of French origin.
sounded tenor and bass. He adds furthermorethat the 9See the many illustrations in E. Bowles, Musiklebenim 15. Jahr-
hundert(Leipzig, 1977).
claret trumpet was narrower and shorter than 'the '0See the trumpet orders in C. Valentin, Geschichteder Musik in
trumpet of the tournaments'-the Italian trumpet.38 Frankfurt amMain(Frankfurt,1906),p.45, and M. Federmann,Musik
und Musikpflegezur Zeit HerzogAlbrechts(Kassel, 1932), p.58. The
This solution to the problemof the claret-piece is also instrumentwas also called the deutschetrummetand, towardsthe end
etymologically plausible. The root 'clar-' normally of the 16th century, the Zughtrommet.
means high pitched or high sounding. During the "The instrumentis first mentioned, as a claronotrumpet,in a letter
to the Marquis of Mantua from his head trumpeter Johannes
MiddleAges'clario'denoted a short,straighttrumpetas Franciscus dated 1 April 1486: see A. Bertolotti,Musicialla cortedei
opposed to the longer buisine that was introduced Gonzagain Mantua(Bologna, 1969), pp.11-12.
before the year 1300;the clarinowas the high diatonic 12Itwas also known as the 'trumpetof the tournaments'or 'field
trumpet: see n.19.
registerof the trumpetduringthe late Renaissance and "See the ordersreferredto in n. 10 above.
throughoutthe Baroque.Thisetymology,appliedto the 14Federmann,op cit, p.59
claret-piece, also allows'claret'to denote a trumpetthat 15Ibid,pp.59-60; see also S. Virdung,Musicagetutscht(Basle, 1511),
f.Dv
could playhigh parts.Theconcept of the slide trumpet's
16The trumpet ensemble established by King Ferdinand I of
allowinglow non-harmonicnotes to be playednecessi- Germany(laterEmperorFerdinandI)in 1526, which was the envy of
tates a reversal in the meaning of 'clar-' during the Europe,was composed mainlyof Mantuantrumpeters,including the
aforementioned Johannes Franciscus as head trumpeter:see M.
Renaissancewhich is extremelyimplausible. Noris the Ruhnke,Beitrigezu einerGeschichte derdeutschenHofinusikkollegien im
concept of a fixed-length crook so fantastic, for by the 16.Jahrhundert (Berlin,1963);p.259.
1580s playerswere using crooks of a 4th on the Italian 17See P. Downey, 'A Renaissance correspondence concerning
trumpetmusic', EM,ix (July 1981), pp.325-9.
trumpet in music for trumpet ensemble,39and Prae- "8France seems to have been the last areato use the clarettrumpet:
torius describes the same practice in the performance see Mersenne, op cit, pp.267-8.
of chorales in churches in 1619.40 19Virdung, op cit, f.Biii. The name 'field trumpet'refers to the fact
that, in additionto being heard at court, Italianensemble music was
Ithas been shown thatthere is no need to propose the also played duringceremonial processions into, or out of, cities and
existence of a slide trumpet during the Renaissance. on to the field, etc.
Thereis one survivingslide trumpet,a modified Italian 20See the trumpetbooks referredto in Downey, op cit.
21InValentin,op cit, p.45, the claret-piece is referredto as a claret
trumpet made at Naumburgin 1651,41 but that is an monttstuck,or 'claret mouthpiece'.
example of the trombada tirarsiused in the cantatas of 22See,for example, A. Baines, Brass Instruments(London, 1976),
KuhnauandBachin nearbyLeipzig.Theirpredecessors pp.94-107; P.Bate,TheTrumpetand Trombone (London,1966),pp.111-
as Thomashantor used only the naturalinstrument,and 15;D. Smithers,TheMusicandHistoryoftheBaroqueTrumpet before1721
(London, 1973),pp.36-49; E. H. Tarr,Die Trompete/La trompette(Berne
as Weigel states in 1698 that the trombada tirarsiwas a and Lausanne, 1977),pp.43-5; and D. Altenburg,Untersuchungen zur
new development, it must be that the slide trumpetwas GeschichtederTrompete (Regensburg,1973), pp.250-61.
23Smithers, op cit, p.37
indeed a development of the Baroque.42The only slide bands
24Insome late 15th-centuryillustrationsof hautsinstruments
mechanism of the Renaissancewas the double slide of the playerof what seems to be an S-shapedtrumpetis using one hand
the trombone.43 to hold the U-tube nearest the bell of the instrument.In these cases
what is depicted is an early trombone ratherthan a trumpet.
1Harmonie universelle,iii (Paris, 1636), bk 5, p.248 25Thetheoretical works in question are the Melk anonymous
2Thatcraze, which concerned a secret and lost art employed by treatise (Melk an der Donau, Benediktinerstift 9502, ff.76(188)v-
Baroquetrumpetersto play their difficult music, was terminatedby 83(204)v, late 15th century; ed. F. A. Gallo, Corpus scriptorum de
MaryRasmussenin her article'Bach-Trumpet Madness;or a Plainand musica, xvi (1971)); the Breslau anonymous treatise (Wrocraw,
Easy Introduction to the Attributes, Causes and Cure of a Most Biblioteka Uniwersytecka,Cart.IV,Qu.16, ff.144v-153r, early 15th
Mysterious Musicological Malady',BrassQuarterly, v (1961), pp.37- century;ed. J. Wolf, 'EinBreslauerMensuraltraktatdes 15. Jahrhun-
??.1 derts',Archivffi'rMusikwissenschaft, i (1918-19), p.329);Paulus Paulir-
3Asurvivingexample,made at Siena in 1406,is at WilliamsCollege, inus de Praga,Tractatusde musica(Krak6w,BibliotekaJagielloiska,
Williamstown,Mass. and is of this length. Measurementspresented 257, ff. 153-62, c1460; ed. J. Reiss,'PauliPaulirinide PragaTractatus
here are based on information obtained from surviving specimens de Musica (etwa 1460)',Zeitschrift ffirMusikwissenschaft, vii (1924-5),
and iconography. Pitches are approximateand relate to the early p.259);and Johannes Tinctoris,Liberdeartecontrapuncti( 1477;ed. and
Baroquetrumpetin C described by Praetoriusand Mersenne. trans.A.Seay,MusicologicalStudiesand Documents,v (Rome,1961),
4Accordingto Johannes de Grocheioin hisDemusica,ed. E.Rohloff pp.137-8).
(Leipzig, 1972),p. 136 26Thecompositions include the anonymous Tubagallicalis and
SKonradof Megenberg;see C. Page, 'Germanmusicians and their TubaHeinricide liberocastro(Strasbourg,Archives et Bibliothbque
instruments',EM,x (April1982), pp.192-200, on p. 194 Municipale, 222 C 22), RichardLoqueville's Gloriawith trumpetum
6SeeH. Heyde,Trompete undTrompeteblasen imeuropdischen Mittelal- part (MSfragment Zwettl Stadt, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstiftes,
ter(PhDdiss., U. of Leipzig, 1965). s.s.), Johannes Franchois''TrumpettaIntroitus'to his motetAvevirgo
7Page,op cit, p.193 luxMaria(Bologna,Civico Museo BibliograficoMusicale [I-Bc],Q15),

32 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1984

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Hugode Lantins'sGloria(Oxford,BodleianLibrary,Canonicimisc.213)
and Estienne Grossin'sMissatrompetta(Aosta,Biblioteca del Semin-
ario Maggiore,78).
27Examplesinclude GuillaumeDufay'sGloria'admodumtube'(I-Bc Monumentsof RenaissanceMusic
Q15), Jean Cousin's Missa tubae (Trent,Museo Nazionale, 90, and Edward E. Lowinsky,FoundingEditor
Museo Diocesano, B.L.,93) and FranchinusGaffurius'sMissatrombet-
ta(Milan,CappellaMusicaledel Duomo, 2267). Manyother composi- Howard MayerBrown, GeneralEditor
tions with propertiesin common with these pieces, including those
listed in n.26, could be added. Volume VII,published September1983
28Seen.25.
29Theseareconsidered in greatdetail in P.Downey,TheTrumpetand
its Rolein Musicof the Renaissanceand EarlyBaroque(PhD diss., The
Queen's U. of Belfast, 1983).
30Trumpettoccatas have a well-defined musical structurethat is
A FLORENTINE
not found in lute or keyboardtoccatas. In all three cases, however,
toccatas were usually played before some other piece of music. The
English term 'tucket may be a corruptionof the Italian term. CHA NS ONNIER
31See also F. Ll. Harrison, 'Instrumental Usage 1100-1450', in
AspectsofMedievalandRenaissanceMusic:a BirthdayOffering to Gustave
Reese,ed. J. LaRue(New York,1966), pp.319-35, on pp.331-2.
32Bate,op cit, p.253
from the time of
33Highclaretparts(clairons)arefirst mentioned at Lille in 1454 (see
G. Reese, Music in the Renaissance(New York, 1954), p.57) and at a
wedding in Ambergin 1474 the claret parts 'were higher than one
Lorenzo the
would think possible' (see G. Pietzsch, 'Beschreibungen deutscher
Fiirstenhochzeiten',Anuariomusicale,xv (1960), pp.21-62.
34Facs.edn in Documenta musicologica, 2nd ser., v (Kassel and
Basle, 1975), f.1
Magnificent
35Thefirst instance of notes higher than a" is in Schiitz's motet
Freuedichdes WeibesdeinerJugendswv453.
36Syntagma musicum,iii (Wolfenbiittel, 1619), pp.32-3
37Facs.edn (Ridgewood,NJ, 1966),pp.283-4. The melody given in
the exampleis that of the ItalianZannicharacterGirometta.The same HOWARD MAYER
melody is found in a lute battagliaby Donino Garsi, where it is BROWN,
described as 'fatta dalle Trombe et Tamburi':see H. Osthoff, Der Editor
LautenistSantinoGarsida Parma(Leipzig, 1926), ex.8.
38SeeBaines, op cit, p.91.
390ne such, written for Christmas Day 1588, is in Bendinelli's
This edition of Florence 229 - the largest and
trumpetmethod mentioned above, on f.53v.
400pcit,p.175;the informationisrepeated in hisPuericinium of 1621 one of the most beautifully illustrated of
in connection with compositions 3 and 7 of that collection. fifteenth- century anthologies of secular music
411tis preserved in the Institut ffir Musikforschungin Berlin. - presents the complete collection of 268
42C. Weigel, Abbildungdergemeinnfitzlichen Haupt-Stdnde (Regens-
burg, 1698) compositions in modern notation for the first
43Thedevelopment of the trombonemay be sketched as follows. It time, and offers alternative readings of even
is known that trumpetswere supplied in sets of up to 12 instruments the best-known songs. In his introduction,
sounding at the same pitch (Federmann,op cit, p.64). Fine adjust- Brown addresses special stylistic, analytical,
ments would have to be made to the instrumentsto achieve this. The and critical problems presented by the material
U-tube nearest the bell is an obvious place to choose for such and offers a new proposal for the way these
adjustments.It would have been only a matterof time before makers
began to experimentwith the same U-tube, enlargingit and makingit pieces should be performed.
permanently mobile. The result is the trombone. Contemporary Volume 1 (text) 328 pages, 24 plates
illustrations show that it was developed from the S-shaped trumpet, Volume2 (music) 816 pages
for the tromboneis also depicted in that same S-shape (illus.1).Thus The set, ?120.00
the trombone and claret trumpetdeveloped in parallelfrom the start
of the 15th century.Whereasthe clarettrumpet(and laterthe Italian
trumpet)was the result of the upward extension of the trumpet's
range, the trombone may have been a response to the demands of
dance music for which the few notes afforded by the S-shaped
trumpet were no longer adequate. Quickly replacing the S-shaped
trumpet, the trombone was the instrument that played basse danse
tenors in hauts instruments bands. This use of the trombone, explicitly
CHICAGO
The University of Chicago Press,
stated by Tinctoris in his De inventione et usu musice, may be noted
126 Buckingham Palace Road,
much earlier in archival references to the player of the trompette-
London SW1W 9SD
saicqueboute or trumbunus etc who played in hauts instruments bands:
see Baines, op cit, pp. 107-8, for example.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1984 33

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