FEATURES
Octagonal bell of mid C20th German jazz trombone ‘Exakta’
conventional assembly of the instrument – so that the player could deafen those in front as well); several monstrous-looking contrabass trombones, including a Boosey model from 1898 known as ‘King Kong’; while Holton’s ‘Superbone’ from c. 1980, based on an original idea of Adolphe Sax’s and developed in conjunction with Maynard Ferguson, is an instrument whose three piston valves and slide could be used simultaneously. Some of the trombones were particularly aesthetically pleasing; I found the nineteenth-century Courtois trombones very elegant, and there were other instruments with unusual decoration, including the ornately colourful inner bell of the Riedlocker trombone already mentioned, and the octagonal bell flare of the mid-twentieth-century German jazz
trombone ‘Exakta’. Although there was a lot to see at this exhibition, I found the quantity and depth of information just right – enough to inform, but not so much as to overwhelm the visitor. Neither was it too technical – a catalogue listing instruments’ dimensions and other detailed specifications was available on request to cater for the organologists and others in search of statistics, but the layperson was not obliged to wade through this information in the main exhibition. In addition to the labels next to each instrument inside the display cases, audio guides were available, featuring short recordings of Sue Addison playing some of the trombones on display – lacking the opportunity to play the instruments myself, listening to the recordings
was the next best thing! Some of the information was already familiar to me, but I learned new facts too; I had never before realised quite how many valve trombones were made, nor how many different valve mechanisms there were. I also discovered that the practice of manufacturing trombones with interchangeable tuning slides for playing at A=440 and A=430, familiar to those of us who play modern reproductions of Classical-era trombones, was in evidence as long ago as 1865 (possibly even earlier), as shown by a Courtois tenor trombone which could be played at either pitch. All in all, this was a very informative and well-presented exhibition – worth the visit!
Tenor sackbut in A by Anton Schnitzer, Nuremberg, 1594
ANTONIA REEVE
16-ft C Contrabass C, double slide. Boosey & Co, London 1898 Trombone in C with pavillon tournant and 6 independent piston system valves, Adolphe Sax, Paris 1864
RAYMOND PARKS
RAYMOND PARKS
The Trombonist | Summer 2009 | 17