Sackbut

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Four sackbutts: bass, alto, tenor, bass
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Four sackbutts: bass, alto, tenor, bass

The Sackbut (var. Sacbutt; Sackbutt; Sagbutt), a brass instrument from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras, is an ancestor of the modern trombone. The name is derived from the Middle French sacquer and bouter ("push" and "pull") and the term survives in numerous English spelling variations including sacbut, sagbut, shagbolt and shakbusshe. In France, the instrument was called sacqueboute; in Germany, Posaune, and in Italy, trombone. The term sackbut is used to differentiate the historic instrument from its modern counterpart. Increasing interest in authentic performance in recent years has brought many trombonists to the sackbut.

Contents

[edit] History

The sackbut derived from the medieval slide trumpet. It originated in the Middle Ages; the earliest written reference to the instrument dates from 1468, at the wedding of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York at Bruges, during which a "trompette saicqueboute" was employed. The instrument evolved into what we know today as the 'Trombone', but is often described as having a more mellow tone. It was employed mainly in alto, tenor and bass sizes. It was one of the most important instruments in Baroque polychoral works, along with the cornetto and organ. Compared to a modern tenor trombone, the tenor sackbut has a considerably smaller bore, and a smaller, more conical bell.

[edit] Construction

Sackbuts come in several ranges. According to Michael Praetorius, there was an alto, a tenor, quart- and quint-basses, as well as a contrabass. The common standards now are the alto in Eb, tenor in Bb, and bass in F (quart) or Eb (quint). The basses, due to their longer slides, have a hinged handle on the slide stay, which is used to reach the long positions. The stays on period sackbuts are flat. On many modern reproductions round stays are used to facilitate playing by trombone players.

[edit] Pitch

Renaissance wind band pitch (music) was typically approximately A=466 Hz, one half step higher than modern pitch. The tenors that survive are more or less pitched at Bb at A=440 or slightly higher, which is equivalent to A at A=466 - or slightly higher!. Other period sources describe an alto in D, tenor in A, and bass in D; some groups are beginning to use D and A positions in performance for the sake of greater historical accuracy, rather than transposing their parts up a half step - which helps avoid problems with tuning temperaments.

[edit] Sound

The sackbut's sound is characterized by a more delicate, vocal timbre than the modern instrument. Its dynamic flexibility lends itself to a vocal style of playing and facilitates effective shaping of phrases.

[edit] Repertoire

The sackbut replaced the slide trumpet in the 15th century alta capella wind bands that were common in towns throughout Europe. See Waits.

It also was used in church music both for instrumental service music (brought to a fine art by the Gabrieli family in late 16th century Venice) and as a doubling instrument for choral music. The treble and high alto parts were most often played by cornetts or shawms, with the violin sometimes replacing the cornett in 17th century Italian music.

Sackbuts also frequently played courtly dance music.

In the 17th century, a considerable repertoire of chamber music using sackbut with various combinations of violins, cornetts and dulcians, often with continuo, appeared. Composers included Dario Castello, Giovanni Battista Fontana, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Giovanni Paolo Cima and Andrea Cima.

Giovanni Paolo Cima, organist of S. Celso wrote the oldest known trio sonata and solo violin sonata. Contained in his Concerti ecclesiastici (Milan 1610) is his brother Andrea's Capriccio 'for cornett and trombone or violin and violone'.

Giovanni Martino Cesare wrote "La Hieronyma," (Musikverlag Max Hieber, MH6012) the earliest known piece for accompanied solo trombone. It comes from Cesare's collection "Musicali Melodie per voci et instrumenti a una, due, tre, quattro, cinque, e sei" published in Munich 1621 of 28 pieces for a mixture of violins, cornetts, trombone, vocal soloists and organ continuo.

Francesco Rognoni was another composer who specified the trombone in a set of divisions (variations) on the well-known song Suzanne ung jour (London Pro Musica, REP15). Rognoni was a master violin and gamba player whose treatise Selva di Varie passaggi secondo l'uso moderno (Milan 1620 and facsimile reprint by Arnaldo Forni Editore 2001) details improvisation of diminutions and Suzanne is given as one example. Although most diminutions are written for organ, string instruments or cornett, Suzanne is "per violone over Trombone alla bastarda". With virtuosic semiquaver passages across the range of the instrument, it reflects Praetorius' comments about the large range of the tenor and bass trombones, and good players of the Quartposaune (bass trombone in F) could play fast runs and leaps like a viola bastarda or cornetto. The term "bastarda" describes a technique that made variations on all the different voices of a part song, rather than just the melody or the bass.

[edit] Modern performance

Many groups specializing in period music make frequent use of the sackbut, including:

[edit] Recordings

Plenty of recordings of the authentic sackbut are now available from the groups such as Concerto Palatino, HMSC, Gabrieli Consort and the Toulouse Sacqueboutiers. For a closer examination of the instrument, here are some recommended recordings where the sackbut is heavily featured in a 'solo' capacity.

  • Treasury of a Saint - Caecilia Concert, Challenge Records 2006
  • La Sacqueboute - Michel Becquet, Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse

[edit] Surviving instruments

  • Neuschel, Nuremberg 1557
  • Schnitzer, Verona 1579
  • Huschauer, Vienna 1794

[edit] Modern manufacturers

[edit] External links

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