The Ten Italian Renaissance Duets Increasingly Point to Being Originally Written for Cornetto and Tenor Trombone.

These mysterious, mostly sacred duets from late Renaissance Venice seem more and more likely to have been written for brass, specifically the cornetto and tenor trombone. The ranges of the music seem to exclude any other likely instruments commonly employed at St. Mark’s Basilica, while fitting the cornetto and trombone like a glove. Historical records point to at least one of each instrument in the employ of the famous Basilica for over a hundred years. If this thesis is correct, these duets form the earliest and most significant collection of literature for mixed brass duo. The sight-reading of these recently rediscovered Venetian/Ten Italian Renaissance Duets were recorded by Duo Brass, featuring Morgen Low on trumpet and David Brubeck on bass trombone and were drawn from transcriptions recorded by Dr. Charles Campbell in Italy. No. 4. Salve Regina, from the Cherry Classics publication, venerates the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus the Christ.

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: 4. Salve Regina

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: 5. Angelus ad Pastores

An Inspiration of Angelus ad Pastores: taken from The New Testament of The Holy Bible Luke 2: 10-13 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”from Bible Gateway

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: 10. Laudate Dominum

Psalm 117 (116) (An Inspiration for Laudate Dominum)

¹ Praise the Lord, all you nations;
    extol him, all you peoples.
² For great is his love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.^[a]

from biblegateway.com, this is the shortest of all the Psalms from The Bible.

Another Candidate for the First Symphony Orchestra to Rival The Gabrielis? Monteverdi himself conceived of his opera orchestra for Orfeo in three main sections : brass (2 cornetti, 5 trombones and 3-4 trumpets); strings(violins, violas, celli and double basses); and continuo (2 organs, 2 harpsichords and a reed organ for keyboards, 2-3 chitarrone, a double harp, 3 bass viola da gambas, 1 cittern and 2 recorders). While Monteverdi’s impressive Overture to Orfeo features the trumpet quite prominently, when the symphony of brass return to prominence in the Act III, it is two choirs without trumpets. The remaining brass are sounded in a manner every bit as expressive and interesting as the use of the string orchestra. Roughly organized in two choirs or sections, one section had one cornetto and three trombones while the other choir utilized one cornetto with two trombones. This use of cornetto and trombones is noted as further illustration of a relatively common pairing during this era, supporting the conclusion of the duets being written for the two instruments. Additionally, this use of the trombone in ACT III also makes it more clear that the trombone is at least as likely that the instrument of primary importance in the development of the symphony orchestra as the violin, satisfying a minimum of two-thirds up to three-fourths of the symphonic, non-continuo, sound. (116″ on..)

THROUGHOUT THE RENAISSANCE AND EARLY BAROQUE, CORNETTO & TROMBONE ARE PAIRED! This brass writing found in Monteverdi’s Orfeo is sophisticated, complex and virtuosic and not merely trumpeting bombast. The duo pairing of cornetto and trombone finds an echo in this opera orchestra of Monteverdi-one of the greatest opera composer’s of all time. By considering that these duos must satisfy a pairing common to the time, this further argues for the likelihood of these duos being intended for tenor trombone and cornetto. The ranges of the instruments now become doubly important as it is the TWO ranges taken together which fit such an important and historically extant musical pairing so well.

When Monteverdi left his post with the Duke of Mantua (who had commissioned Orfeo), he first travelled to Rome to offer his services to the Pope. When the Pope refused to meet with him, Monteverdi sought and obtained employment at Basilica San Marco in Venice-(La Serenissima). There, he was also lured to produce his operas at what may be considered the first PUBLIC opera house, Teatro San Cassiano. Monteverdi’s successors at Venice’s Teatro San Cassiano included many great composers, and most famously, Antonio Vivaldi!

Did Monteverdi compose the first relatively complete opera? It is almost certainly the earliest opera most commonly stage and still stands today. Did Claudio Monteverdi and Alessandro Striggio’s Orfeo first add dance (or ballet) to opera? Was Monteverdi’s Orfeo the first to provide opera a memorable overture of significance?

Venice’s Claim to the Originator of Opera to Rival Florence. Interestingly, in 1585 AD Venice, Andrea Gabrieli composed music to accompany the texts to the choruses of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.  These beautifully homophonic settings seem to predict the later ‘second practice’ of having but one melody-seemingly “leap frogging” decades of rival monody to arrive at a more modern outcome.  Similarly, given that the stated goal was to accurately recreate Ancient Greek Drama, the thesis of the Florentines and their Camerata was that these dramas were ENTIRELY sung. This has more recently given way to the Venetian thesis of Andrea Gabrieli that that it was more likely only the choruses.  

When added to the other operatic accomplishments of Venice: publishing the original treatise on Opera, opening the first public opera house in 1637 AD and welcoming and encouraging the operatic career of the greatest composer of early opera, Claudio Monteverdi, Venice’s contributions to early opera begin to rival that of even Florence herself. Monteverdi, from Cremona, was employed at the court in Mantua when Orfeo was composed, but composed his last three great operas in Venice, while mounting productions of previous operas there as well. Monteverdi was certainly opera’s principal popularizer if not her greatest pioneer, as well.

Andrea Gabrieli’s composition was four-years before Bardi & Cavalleri appeared to present the first successful performances of a multi-movement series of recitatives for a Medici wedding in 1589 AD and twelve-years before the first opera, Drama per Musica-(Dafne), was presented in 1597 AD (now lost). Gabrileli’s Oedipus Rex was fully fifteen years before the first surviving opera, Euridice, in 600 AD!

The 800-Pound Gorilla in the First Symphony Orchestra… If one is seeking the most music from a single instrument, keyboard instruments cannot be ignored.

Keyboards feature in early sacred and secular instrumental ensembles, as a staple of continuo in the Baroque and even a member of early classical symphonies. One of the favorite aspects for many musicians playing in a ballet orchestra is not only the great literature but the frequent inclusion of the piano within the symphony orchestra. From Broadway pit orchestras, to jazz trios to almost any form of accompaniment-keyboards are king! Monteverdi employed contrasting use of keyboards and harp in Orfeo to provide contrasting emotional color that reflected the textural content of the sung texts in an impressive manner. (Peri used similarly contrasting keyboards in Euridice.). Many symphonic compositions by both Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli as well as their prize pupil, Heinrich Shutz, include keyboard.

In the history of the sacred an operatic symphony orchestra, a case could be made that the pipe organ and keyboard instruments are of central importance. In many sacred and operatic settings, one or two keyboard instruments may provide the fundamental sound of the ensemble and other instruments serve either as contrasting choirs or as soloistic colors. An organist alone, or especially an organist in conjunction with another keyboard instrumentalist such as a harpsichordist or pianist, may indeed provide a more complete basis of symphonic sound than even a trio of trombones or two sections of violins! Listeners to the operatic symphony orchestra of Monteverdi’s Orfeo may draw a similar conclusion.

The very first, initial symphonic pieces, where specific instruments were indicated, were direct descendants of keyboard pieces. The main limitation for consideration as the primary instrument at the genesis of the symphony orchestra, as opposed to the trombone and violin, is that keyboard is a consistent INTERFACE, but the instruments change wildly from harpsichord, organ, piano, clavichord, synthesizer, etc. As an interface, however, keyboard reigns supreme.

For a more scholarly discussion of opera, please consider this link to the papers presented at the University of Illinois on the 400th anniversary of the creation of opera in 2000 AD.: http://www.sscm-jscm.org/v9no1.html

Would you like to heat more Venetian Renaissance Brass Duos by DUO BRASS, featuring Morgen Low on Trumpet and David Brubeck, bass-trombone? This is the THIRD article featuring their recorded sight-reading session. The second recorded duos from this collection 6. Omnes gentes 3. Ego flos campi, may be found HERE:

2 More Venetian/Italian Renaissance Brass Duets

Find the FIRST three recordings, Canzona Francesca a’ 4 del Segundo Tuono , Canzona francese a 8 dette la Carissima & 7. Panatum cor meum, and accompanying article may be found HERE:

Did We Miss Something? No. 3. Renaissance Duets THESE REWRITE EARLY BRASS DUO HISTORY

c. 2025 David William Brubeck All Rights Reserved.

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COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER UNDER SECTION 107 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1976,
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FAIR USE IS PERMITTED BY COPYRIGHT STATUTE THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE INFRINGING.  NON-PROFIT, EDUCATIONAL OR PERSONAL USE TIPS THE BALANCE IN FAIVOR OF FAIR USE

Performance notes:

Grace notes after beat 3 are; m. 7 pedal ‘A’; m. 9 pedal ‘A’; and m. 11 pedal ‘Bb’.

[ ] in m. 12 designates an optional 8vbasso, with the low ‘F’ played instead as pedal ‘F’.

Straight (eighth-note), measures include 17, 19 & 21 as well as the first beat of 18, 20 & 22. The rest is Swing!

The Del segno to Fine section is measures 9-15.

The pedal note in m. 16 is a ‘Bb’, and may be played up an octave.

ENJOY!

PS: If you play single-valve Bass Trombone-you are especially welcome!

Below is a reprint of a related article included in the davidbrubeck.com series “The Jazz Bass Trombone”, No. 2

An Interview with Marc T. Bolin, by David William Brubeck
1. How would you describe the use of the bass trombone in Duke Ellington’s orchestra? (Jazz bass trombone being defined as having a .547 bore or larger with at least one valve).
Ellington didn’t begin to utilize a large-bore trombone until 1961 with the addition of Chuck Connors. Duke always used the three trombones prior to 1963 as unique and individual voices that would blend to create a particular sound-(the sound unique for each tune that matched the sound in his mind’s ear),…and that would be determined in part by who was playing which part as this would depend on each tune. I would describe Ellington’s trombone section up until then as trombone 1, 2, and 3…not, tenor 1, 2, and bass trombone. Dig? It wasn’t until the addition of Connors that Ellington would utilize a more stereotypical sound of two tenors and a bass section sound.

2. Why did Duke seem to favor three trombones? When did he switch to four?
Moon Mist recorded in Chicago late January 1957 (track 8) utilizes 6 trombones: Lawrence Brown (tracks 1-3 & 8-17), Buster Cooper (tracks 1-3 & 8-17), Quentin Jackson (track 8), Britt Woodman (track 8) – trombone, John Sanders – valve trombone (track 8), Chuck Connors – bass trombone (tracks 1-3 & 8-17)

Ellington was back to using three bones on the Symphomaniac (Symphonic or Bust) [recorded and released on the Reprise label in 1963] is certainly a huge sound. But, that’s Ellington. Ellington was able to get a sound out of three trombones that most jazz arrangers could only get using four.

Swinging Suites by Edward E. & Edward G. (also known as Peer Gynt Suite/Suite Thursday…or “Zweet Zurzday”) Ellington recorded for the Columbia label in 1960. Ellington made use of the four-trombone sound here, too. But, curiously he only used four on the Grieg stuff – Lawrence Brown, Mathew Gee, Booty Wood, and Britt Woodman – all tenors of course.

A Concert of Sacred Music Live from Grace Cathedral and on DVD as Love You Madly/A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral. The official album on RCA, A Concert of Sacred Music, was recorded at two concerts at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on December 26, 1965.

The concert premiered on September 16, 1965. (First Sacred Concert); Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman – trombone, John Sanders – valve trombone, Chuck Connors – bass trombone.

January 19, 1968, Ellington’s Second Sacred Concert ; Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Bennie Green – tenor trombone, Chuck Connors – bass trombone.

Third Sacred Concert, October 24, 1973, Ellington was back to writing for three trombones. Art Baron, Vince Prudente – trombone, Chuck Connors – bass trombone.

3. Which is the first trombone part you are aware of that goes below low ‘E’, and would require a trigger?
I believe Ellington’s first use of the bass trombone (as BASS trombone…below low ‘E’) to be on the album “Afro-Bossa” recorded and released for Reprise in 1963:
Low ‘D’ in “Moonbow”
Low ‘C’ in “Absinthe”
“Pyramid” has and interesting quasi-ostinato figure; Low ‘C’
Low ‘C’ Jam with Sam 1966 (Live (7/27/66-Cote D’Azur)
The Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington Cote D’Azur Concerts On Verve
and he keeps getting lower…Low ‘B’ in “Afrique”, from The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse, recorded in 1971 and released on the Fantasy label in 1975

4. Do you think that Harry Carney’s incredible tenure with Duke Ellington predisposed Duke’s thinking of the Bari-sax as the bottom of the winds, and as his first consideration for a bass voice solo instrument?
I’m not sure Carney’s sound has a direct correlation to the “bass” sound in Ellington’s head, at least one that would relate to Ellington’s use of the bass trombone. “Agra” from the Far East Suite, Carney walks all the way down the instrument (Bari here), in a loud, gruff manner. Ellington never really uses Chuck (or Taylor) in that way.

5. When did Duke perform with tuba as opposed to string bass?
It seems that 1927 is the pivotal year that Ellington switches from tuba to bass. “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”, Welman Braud plays tuba. In the very next recording, “Black and Tan Fantasy”, Braud is heard playing string bass. It is interesting to note that Duke is still using banjo here. While, in the minds of many, there is a link between banjo and tuba, Ellington and Braud can be credited with the innovation of using the double-bass rather than the tuba in jazz rhythm sections.”

Braud’s initial recording sessions with Duke were in October 26, 1927. In “Washington Wobble”, Braud takes a short pizz solo. Braud’s brief solos are important, because some historians maintain Bill Johnson’s solo on Johnny Dodd’s July 1928 “Bull Fiddle Blues” is the first recorded pizzicato jazz bass solo. Also, Braud has been characterized as a two-beat player, but he often played four-beat pizz walking style, such as the November 1928, Okeh recording of “Misty Mornin'”, which is both arco and four-beat style. On a November 3, 1927 recording of “Black and Tan Fantasy”, Braud switches from arco to pizzicato and back. For the March 1928 Victor session of “Black Beauty”, Braud utilizes double-time. On a November 1928 session, “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love” Braud recreates the tuba intro he played on an earlier version, but this time on bass.

6. Did you know Chuck Connors?
Chuck Connors was a friend of mine. Sometime, (I think it was 1991) I was in need of a bass trombone as I had hocked mine. I was put in touch with Chuck through a mutual friend who ran a big band in town (Pavilion Music Company), Marcus Ware. I called Chuck and he said to come on by and pick out a horn. He said I could borrow one as long as I needed! I drove to his house, then rang the bell…his wife (Betty I believe) answered the door. She told me that Chuck was at a doctor’s appointment and would return shortly. She showed me around their modest home. Hundreds of pictures hung on the wall; some family pictures and artwork, but mostly pictures of Chuck with members of the Ellington band, playing in the Ellington band, of him with celebrities, etc. Occasionally she would point and reminisce…at pictures of Chuck with “Diz”, Ellington, and Sammy Davis, Jr. I was star-struck.

Chuck returned. We continued to peruse the pictures on the wall and worked our way down some stairs to the basement. There were maybe twenty trombone cases strewn around the basement. He brought several closer to me and opened the cases: a Conn single-valve, a Bach 50B single-valve, a Remington Contempora single-valve, and one I can’t recall. He mentioned that he was playing a 50B double-valve lately and that any of these were mine for the choosing. I played on them all and opted for the Reynolds Contempora. I fell in love with this horn. I’ve seen several pictures of Chuck playing, or posing with this horn in his. It makes me smile every time. We stayed in touch. By the time I returned the horn, Chuck had past. I returned the horn to Betty. I don’t know what happened to that horn…but, my memories of Chuck reside permanently in the recesses of my mind. When I hear his sound, I am taken back to my youth in Cincinnati, Ohio where a man made an indelible impression on me as a musician and human being.

I believe my career was in part, shaped by the generosity of Chuck Connors. His sound, the Ellington Orchestra, his kindness and warmth as a person and musician – ELLINGTON – all played a role in shaping my career choices.

c. 2013 David William Brubeck All Rights Reserved davidbrubeck.com

****************************************************************************************************

Marc T. Bolin has performed with some of the world’s finest artists and organizations such as B.B. King, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lalo Schifrin, Herman Olivera, Pete Escovedo, Sheila E, Black Eyed Peas, Deltron 3030, Aloe Black, and Stevie Wonder. He recently participated in a State Tour of China playing traditional Jazz, performed with the Ambassadors of New Orleans’ Jazz at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, has performed in two of Philip Glass’ Operas Akhenaton and La Belle et la Bete, and has even played on the Mississippi Riverboats. In 2007 Marc was commissioned to realize Duke Ellington’s incomplete opera “Queenie Pie” for the Oakland Opera Theater then in 2008 was invited to present his research and reflections in his paper Realizing the Duke at the Echoes of Ellington Conference at UT Austin. In addition to Oakland and UT Austin’s productions, both Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater will perform Queenie Pie in 2014.

 COPYRIGHT NOTICE/DISCLAIMER

 FAIR USE:

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER UNDER SECTION 107 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1976,
 ALLOWANCE IS MADE FOR “FAIR USE” FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING, SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH.
FAIR USE IS PERMITTED BY COPYRIGHT STATUTE THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE INFRINGING.  NON-PROFIT, EDUCATIONAL OR PERSONAL USE TIPS THE BALANCE IN FAVOR OF FAIR USE

Published in the International Trumpet Guild HERE.

THESE DUOS ARE GIG-SAVERS! Playable by a combination of almost any ONE treble clef ‘C’ OR Bb instruments and almost any one ONE bass clef instruments, THESE DUETS ARE ALWAYS IN MY CASE IN THE EVENT SOMEONE IS RUNNING LATE OR NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE GIG!

These work for any one of these:

Trumpet, Violin, Oboe, Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Flute,

with any one of the following:

Bass-Trombone, ‘Cello, Euphonium, Bassoon, String Bass, Tuba, Euphonium, etc.

Published by Cherry Classics.

Enjoy!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2014

On 27 May 2015 at 11:15 am the brass duo format will be explored at the 2015 International Trumpet Guild Conference at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Anchored by trumpeters Peter Wood, Marc Reese, bass trombonist David Brubeck and a list of all-star trumpet players, the duos of the Brubeck-Neal Duo will be presented in this lecture recital.

Soon to be published by Gordon Cherry as Cherry Classics, this collection of ten concert duos have been arranged performed and refined over the last several seasons by Brian Neal and David Brubeck. Listed below, courtesy of the International Trombone Association, is a reprint of the Brubeck-Neal Duo arrangement of Flow My Tears by composer John Dowland, from the April 2014 ITA Journal. This and Badinerie, published in the Journal of the ITG, are but just two of more than a dozen duos spanning a variety of genres to be featured at the ITG lecture recital on the emerging genre of duo brass.

Here is a brief clip of the Brubeck-Neal Duo in concert as part of the Music in Miami Concert series performing their arrangement of Air on a G String by J. S. Bach.

c. 2014 David William Brubeck All Rights Reserved davidbrubeck.com

This article is a reprint from the April 2014 Journal of the International Trombone Association. Thanks to the Journal and editor Diane Drexler.

We are pleased to present two more recordings from our initial sight-reading session of selection from Ten Italian Renaissance Duets published by Cherry Classics and recorded by Duo Brass featuring Morgen Low on trumpet and David Brubeck on bass trombone. These are important reference recordings for what appears to be the origins of a the most significant body of mixed-brass duo literature.

THE MYSTERY OF THE TOP PART The range for the top voice is curiously limited to an octave or less-(‘E’ to ‘E’; from the bottom line to the top space of the treble clef in ‘C’!) Of the most common soprano instruments recorded in use at the Orthodox Christian Basilica of St. Mark’s in Venice or ‘La Serenissima’. the treble viol would have been nearly impossible due to it’s insufficient upper range. The violin would have been most unlikely to have been written with a tessitura so restricted as we find of less than an octave; much less in that particular register! Similarly, with nearly a two-octave range, the soprano recorder would not be a likely candidate for melodies most often using less than half it’s range-(whether in it’s cylindrical or later conical iteration). The Renaissance soprano trombone was a fiction, and only assumed to exist and having been drawn from the imagination based on that assumption.

THE MYSTERY OF THE BOTTOM PART While the tenor cornett (or cornetto), was cited as something used for alto and tenor function, it’s range typically extends only to the ‘C’ an octave below middle ‘C’. That would leave a deficiency in range of an entire 5th for the bottom duo part, which frequently reflects a more bass-type function. The bottom part is commonly written as low as the ‘F’ just below the bass clef staff. In 6th position, this would be comfortably accessible by a tenor trombone and trombonist of the day. here are no indications of notes lower than this ‘F’, so there is no reason to believe the instrument was bass trombone, in addition to the fact that the parts venture up to ‘G’ and perhaps even ‘A’ above middle ‘C’, which are almost completely unlikely on the Renaissance bass trombone or bass viol, while still within the reach of the Renaissance tenor trombone.

There does not seem to be a likelyhood that cello was employed, and had it been, one could have easily encountered pitches up to a fourth lower than present. The range present in these duos does find another mirror in the range of the tenor Viol, but the tone of a tenor viol would likely be insufficient to provide equal balance to even a violin, much less a cornetto. Tenor Trombone seems to be the only likely instrument available with the correct range and musical presence for the bottom of the duo parts.

In Vivaldi’s Venice, author Patrick Barbier cites a registry from St. Mark’s in 1708 AD that provides a first-hand account of the instrumentation available at that time: “Indicates the presence of 23 musicians engaged for life and divided as follows: 10 violins (including the father of Antonio Vivaldi), three small violas, one viola de braccia (a sort of alto), one violine (close to a double bass), three theorbos, one cornett, one oboe, two trumpets and one trombone.”

A hundred years earlier, the famous 1597 AD “Sonata piano e forte” by Giovanni Gabrieli, specified eight musicians: 6 trombones, 1 cornett/cornetto, and 1 viol. The piece was historic for its early written use of dynamics and specific instrumentation. It features two choirs in antiphony. One comprised of cornetto and 3 trombones, the other was comprised of one viol and three trombones.

A CHRISTIAN OUTPOST La Serenissima (or Venice), was founded by Christians who were shown the sparkling lights on its lagoon after intense prayer and near-starvation. Venice began its life as a city dedicated to God by its Christian founders.

The text of Psalm 117 is implied by these first words of one duo in Latin:

“Praise the Lord, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

2  For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!”

from esv.org

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: 6. Omnes gentes

The accounts of the great musicality of Venice at the time included the commonplace singing of fishermen as they returned home to their wives who awaited them on the docks, and the tradition of the gondoliers singing together to train the younger members of their trade. Of great importance was the impressive series of musical orphanages set up throughout the city. The intense musicality of Venice at the time led to one visiting nobleman to remark in a report to his home and that he could assemble an orchestra from the beggars in La Serenissima (Venice), better than almost any one found in European courts.

The loving and at times erotifc metaphors found in the Bible in the Song of Solomon describe his wedding to his black African wife. God’s provision of the joy of love and sex in the context of marriage may seem incongruous next to other Biblical texts to some. In parallel fashion, the sacred plaza of St. Mark’s in the 1600’s embraced the near-constant joys of the carnivals of Venice. These carnivals ran almost constantly throughout the year and celebrated life and music. Interestingly, the carnivals of Venice became a deterrent to invaders, to whom they gave the impression that the city was too populous to invade-unaware that many of the throngs were fellow tourists.

SONG OF SOLOMON

2 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

² As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

³ As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁴ He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

⁵ Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

¹² A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

¹⁵ A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

from www.biblegateway.com

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: 3. Ego flos campi

Venice was really an ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN satellite of Constantinople, and not Catholic Rome. Equally, it might be argued by some, that Venice is as much a continuation of the ANCIENT World established by Rome and carried by CONSTANTINOPLE into what Europeans considered “The Renaissance”.

Indeed, some have argued that the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD was THE reason for the Western European Renaissance, as the Greek Scholars fled the Constantinople, which had been known for more than a MILLENIUM as the eye of the world, to new patrons and protectors in Europe.

CHECK OUT THE FIRST DUOS FROM THIS COLLECTION RECORDED HERE:

Did We Miss Something? No. 3. Renaissance Duets THESE REWRITE EARLY BRASS DUO HISTORY

c. 2024 David William Brubeck All rights Reserved

image courtesy of www.mattathimeinthe world.com

 COPYRIGHT NOTICE/DISCLAIMER

 FAIR USE:

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER UNDER SECTION 107 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1976,
 ALLOWANCE IS MADE FOR “FAIR USE” FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING, SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH.
FAIR USE IS PERMITTED BY COPYRIGHT STATUTE THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE INFRINGING.  NON-PROFIT, EDUCATIONAL OR PERSONAL USE TIPS THE BALANCE IN FAIVOR OF FAIR USE

PS

Is it EVEN POSSIBLE that trombones could REALLY be the founding instrument of the symphony orchestra? While it is true that trombones comprised nearly 70% of what may arguably be the first symphonic composition-the “Sonata piano e forte”, perhaps a bit more investigation is warranted.

Please consider spending fifteen minutes to hear how full the sound of just three trombones can be in the YouTube video of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Trombone trio below. They are quite nearly the equivalent of three ENTIRE string sections: viola, ‘cello and bass.

All that is needed is a soprano instrument like the cornet or trumpet, violin or viol…..or two! (Okay, or a soprano recorder!)

Dear friends and music lovers,

Please note the new masthead for the site!

This is cropping from a watercolor painting by Barbie Brubeck. Please be on the lookout for more of her work in the days to come.

My Sabbatical is nearly over.

Please accept apologies for any inconvenience that the lack of regular updates to the website may have caused you. I hope that you enjoy this new masthead, new recordings from Venice and another chance at this great transcription of the legendary George Roberts!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Who is the greatest left-handed guitarist? Jimi Hendrix? Paul McCartney, Albert King, Omar Rodriguez-
Lopez, or Dick Dale? Someone else? Here is somehting beautiful for your left hand!

Photos courtesy of Guitar world and Iconguitar.com

I recently found recordings of many of the Chili dogs made by an enthusiastic amateur guitarist on acoustic/cowboy guitar. I hope that you enjoy it!

I LOVE FRANK CRISAFULLI.

You Love Frank Crisafulli?

We All Love Frank Crisafulli!

He was brilliant. Kind. Modest. Hilarious. Everybody’s grandpa. Of course, he made all those amazing recordings/played all those fantastic concerts/won all those Grammys playing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for more than 50 years! Of course, he was the founding member and only trombonist of the CSO Brass Quintet with Adolph ‘Bud’ Herseth, Vincent Cichowicz, Richard Oldberg, Arnold Jacobs (and a few others), that many consider to have been the ,most influential brass quintet ever.

Lesson With Frank Crisafulli-Legato Studies

IS THIS THE AMONG THE ONLY RECORDED

?

Audio recordings of Lesson with Frank Crisafulli Copyright 2024 David William Brubeck. All rights reserved.

“Alright, a couple of little things.”

“First of all, all these little crescendo-diminuendos. I want you to be a little more careful about how you interpret that.”

“For instance, toward the end here on this Forte, you begin to come down-(singing in measure 28 ).”

“It should be to (singing), to the Bb there, and then you make your diminuendo there.”

“And the same here with all these, (referring to measure five, at the top), it’s not (singing to crescendo at the second note), but (singing to crescendo at the third note). It’s a very different thing!”

“It’s very nice that you observe these markings. They generally mean what they say, although not always-sometimes they are carelessly done. But it does sound better to go (to the third note), and you’ll notice that he has that dash on that (third note), that means he wants it more important.”

“And also, when you start out, know what you are going to do! After all, there are three bars and a half of rest-so something has been going on. So when you start, don’t start with (sings just a dubious start of the initial pitch), but start (sings a full-voiced, passionate iteration of the first notes with dynamics, tempo and phrasing). The tempo has already been established, but no matter, even if you start at the beginning-never play unless you have in your mind exactly what you are going to do with the phrase. And then carry it out, no matter what!”

PURCHASE LEGATO STUDIES HERE.

“You know, we have an advantage when we are in an orchestra, especially if we have a good conductor, because he never just does this to you (a generic cue). He knows what it’s going to be, and then you know exactly (what it’s going to be) and the whole group can do the same thing.”

“But no, when we are alone, we start playing and THEN we decide what we’re going to do.

It should all be in there before you ever start playing, so that (inhales a relaxed breath and enjoys the exhalation.”

“Let’s try it again. Play it right from the beginning” Sings along. “That’s nice!” Singing more”. A little more than the first time.” Singing more. “A little louder.” Sings.

“This is all in mezzo-Forte. So, stay there! Still mezzo-Forte!” Sings. “Softer, and breath in here.” Sings. “Yes!”

After all, there’s no point in sitting there and trying to hold it when you don’t have any breath. And with accompaniment, which I am sure there would be on this, there would be any number of places where you can easily phrase a breath into it. But it is much more sensible to breath and enjoy playing to the end that (simulates air running out), because you don’t learn anything from that.”

“Now that’s nice! It takes just a little more care, but it should become natural to you to phrase this way, you know? Otherwise, they are nothing but (sings fragmented notes). You know, a little something indicated and nothing happening.”

“That was nice. I like that.”

“I was also able to give you movement so you don’t dawdle!”

“You know, I dislike very much fooling around too much with tempos/rhythms unless it’s asked for, a rubato here or a little bit there, perhaps.”

“But otherwise, I think it’s nicer to have a pulse always that’s there and then the rest is articulation and dynamics. Just like that, you know? And that’s musical. But to let the tempos die, and bring them back and then usually they die and keep dying. Anyhow, then it becomes harder work to play through it, too. It seems to never end, ‘cause we are clawing our way through it rather than moving easily through it.”

Audio recordings of Lesson with Frank Crisafulli Copyright 2024 David William Brubeck. All rights reserved.

“That’s very nice playing. It’s not an easy etude, you know. All right, good playing.”

Student Brubeck, “The first time, maybe a little the second, the first notes, I had trouble.

Crisafulli, “Yeah! Because you’re not ready to play! “You play up to the first note, and don’t expect it to sound. You should play, in your mind, the whole phrase before you start.”

(Sings the first portion of the phrase richly), “Not just, bah” (sings half the first note, tepidly)

And then what?”

“No, no.”

“Again, in your practicing, don’t just look for that first note. Look for the phrase and carry it off even if you don’t feel absolutely at ease with the first note, because if you get in the habit of always stopping unless its perfect, you only create a bigger hurdle to get over each time. Pretty soon, that first note becomes an obstacle rather than the beginning of a nice phrase to carry through.”

“Ok?”

“Do a little bit like that. I know that you want to be perfect, but shucks, sometimes I think we’re better off if we accept something a little less and enjoy it very much-if we minimize some of these things that become difficult for us. And for no reason-WE make them that way.”

“Alright, very good.”

“Studies in Legato” is the second book I would recommend to all young trombonists!

It is a masterfully curated collection of wonderfully musical melodies from Italian vocal composers Concone and Marchesi in addition to German violinist and composer Heinrich Panofka. The editor, Reginald H. Fink, was the assistant to the great genius and Professor of Trombone at The Eastman School of Music, Emory Remington, and a significant musician and teacher in his own right.

Nestled in the book, one finds four excellent articulation studies on repeated notes, without significant slide movement. The detailed, concise and inspired discussion of articulation here only gives pause for a moment when one hopes that the option “Thah” will not be overdone, while marveling at the beautiful pedagogy reflected in the inclusion of “Dah”, “Lah” and “Rah”. Just as Remington emphasized singing music and musicianship before trombone technique, these articulations foster excellent oral cavity formation and tonguing with lightness. The distinct tonguing recommendations for different registers probably reflect the use a a pivot embouchure, which are not as commonly used in the present day.

Next, are several articulation exercises which combine slide motion, from one to five positions away. The articulation marking is exquisite, combining both legato and tenuto markings, typical again of the singing, sustained and yet well-defined Eastman style. Finally, there are two exceptional breathing exercises by Emory Remington himself, one of which I have used on a daily basis for many years. The etudes themselves are wonderfully varied in almost every way imaginable given the Romantic era in which they were composed. The range is not as demanding as the Rochut transcriptions of Bordogni compositions, and a varietal palette of rhythms and key signatures are replete and well-sequenced throughout the collection.

Crisafulli. “Let’s finish it. Let’s do the rest of it, I think we reached 35. And now you have a nice (singing) fermata!”

“And,” Crisafulli breaths.

“A bit short, that last note- oh that’s better!

“Yes.” Singing and breathing. “Good! Good! Ah! Good”

“A little bit more. A little breath accents.” Singing. “A little but less, that’s what’s written.” Singing

“Then full!” Singing. “A little bit longer. Careful the last, now.”

“Nice. Yes. Good”

“Always be sure that when you look ahead and see a pianissimo coming that you leave room for it before hand, ok?”

“Even if you have gone to far, come. back a little bit. Then it’s comfortable. It’s nice”

“Yes, it’s a nice etude, but it must be filled.”

“That’s one time I would allow that (singers staccato longer), and I’m glad you did it not (sungs second note clipped), not the dot but (sings longer) and that makes even room for a breath if you want to.”

“Bravo!”

“What Concone is this? The 40 studies or something? “

Student Brubeck, “This is a book I stumbled upon. Fink. I was looking for something for my high school students.

Crisafulli, sees cover and recognizes the book, “Oh yes, right.”

Student Brubeck, “It doesn’t have the range of a ‘Rochut’.”

Crisafulli “And you know something though, they are not easy bevause they lie right where you have to travel the most for the botes in the staff with the slide. And yet, it’s an excellent opporrubity to (sings daaaah), let the air take over and not react to the slide.”

I LOVE FRANK CRISAFULLI.

FRANK CRISAFULLI OOZED MUSIC AND PASSIONATELY LOVED IT! Frank Crisafulli spoke English only tangentially in lessons, and sang throughout! He sang on no fewer than 21 occasions in this brief 12-minute excerpt. Not only was he encouraging the student to pre-hear the music in the manner of Arnold Jacobs, but he was modeling it by singing in the manner of Emory Remington.

FRANK CRISAFULLI WAS POSITIVE! His demeanor was stern a few times and passionate at others, but overwhelmingly kind. He offered no fewer than 16 positive comments and compliments to the student in just under 12 minutes.

FRANK CRISAFULLI USED REPETITION Whether emphasizing musicality, more vibrant rhythm, or to fully hear the entire phrase before projecting it confidently, he returned to his major theses. Crisafulli used the playing at hand (second-person), his own experience (first person), and the hypothetical youngsters-(third person), to illustrate his refrains with additional perspective and variation.

FRANK CRISAFULLI WAS MUSICAL ABOVE ALL ELSE! More than 18 times in the lesson he observed, anticipated, commented on, complimented or encouraged musicality. Quite often, he did so with great detail and subtlety! Dynamics, articulation, a breath for phrasing, eveness, tempo, mood and confidence. His musicality was downright infectious!

FRANK CRISAFULLI EMBODIED SONG AND WIND. And added the subtlety of never allowing the slide to interfere with the air. A gifted ‘cellist, he made numerous innovative comparisons between the bow and the breath, and was spectacular at evincing evenness throughout the registers in both sound and approach, partially owing to his experience with ‘cello.

CRISAFULLI ENJOYED PLAYING AND SOUGHT RELAXATION. As an undergraduate student of his, the one word I most remember hearing him say was ENJOY! I have often used it as a sign-off for my interviews and articles in honor of “Mr. C”. He unfailingly sought to enjoy playing, and part of this approach was an ease-of-playing and relaxation which may best be described as unhurried.

Article, c. 2024 David William Brubeck All rights reserved

Cover Image courtesy of Hickey’s music.

Written music from Studies in Legato
Arranged and edited by Reginald H. Fink
Copyright © 1967 by Carl Fischer, Inc. 
All rights assigned to Carl Fischer, LLC.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Available for purchase at your favorite dealer or https://www.carlfischer.com/o4767-studies+in+legato.html.

Audio, c. 2024, David William Brubeck, All Rights reserved.

(Thanks to “Mr. C” for allowing me to record this! The acknowledgement of his genius-level and inspired musicianship and pedagogy is long overdue!)

Soli Deo Gloria

Imagine being handed a folder with fifty pages of duo music for trumpet and trombone; like an incomplete map to a treasure! The only date? 1595. The only instrumentation? Trumpet in treble clef ‘C’ and trombone in bass clef.

The probable location is Venice, and possibly Basilica San Marco in La Serenissima -(St. Mark’s, Venice), but truly yet to be fully determined.

What could have been the purpose of this music? Were they training duets to prepare the players for the more typical music of the Gabrielis and Schutz? Could St. Mark’s, or another Basilica possibly have used just two brass to accompany religious services? This seems likely in the Orthodox Christian Basilica of St. Mark’s in Venice, but less likely in most of the rest of Italy which was dominated by Rome instead of Venice’s patron-Constantinople.

The keys seem to focus around ‘C’ Major or ‘F’ Major, but the presence of accidentals and available notes in the upper part would certainly seem to indicate the use of cornetto-which is more typical for St. Mark’s and Venice.

The presence of rests throughout at first seemed to suggest a missing part. Could it have been a vocal part or perhaps organ? One can almost hear the missing parts reverberate n the typical Venetian-Brass style.

The range of the trombone would certainly have to be restricted, due to elemental technique and trombone workmanship, at least one would think. No jumping around like, well, the arrangements by Brubeck-Neal or Stereograms. Right?

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: Canzona Francesca a’ 4 del Segundo Tuono

With a bit of an air of the musical equivalent of an expedition by Howard Carter or at least Indiana Jones, we set out to sight-read and record (in one or two takes each), these magnificent duos! Duo Brass, featuring Morgen Low and David Brubeck, met for a two-hour stint. Recordings were made direct to iPhone. (Recommended listening on over-the ear headphones!)

We probably made it through about 85% of the impressive stack of mixed brass duo music from the Renaissance. One composition was complicated, another missing a page, yet another a bit unwieldy with multiple pages-an entire MASS for brass duo for goodness sake!

This would be possible at St. Mark’s, where Catholic Monteverdi and Protestant Heinrich Schutz served side-by-side as Co-Music Directors for a time. Although the Catholic Church had a seat placed right in front of the pulpit, this Basilica was traditionally led by someone from the founding 80 families of Venice-Orthodox Christians. (At least until Napoleon, when it became Catholic at his demand around 1807-1809.)

St Mark’s itself, is clearly in the Constantinople (also called Eastern Roman Empire, New Roman or Byzantine), style replete with architectural layout and mosaics. The Basilica San Marco is mentioned as a construction specifically of the Orthodox Christian Church in 1063-1094 AD in a timeline provided in the Appendix of the book Byzantium, by authors Yanagi, Takahashi, Tsuji and Nagatsuka in their Chronology of the Byzantine World. they also note that, “In the 11th century Byzantine culture was enthusiastically adopted both in Venice and other parts of Italy.”

While a Catholic Antonio Vivaldi got his start at St. Mark’s alongside his father-a violinist, other accounts of the time note a Jesuit priest was thrown out of the church for advocating more control from Rome during his guest sermon! (Venice may have the distinction of being the only city to have been excommunicated three times!). Yanagi et al. in Byzantium notes, “The Church of the Eastern Roman Empire, even before its separation from the Roman Church, was regarded by the Roman Pope as an apostatic institution, even a dangerous rival.” The accompanying Chronology found in the Appendix of the book Byzantium notes 1054 AD as the final schism between Eastern and Western churches.

This places the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN Basilica at the CENTER of instrumental ensemble music history.

The accomplishments were numerous:

The first notated use of specified dynamics

The first notated use of specific instrumentation or orchestration-THIS ARGUES THAT THE ORCHESTRA WAS INVENTED AT St. Mark’s Basilica-certainly the symphony orchestra. (The orchestra has been called by some the greatest invention of mankind.)

The first recorded use of Antiphony (or “Surround-Sound”).

Among the first recorded use of homophonic and homo-rhythmic instrumental music.

Among the first regular use of mixed meters in instrumental music and their mastery.

MORE VENICE-THE CENTER INSTRUMENTAL OF MUSIC & MORE!

Monteverdi, Albinoni, Marcello… Many of the most notable opera composers were trained in or came from Venice, not Florence. The original treatise “Opera” was published in Venice.

Venice was the home of Catholic priest Antonio Vivaldi for all of his life except the final year spent in Vienna. He composed more than 400 concertos, was a violin virtuoso and a champion for the orchestra-training generations of girls and young women to play professionally through the very important orphanage system of Venice. (Not to even mention Dragonetti!)

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: Canzona francese a 8 dette la Carissima (Original 8-voice Setting by Adriano Banchieri)

At first, our tempos might have been a bit slow. We determined that the pieces were clearly for performance and not study. One could easily imagine these for a shorter service in a city like Venice- especially in a Basilica like St. Marks’s which was constantly beset by tourists attracted to Venice for its unique beauty, the incredible music and the nearly constant carnivals.

There were accents and slurs present in the duos, and they included a wide variety of interesting rhythms and irregular shaped phrases that seemed to meander from time to time. The use of mixed meters was not uncommon, and the prevalent use of syncopation was noted.

Upon performance, the rests were a welcome relief and seemed quite musical! Nothing was deemed missing. Finally, the range of the trombone part reflected that both the Renaissance technique of the players as well as the craftsmanship of the slide must have been superior.

FEATURED DUO BRASS RECORDING: 7. Panatum cor meum (Reflecting the first words of by a Psalm of David, 107-My Heart is ready O Lord)

With the recent advent of mixed brass duo books by Brubeck/Neal & Alessi/Sachs, the mixed brass duo has seen a resurgence, yet historically seemed to have been of scant significance and without any significant literature. NOT ANYMORE!

Please let us know if you think we are wrong….

Otherwise, every indication points to the conclusion that this collection, of which these are but a few, will rewrite the history of the brass duo, and provide a solid historic basis for the derivation of mixed brass duo literature.

Thank you, Dr. Campbell, for this valuable treasure, and thank you, Morgen Low, for your superb sight-reading, “chops-of-steel” and delightful attitude. One could not hope for a better colleague!

FUN FACT! The Pipe organ WITH AIR was from ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN Constantinople, NOT ROME-Roman organs used water. The pipe organ was introduced to the rest of Europe around 750 AD! (Source: The Timetables of History by Bernard Grun, based on Werner Stein’s Kulturfahrplan.)

Constantinople also invented the fork, the flame-thrower, the steam engine, and so much more. It was a 1,100-year Orthodox Christian Empire from 330 AD until 1453 AD.

c. 2024 David William Brubeck All Rights Reserved.

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