Sackbut

The Sackbut (var. Sacbutt; Sackbutt; Sagbutt), a brass instrument from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras, is the ancestor of the modern trombone. The term sackbut is usually 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.

There are two theories for the source of the name: it is either derived from the Middle French "sacquer" (to push) and "bouter" (to pull) or from the Spanish "sacar" (to draw or pull) and "bucha" (a tube or pipe) (Herbert 2006, p. 57). The term survives in numerous English spelling variations including sacbut, sagbut, shagbolt and shakbusshe. In France, the instrument was called "sacqueboute"; in Germany, "Posaune", in Spain, "sacabuche", and in Italy, "trombone".

History

The trombone developed from the trumpet. Up until 1375 trumpets were simply a long straight tube with a bell flare (Herbert 2006, p. 47). The name for this instrument derive from the Latin 'tromba' and include 'trombone' (for a large one) and 'drompten'. Other names derive from the Latin 'busine' and include 'posaune' and 'bason'. There are various uses of these words in the Bible, which has led past musicologists, such as Galpin, to suggest that trombones date back as far as 600 BC, but all the iconology suggests straight instruments at this time and no evidence of slides (Herbert 2006, p. 56-7).

From 1375 we see them being made with bends, and some in 'S' shapes. Around 1400 we see the 'loop' shaped trumpet appear in paintings and at some point in the 15th century, a single slide was added. This slide trumpet was known as a 'trompette des ménestrels' in the alta capella bands (Herbert 2006, p. 52-3).

The earliest clear evidence of a double slide instrument is in a fresco painting by Filippino Lippi in Rome - "The Assumption of the Virgin", dating from 1488-1493. (Herbert 2006, p. 60)

From the 15th to the 19th centuries, the instrument designs changed very little overall, apart from a slight widening of the bell in classical era. Since the 19th century, trombone boresizes and bells have increased significantly.

It was one of the most important instruments in Baroque polychoral works, along with the cornetto and organ.

Instrument sizes

Sackbuts come in several sizes. According to Michael Praetorius, these were:

For more information, see Herbert (2006).

Modern manufacturers

* [http://www.eggerinstruments.ch/ Egger, Basel, Switzerland]
* [http://www.ewaldmeinl.de/ Ewald Meinl, Geretsried, Germany] (formerly "Meinl und Lauber")
* [http://www.geertjanvanderheide.nl/language.htm Geert Jan van der Heide, Netherlands]
* [http://www.helmut-voigt.de/ Helmut Voigt, Germany]
* [http://www.voigt-brass.de/show/meisterIn.html/0/en/histinstr.html Jürgen Voigt Brass, Germany]
* [http://www.thein-brass.de/ Thein, Bremen, Germany]
* [http://members.aol.com/wwwebbrass/ John Webb, London]
* Frank Tomes, London [phone]
* Böhm und Meinl
* [http://www.bachorndoctor.com/ BAC/Mike Corrigan, USA]
* [http://www.finkehorns.de/English/Instrumente.html Johannes Finke, Germany]

References

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Historical references

* Mersenne, Marin: "Harmonie Universelle" (1636)
* Praetorius, Michael: "Syntagma Musicum" (1619)
* Speer, Daniel: "Grund-richtiger Unterricht der musikalischen Kunst, oder Vierfaches musikalisches Kleeblatt" (1687)
* Virgiliano, Aureleo: "Il dolcimelo" (c. 1600)

External links

* [http://www.waits.org.uk The Waits Website]
* [http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/sacbut.htm Musica Antiqua's Sacbut page] History, photos, and sounds