The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument

Author(s): Walter Morrow

Source: Proceedings of the Musical Association , 1894 - 1895, 21st Sess. (1894 - 1895), pp.
133-147
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Royal Musical Association

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 JUNE r1, 1895.

PROFESSOR E. PROUT, Mus. Doc. DUB. ET EDIN.,

VICE-PRESIDENT,

IN THE CHAIR.

THE TRUMPET AS AN ORCHESTRAL

INSTRUMENT.

BY WALTER MORROW.

ORIGIN AND DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUMPET.

TRUMPETS seem to have been originated by someone dis-

covering that sound could be produced by blowing into t
opened end of the horns of animals, spiral shells, or hollo
reeds, and on the use of metals being known trumpets o
silver, copper, and brass were made in the form of horns a
spiral shells. The chatzotzeroth of the Hebrews and th
Egyptians was a straight conical tube; the salpinx of t
Greeks likewise. The schophar and keren of the Hebre
were horn-shaped, and the buccina of the Romans was ma
after the fashion of a spiral shell. Judging from the coni
shape of these instruments one naturally comes to the con
clusion that they were not musical. They would emit onl
one sound-a terrific blare-which was no doubt useful for
giving signals, calling an assembly, or striking terror in the
heart of an enemy, &c., but there was no music.
It would take a very long time to refer to the many shapes
in which these instruments from time to time came to be
made and the different materials used in their manufacture;
but as the object of this paper is to treat of the trumpet as
an orchestral instrument I will ask you to take a long skip
over many centuries.

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 134 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.
In the sixteenth century the trumpet had increased in
length to eight feet, experimentalists having found that by
lengthening their metal tubes, also by making the body of
the instrument cylindrical instead of conical, they rendered
it capable of producing some musical sounds as distinguished
from mere noise. It was made up as follows: A mouth-
piece, a cylindrical tube, about three-eights of an inch in
diameter, with two bends, thus forming three lengths placed
triangularly, the latter fifteen inches gradually widening to a
diameter of four inches in the shape of a bell. It was capable
of producing the following scale or series of harmonics:-
x6 x7 x8

... ... 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ro rI 1 . --3x 5 .

It is technically called a scale, although it is not a "regular

succession of notes proceeding by tones and semitones."
The first is called the "generator" and is produced by
blowing with very loose lips into the instrument sufficient
wind to fill the whole tube. A very large mouthpiece is
required to produce this note, much larger than is generally
used, and a player would be unable to ascend to the higher
notes with such a mouthpiece. The note exists but it is
never used. By compressing the lips a little so that the
column of air only reaches half-way through the instrument
the octave will be produced, by more pressure the third
harmonic or fifth above the second C, and so on by increasing
the pressure all these natural sounds can be emitted. Nothing
has been written higher than the eighteenth, although it is
possible to go beyond. These harmonics are not all correct
in intonation-the seventh is flat, the eleventh is sharp, and
the thirteenth flat.
In spite of the imperfections of these notes, they were
freely written by the old masters, and played by the
trumpeters of the time. The latter, with highly practised
lips, could manipulate the faulty notes and make them
fairly tolerable. Though all these notes exist, they are
not all available for one player. To produce the lower
notes a large mouthpiece is necessary; for the middle
notes, one a little shallower; and for the high notes, one
shallower still. Consequently the old players were arranged
thus: First trumpet, second trumpet, and third or principal
trumpet, the last often playing an independent part; and
in an old instruction book for the trumpet, by a German
named Wirth, mouthpieces of different sizes are prescribed
for the different parts to be played.

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. 135

It was about the year 1607 that trumpets were first used
in orchestras, and from that time trumpet playing reached
a high point of excellence-in Germany particularly-a
guild of trumpet players being established there, who
preserved as secrets their methods of manipulation. From
this guild, doubtless, sprang the fine players who were
able to execute the difficult tasks set down for them in
the works of John Sebastian Bach.
Judging from the trumpet parts written by Purcell,
Handel, and Bach, the key of D seems to have been the key
that trumpets were made in; and the higher harmonics,
from the eighth to the eighteenth, seem to have been much
admired, both on account of their brilliancy of tone and
because they proceed by consecutive tones, enabling the
players to execute florid passages. This can be seen by
examining the score of Bach's Mass in B minor, in which
scale passages and trills abound.
To modern musicians, accustomed to correct intonation,
without taking into consideration the enormous difficulty of
these parts, it seems incredible that they were ever played
on trumpets; in fact, many still refuse to believe it. Others,
convinced that they were played, say: "then the art of
trumpet playing is lost." I believe that they were rendered
on the plain D trumpet, with all the imperfections of
intonation, and that the art is not lost, but the style has
fallen into disuse on account of the difficulty and uncertainty
of manipulating these high notes. Then we have it as a
fact in history that the high trumpet part in Purcell's
Te Deum was rendered by an artist named Shaw, who,
Dr. Bridge informs me, was a friend of Purcell's. Then
there is a record of another phenomenal player named
Valentine Snow, for whom Handel wrote special parts.
He was the first to interpret the well-known obbligati to
"Let the bright seraphim" and "The trumpet shall sound."
As a further proof that what I say is correct, I propose
to play a few short passages from Bach's Mass to give you
an idea of how they sounded. For this purpose I have
borrowed an old D trumpet, made by Johann Leonhard
Ehe, of Nuremberg, from my friend Mr. Walter Blandford,
an amateur horn player of note, and an ardent collector of
old and curious instruments.
Mr. Blandford says, in a letter which he kindly wrote to
me: " My instrument was made by Johann Leonhard Ehe,
of Nuremberg" (it bears an inscription to that effect). "He
is known to have worked between 1698 and 1728, as instru.
ments of his bearing those dates are in existence. It would
be safe to put it down therefore as early in the eighteenth
century." That is also about the time Bach and Handel's
great works were written.

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z36 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.
THE SOPRANO TROMBONE.

Having dealt at some length with the trumpet in what

be called its natural form-that is to say, an instru
without mechanism or artificial methods of producing
I will now proceed to deal shortly with the various fo
trumpets which have come into use at different time
before I do so, I may mention that a member of the
Association asked me to include in my paper a spe
trumpet, written for by Bach under the names of " T
da tirarsi" and " Clarino "; and by Gluck in his op
" Orfeo," under the name of soprano trombone. Sear
about for such an instrument, I found a very good spe
in the Engel collection at South Kensington Museu
the courtesy of the authorities there I was allow
examine it. Speaking to Mr. Hawkes, the instrument m
of Leicester Square, on the subject, he very kindl
unexpectedly undertook to reproduce one, which
done.
I then saw my friend Professor Prout, who, as you all know,
is very learned in the contents of the scores of the great
masters; he very kindly offered to look up something for me.
A few days after I received the following letter from him:-
[Copy.]
12, GREENWOOD RoAD, DALSTON,
May 7, x895.
DEAR MR. MoRRow,
I have been looking into the question of the "Tromba da
tirarsi" for you. It was, as far as I can learn, a soprano trombone, most
likely in B flat, therefore an octave above the tenor trombone. I send
you three passages from Bach's Cantatas written for it. We can always
tell when this instrument is meant, even when (as in No. 3) Bach calls it
clarino; because he always writes for it as a non-transposing instrument,
while he invariably writes for the ordinary trumpet in the key of C, just
as Mozart or Beethoven would do.
Hoping these extracts may be of use to you, and with kind regards,
Yours very sincerely,
EBENEZBR PROUT.
My next trouble was to give an adequate illustration of
the tone of this instrument, which could not well be done
without the co-operation of other orchestral instruments.
On making my trouble known, three members of the
Trombone Concert Quartet promised to come and assist me
by playing the opening bars of Gluck's opera "Orf6o."
This is a short quartet for four trombones, soprano, alto,
tenor, and bass, which we will now play to you.
THE SLIDB TRUMPET.
During the latter half of the eighteenth century, great
changes in making trumpets took place. Composers wished
to use trumpets in keys other than C and D, consequently
shorter instruments were made, generally about sixty-seven

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. 137
inches in length, giving the harmonics in the key of F. In
France they were and are made shorter still, to produce the
harmonics of G. But if a trumpet is shorter than sixty-seven
inches it loses its distinctive quality of tone. Then there were
additional tubes called crooks, because of their shape, enabling
the performer to put his trumpet in E, E flat, D and C, and
by combining crooks in B, B flat, and A. These three,
however, were very unsatisfactory.
A change also took place in the manner of writing trumpet
parts about this time: the use of the harmonics above the
twelfth being abandoned, doubtless on account of their
practical difficulty and faulty intonation; and if one examines
the scores of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven harmonics above
the twelfth will seldom, if ever, be found. Composers seem
to have admired the middle notes, probably on account of the
fulness and grandeur of tone, as well as the more facile
practicability of this part of the instrument. Since then it
would appear that players of the old high parts could not be
found. To improve the tone of the middle and lower register
larger mouthpieces were used, which rendered the high notes
extremely difficult; therefore if any of the old works were
performed the trumpet parts had to be re-written or modified.
Mozart modified the part in Handel's" Messiah," Mendelssohn
re-wrote the trumpet part of the "Dettingen Te Deum," and
Franz did the same with many of Bach's works-the " Christ-
mas" Oratorio and Bach's" Magnificat" particularly. Then
I have taken part in performances when the first trumpet
part has been played on C clarinets, producing a very curious
effect, the second trumpet part, played on a trumpet proper,
being very prominent, the first and higher being completely
lost. We have said that the eleventh and thirteenth harmonics
were very incorrect. In consequence of this players began
to look round for a means of remedying these faults, and
towards the end of the eighteenth century an Englishman
named John Hyde conceived the idea of adding a slide to the
trumpet after the manner of the trombone slide, the only
difference being that it was placed at the second bend of the
tubing instead of the first. This slide, when drawn out two
inches and a half, of course adds five inches to the length of
the tube, and its effect is to lower all the harmonics a semitone,
and by drawing it out its full length a whole tone; so now we
have the harmonics tripled, with one exception. There is not
sufficient length of slide to lower the sixth harmonic a whole
tone; this is a pity, because being so intolerably sharp it
renders so many passages unplayable. It could, however, be
used as E sharp in a passage like this:-

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138 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.
The slide enabled players to perfect the eleventh and thir-
teenth harmonics. This is the scale:

-e-

This is the instrument used for so many yea

much admired effect by the two Messrs.
father and son. Their rendering of the obb
works is something to be remembered, the yo
I heard him play a little Polonaise which he
years ago, and which I thought was a wond
of the flexibility of lip he had obtained by
propose to play this for you, if you will have
it. But I am afraid it will only give you a l
it sounded when Harper played it.

THE VALVE TRUMPET

(Also called Ventil Trompete, Trompette-a-pistons, or

Trompette-a-cylindies).
About the year 1814 the piston, as applied to brass instru-
ments, was invented by a Silesian named Bltihmel; and a
contemporary Saxon, named Stolzel, invented the cylinder.
The piston has a vertical, the cylinder a rotary action. The
results, however, are the same; both add tubing to the
trumpet. There are usually three pistons or cylinders
attached to an instrument. The middle one on being
pressed down opens an extra tube about five inches long,
which lowers all the harmonics a semitone in exactly the
same manner that the slide of the older trumpet does. The
piston nearest to the mouthpiece opens a tube about ten
inches and lowers the harmonics a whole tone. The third
opens a longer tube and lowers them a minor third. Then
by pressing two or three pistons down at one time as occasion
requires each harmonic is lowered six semitones, correspond-
ing with the six shifts of the trombones We now have a
complete chromatic scale of two octaves and a fifth, and any
passage within a given compass is practicable.
The valve trumpet was generally adopted in Germany,
but not in England; the tone of the slide trumpet being
considered superior. This idea is perfectly true, the many
unavoidable acute angles in the valve trumpet causing the
tone to deteriorate, but not much, and when we come to
consider the advantages gained, of correct intonation and

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. 139

the chromatic scale being available, it is difficult to under-

stand why this instrument was not adopted here, especially
as composers, no longer tied down to the use of natural
harmonics only, have written parts for this instrument.

THE CORNET-X-PISTONS.

About the year x832 a new sort of trumpet appeared under

various names-e.g., the small stop trumpet, cornopean, or
cornet-a-pistons. This is a small trumpet about fifty-four
inches in length, giving the natural harmonics of B flat,
with three pistons having the same power of lowering thes
harmonics six semitones, as in the case of the valve trumpet
already mentioned.
The cornet has an agreeable tone and is comparatively
easy to manipulate. It very quickly became popular, and
its popularity has not dechlined; on the contrary, it ha
caused the trumpet proper to become almost obsolete.
Students perceived that showy results were easy of attain
ment and forsook the study of the trumpet. Experienced
players of the older instrument, when they were called upon
to play parts written for the valve trumpet, instead of
adapting themselves to the valve trumpet resorted to the
cornet. Consequently, the cornet has crushed the trumpet
out of the orchestra altogether. One rarely hears the sound
of a real trumpet now.
I am often asked by persons seeking information, What
is the difference between the trumpet and cornet, and why
do you so strongly maintain that it should be used? So-
and-so plays on the cornet and produces a good trumpe
tone.
My answers to these questions are: First, the differen
between the two is in point of length. A tube a given leng
has a characteristic tone. The tones of the C, D, E flat,
and F trumpets are rich and full. Above the key of F a
tube loses its distinctive trumpet character, therefore when
the tube is shortened to B flat the tone has been left far
behind.
My answer to the second part of the question is obvious.
Every player of an instrument likes to produce a good tone,
and if the tone of the trumpet is superior, then he should
play that instrument and not use one of an inferior quality
of tone.
The assertion that the cornet can be played with a
trumpet tone is good, and remains good until the two
are heard at the same time, and under equal conditions,
then, I think, the comparison will be in favour of the
trumpet. I propose to play a short passage on both
instruments, you will hear the difference and judge for

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140 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.

yourselves whether the loss of the superior quality of tone

which I claim for the trumpet is to be so much deplored.
Most of the good cornet players I have known during the
last thirty years, having arrived at proficiency on that
instrument, have at some time or other "taken to the
trumpet," thinking that their already acquired ability in
cornet playing would make trumpet playing comparatively
easy; but after a very short trial, usually about two months,
they have abandoned it as too difficult, or because they have
not sufficient time to study. It is a pity that 'they exercise
so little patience and perseverance. A man who calls
himself a trumpet player should endeavour to master the
whole subject of trumpets, and not be satisfied with a little
tawdry popularity by playing weak cornet solos. There
is much excuse for men who are very busy and really have
not time to study a new instrument, but young students
should make themselves acquainted with the trumpet before
they get too busy, and fit themselves to fulfil the duties of a
trumpet player when called upon.
There is an idea prevalent that practising the trumpet
has an injurious effect on the lip for cornet playing; this
is fallacious-it will improve the lip, as well as the ear and
intellect. A good trumpet player can always be a good
cornet player; a good cornet player cannot play the trumpet
without much practice. My advice to students is to practise
the latter assiduously, it will be to their ultimate benefit.
There is one thing I would advise them to guard against,
it is this: Some cornet players have tried to play the
trumpet and for certain reasons have giving it up. Feeling
some qualms of conscience that the cornet does not look well
in a symphony orchestra, or in the performance of an
oratorio, they have adopted what is called a "trumpetina "--
a sweet name. This is an instrument of the exact dimensions
of a cornet-that is to say, a tube fifty-four inches long; but
instead of having four bends, it has only two, and thus has
something of the appearance of the trumpet, but is in reality
only a cornet. It is excused by saying that it has a trumpet
bore, but even this cannot make a short tube give a tone
equal to the longer. I have tried it and had it tested by
persons qualified to judge. It is a veritable jackdaw in
peacock's feathers. A deception. Do not use it or counten-
ance it. The cornet is an honest instrument, the other is
not. Get an F valve trumpet and a slide trumpet, and
practise them. A satisfactory result is attainable, and is
worth working for.
The principal difficulty to overcome is the pitch. This is
difficult, but having become accustomed to it, the rest is easy.
One other error I would like to warn students from falling
into-that is, trying to play the trumpet with a cornet mouth-

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. 141

piece. The tone of the instrument is at once destroyed by

this, and the upper notes flattened. It is also very hard to
sustain power, say through a long symphony. The cup of a
trumpet mouthpiece should be hemispherical, not conical like
the cornet. And the cup should not be less than five-eighths
of an inch in diameter, measuring from the inner rim. I
have known many young players use mouthpieces much
smaller than this, for the purpose of obtaining high notes;
but by so doing they sacrifice the tone of the lower part of the
instrument, and in a few weeks they find, when playing on it
some time, that the mouthpiece chokes, there not being room
in the cup for the lips to vibrate.
Before leaving the valve trumpet, I propose to play a
short solo on it.

THE BACH TRUMPET.

I should like to say a few words about a species of tr

with which my name has become particularly associa
mean the Bach trumpet, " so-called" as the papers pu
This is a straight trumpet nearly five feet in length, wit
pistons. It therefore corresponds with the cornet in A
tone of this instrument is beautiful in the higher registe
being only the same length as the cornet, is poor in the l
register. Having condemned the "trumpetina" I su
I ought, in common justice, to explain why I use this '
in A."
Purists, when criticising this instrument, with a shake of
the head, say" Ah, I do not like the tone so well as the slide
trumpet." Then I try to explain to them that it is not
intended to supplant the real trumpet, but, in the words of
advertisers, "is to supply a long felt want." It is constructed
to accomplish what the slide and valve trumpets and
trumpetina have for upwards of a hundred and fifty years
failed to do--that is, to play the high parts written by John
Sebastian Bach. This it is capable of doing with equal
intonation, good tone, and some certainty, which I think is
sufficient reason for its use. Everyone of course is not of
my opinion. One writer of a notice of a performance in
which I took part said that, "the trumpets aroused feelings
in his breast less passive than contempt." He evidently did
not like it. Well, it is difficult to please everyone.
I do not know the particulars of the story connected with
an instrument of this kind, but I believe Mr. Blandford does
and that he intends to enlighten you during the discussion,
which I believe will take place later on. But I will tell you
the history of this, my own particular trumpet.
It may be in the remembrance of many here that at a
festival performance of Bach's Mass in B minor, given by
the Bach Choir at the Royal Albert Hall, a gentleman from

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142 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.

Berlin, named Herr Kosleck, played the first trumpet part.

A story got about that he had discovered an old trumpet in
a curiosity shop at Heidelberg, made in the time of Bach,
and that it was the sort of trumpet used to play the high
trumpet parts. We were all in a high state of excitement to
see this trumpet and hear it played, and to hear this first
trumpet part which we considered impracticable on any
system of trumpet which we knew. I had the pleasure of
playing the second trumpet part. Herr Kosleck did not
speak English or French and I could not speak German,
so we did not chatter, and I got no information; but I
endeavoured to see all I could. I watched him closely, and
was not long in finding the dimensions of his trumpet and
his mode of manipulation; but I noticed that he was careful
to conceal his mouthpiece. Now I was very anxious to see
this mouthpiece, feeling sure that a great part of the secret
lay there. I made a grab at it once. He withdrew it,
smiling the while, and implied by signs that it was not
good for my lips to be blowing on a strange mouthpiece;
however, he very courteously took off the mouthpiece and
handed me his instrument to blow with my own mouthpiece.
But that was not what I wanted. Nevertheless, I had to be
contented, and some days after I made a drawing of his
trumpet, and from that drawing Messrs. Silvani & Smith,
of Finsbury, made me a trumpet. But I was for a very long
time experimenting with mouthpieces before I found any-
thing satisfactory. I do not think my mouthpiece is like
Kosleck's, but it is a good one and produces, I think, a
better tone than his.
I was delighted with Kosleck's performance and resolved
to do my best to imitate him. My first feeling on seeing his
trumpet was that of disappointment, for two reasons: First,
it had two pistons, and pistons were not invented in Bach's
time; secondly, it stood in A, and all Bach's trumpet parts
were written in C and D (more often in D). His trumpet, I
had no reason to doubt, was as old as he said; also, it was
used in Bach's time, but not in Bach's music, nor was it
capable of rendering such parts as he wrote without the aid
of pistons, which, as we have already said, were not then
invented.
I have some extracts from a work on trumpets written
about the year 1795, by J. E. Altenburg, of Halle, in which
two of these A trumpets or posthorns were used in combination
with four D trumpets and two kettledrums. In these works
only the natural harmonics are used, and only nine of them.
The parts of Bach could not have been played on that instru-
ment. Besides, we find the D trumpet was written for, and
the natural harmonics properly belonging to that key-ergo,
Bach knew what he was writing.

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. 143
No doubt Kosleck on finding that he could obtain these
high notes-and it only required the addition of two pistons
to enable him to play the scale of D on his A trumpet-
carried his idea out. He told a friend of mine that it took
him six years to practise the first trumpet part of Bach's
Mass, and I believe him. All honour to him for his
determination culminating in success, for in my opinion
has succeeded in introducing an instrument capable of
rendering these parts even better than they were pla
originally, with equal quality of tone and correct intonati
As some of my hearers to-day may not have heard the ton
of this trumpet, I will play a few bars from " Mighty Lo
and King all glorious," in Bach's " Christmas Oratorio," i
order that you may hear the sweet and flute-like tone of
high notes, which were formerly so much admired.
In accordance with my promise made in the synopsis,
shall now say a few words about writing for the trumpet, an
as I am sometimes consulted on this subject by you
composers, I trust that I shall not be deemed presumptu
in giving a player's idea of how parts should be written.
Scarcely any composers now will be tied down to the pl
trumpet giving the natural harmonics only. So we can p
on from that to the slide trumpet, which a very few wo
will dispose of. This instrument is rarely seen in an
orchestra; about two players have an affection for it and
to use it in the old works, but it is looked upon with m
curiosity than appreciation, and no composers trouble
write for it now. Twenty years ago they did, and I have
pleasant recollection of the glorious slide trumpet parts m
friend Professor Prout used to write, notably in his cant
" Hereward " and "Alfred." They are the sort of part
trumpeter loved to play.
In Professor Prout's Primer on Instrumentation, wh
speaking of the trumpet in paragraph 127, he finishes b
saying: "In writing, no account need be taken of th
different varieties of mechanism." And he is right. He pu
the whole matter in a nutshell. You may write anything
like within a given register, say from

--4-

-t-

and you will get it played. Som

trumpet parts always in C-that is
non-transposing instrument. Well
easy one, as even amateurs are accustomed to read from
pianoforte scores, and soon learn to transpose. But I a

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144 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.

afraid that the system will not encourage the use of the
trumpet proper, as people, to avoid even the trouble of that
little transposition, will resort to the cornet in C, which is an
abomination.
German composers now-a-days nearly always write for the
valve trumpet in F; it is a very brilliant instrument, and
capable of playing any semitone from

and if parts are written for that instrument much will be

done to encourage its use.
The system of changing the trumpet to D, C, E flat,
B flat, and A could very well be done away with, much to
the advantage of players and the success of works to be
played. It is very difficult even for experienced men to be
constantly changing the intervals of transposition from one
note to a minor third, a fourth, or a fifth. You will find
that neither horn nor trumpet players use any crooks but the
F and E, and I advise composers to keep to those keys. If
the E flat, D, and C crooks are written for they will never be
used by players of horns or trumpets. Having three pistons,
enabling the player to proceed chromatically from one note
to another, other crooks than the F and E are considered by
players to be unnecessary. All scales, major and minor, are
available, also chords in arpeggio form.

DISCUSSION.

THE CHAIRMAN -We have all been very deeply intere

Mr. Morrow's most valuable paper; certainly I have, for
tral instruments and orchestration are special hobbies o
Talking about the earlier instruments, he quoted t
line, " With trumpets also and shawms." It is cu
notice that in Luther's version of the German Bibl
version which Mendelssohn set to music in his 98th
the score reads "' Mit Trompeten und Posaunen "
trumpets and trombones." There is an interesting
with regard to the soprano trombone which our le
mentioned as being used in Gluck's " Orfeo." Mo
the Kyrie of his Mass in C minor, wrote for four trom
including soprano trombone; and in two sets of littl
Divertimenti-he wrote for five trumpets, four kett

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. r45
and two flutes-a curious combination, but he gets some very
charming effects. I am going to add a suggestion with
reference to the point that F below the middle G on the slide
trumpet is always out of tune and sharp. Is it not possible
that this may be because it ought to be a major tone below
the G, giving the ratio eight to nine, whereas the slide only
gives a minor tone with the ratio nine to ten ? That, I think, is
the reason why you cannot get the pure intonation of this for
the slide trumpet. I most cordially endorse all Mr. Morrow
said with regard to trumpets versus cornets. It is simply an
abomination of desolation to play the cornet as a substitute
for the trumpet. We must see that the better instrument-
the trumpet-is kept in use in the orchestra, for certainly it
has a fuller and rounder tone than the cornet, a fact which
all must have noticed when Mr. Morrow gave us comparative
illustrations on the two instruments.
Mr. BLAIKLEY.-Mr. Morrow's interesting paper is bristling
with suggestions. In referring to the difference in tone
between the trumpet and the cornet, he, I think, forgot to
mention that this does not arise merely from the difference
in their lengths. The cornet is constructed on different
lines, and the tubing immediately following the mouthpiece
is also different. It is regrettable that the trumpet is not
more popular, but it is exceedingly difficult to get men to
take to it and keep to it. Bandsmen say it is all very well
learning it, but later on they will be obliged to play the
cornet if they consider pounds, shillings and pence, and so
long as conductors will accept the cornet for the trumpet it
will be used. The matter, I believe, is entirely in the hands
of conductors. I think Mr. Morrow was rather hard on the
cone, when he said that we cannot get music from the conch-
shell. Surely the conical form includes all instruments of
the bugle, horn, and tuba type.
Mr. BLANDFORD.-The difficult trumpet parts found in the
scores of Bach, Handel, and others have given rise to many
groundless speculations. But there is plenty of evidence
derived not merely from the scores, but from contemporary
instruments, engravings, and books to show that they were
actually played as Mr. Morrow has illustrated them, on the
simple trumpet, with a tube bent twice on itself and without
mechanism. Much light is thrown on the subject by
Altenburg's "Versuch einer Anleitung zur heroischen Trom-
peter und Paukerkunst," written by the son of a celebrated
player of Bach's time. It is probable that these parts, as
originally played, would sound very unpleasant to modern
ears; the shallow clarino mouthpiece was a hindrance to
obtaining amplitude or beauty of tone, and, in spite of the
player's skill, many notes of the scale were imperfectly
represented by tile natural harmonics. Thus Sorge, writing

11 Vol. 21

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146 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument.

about 175o, insists that the eleventh and thirteenth harmonics

should not be sounded in conjunction with an instrument of
fixed intonation, such as the organ. Trumpet music, such as
Mozart's Divertimenti referred to by the Chairman, was very
common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the
ears of audiences were quite accustomed to it; and the
alteration of "The Messiah" trumpet parts by Mozart was
due probably to his desire for reform rather than to the
impossibility of finding performers. The " long trumpet"
was discovered by Kosleck in 1871, in Heidelberg. He
exhibited it at Berlin, after which it was described by
Lessmann in the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung. It was a
straight tube, four feet long, in B flat, which could be made
to sound in D by an additional shank (not stated to belong to
the original instrument). So far from its being a trumpet of
Bach's time, there are good grounds for believing it to be
about x5o years older. The results obtained on it by Kosleck
were due to his skill, and not to the instrument, and might
perfectly well have been got on a genuine eighteenth century
trumpet. An objection to the use of the valve trumpet is the
imperfect intonation obtained by transposition. A trumpet
or horn player, transposing all parts by means of the same
crook, usually produces a different series of intervals in every
key. No valve instrument can be constructed to give the
tempered scale accurately; it is, however, possible to give the
intervals of the true scale in several keys, by proper adjust-
ment of the valve slides and suitable fingering, and in
performances of music written before chromatic brass instru-
ments were introduced it is essential that these true intervals
be given if their characteristic sweetness and quality is to be
preserved. The distorted intervals given by the cornet are
quite as objectionable as the inferior quality of its tone. It
is much to be desired that horn and trumpet players who are
trained at our musical academies shall be taught musical
acoustics in relation to their instrument.
Dr. MACLEAN.-The cardinal point in the paper which has
been read is the question of valve trumpet versus cornet-a-
pistons in the English orchestras. The causes which have
impeded the introduction of the former in this country are, I
believe, these. In the first place, the slide trumpet (peculiar
to England) took and occupied the ground in advance. The
slide of this, however, lowered only to the extent of two or at
most three semitones (against the six semitones of the three-
valve system), and sometimes, as in the case of the instrument
played on just now by the lecturer, it lowered only to the
extent of a minor tone, so that the scale was still very
defective. The slide trumpet was also, like the trombone,
deficient in legato. Being thus a comparative failure the
slide trumpet fell out of use, and the circumstance generally

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 The Trumpet as an Orchestral Instrument. 147
made trumpets unpopular, and confirmed the use of the cornet-
a-pistons in English orchestras. The second cause has been
that, as stated in the lecture, the cornet-a-piston is an easy
instrument to play. The third cause has been that the
specimens here available of the valve trumpet have been
mostly military band instruments in which the mouthpiece
and bore have departed from the true trumpet character;
however, as correct orchestral trumpets are now readily
procurable, this consideration ought not to operate. I would
remark in passing that Brahms, the most prominent composer
of our day, still continues in a singular manner even in his
latest scores to omit to take advantage of the chromatic
trumpet and writes only for the old natural trumpet, and
perhaps the lecturer will find an explanation for this; but,
speaking generally, the use of the valve trumpet is now
universal on the Continent, with a G standard for France and
an F standard for other countries. It is in England alone
that this instrument is in the position of asking leave to come
in. The present state of the case is, as remarked by the
lecturer-namely, that our conductors have only to insist upon
the trumpet being used and it would be used. I rose mainly
because I wished to point out that the lecturer is a practical
pioneer in what is really an important matter, and that he
deserves much support.
Mr. MoRRow.-Referring to Brahms, he is so extremely
conservative that he does not choose to depart from the old
ways.
A hearty vote of thanks was then accorded to the lecturer,
who briefly responded.

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