Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891 › scan 194
Scan 194
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891
10 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 174. See the scan on archive.org.
1X.
3CLASS—INSTRUMENTS WITH CUP-SHAPED MOUTHPIECES.
5FAMILY: Length varied by slide.
7INSTRUMENTS of which the length of the air column is varied by means of slides are of great antiquity. The principle appears to have been known in China at a very remote period. Some writers have endeavoured to ascribe the invention to Tyrtæus in 685 B.C. Others have imagined the principle to be of Egyptian origin, and have ascribed its introduction to Osiris. That instruments thus constructed were known to the Romans is, however, certain, and some specimens were discovered at Pompeii in 1738. Neumann, in his Tutor for the Trombone, describes the finding of these instruments, and mentions that they were made of bronze, but had mouthpieces of gold. The king of Naples, he states, gave one of these instruments to King George III. This statement was confirmed by the late Mr. William Chappell more than fifty years ago; the whereabouts of the instrument is now unknown, but it is hoped that at some future time it may again be found, and thus an important point regarding the history of musical instruments may be decided. That the Romans made use of instruments thus constructed would seem clear from a passage in the Vulgate, which is there rendered "In tubis ductilibus" (Ps. xcviii. 6); "tubae ductiles" are mentioned by various classical writers, and Mersenne quotes a passage of Apuleius to the effect that "dexterâ extendente vel retrahente tubae canales, musicales soni ab ea edebantur."
9Instruments of this family are now known by the generic name of trombone; in former days they were known as sackbut, or saquebut, a word derived from the Spanish sacabuche. There is in an old MS. of the 9th century, at Boulogne, a representation of a sackbut, or rather the slide of one, for the bell itself is not shown; as far as can be seen the form did not then differ materially from that of the modern trombone. The instrument is mentioned by Bonanni (Gabinetto Armonico) under the name of tromba spezzata. Virdung (Musica Getutscht,
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