Ken Shifrin: The Alto Trombone in the Orchestra: 1800-2000

Chapter 4: Brahms

The German repertoire normally calls for one each of alto, tenor and bass trombone... a tradition which lasted until Wagner.1 (Alan Lumsden)

The Brahms Requiem is... a piece which works extremely well on the alto trombone.2 (Donald Appert)

Brahms... used three trombones (none of which was an alto)... The trio of trombones, two tenors and a bass, was a combination which [was] eventually standardized during the period of Brahms and Chaikovsky.3 (John Drew)

The large bore [tenor] does beyond doubt tend to a more solid tone... For such works as the symphonies of Brahms... wide-bored instruments [are] those for which the parts were originally conceived.4 (Philip Bate)

Johannes Brahms... used the three clefs in [his] scores and in most instances did not intend the alto to play the parts. Most composers made a special note or indication in the score if they required the alto trombone to play the first part.5 (Mark Hartman)

The use of large-bore tenors, which are virtually tenor trombones built with the bore and bell of an F bass trombone, is post 1850 and began in military bands. It was for large-bore instruments that Brahms wrote, and out of consideration for this, leading English players of the early part of the twentieth century, notably Jesse Stamp and Arthur Falkner [BBC Symphony, first and second trombone respectively], though normally playing narrow-bore trombones, used to change to instruments of wider bore for the performance of works by Brahms, Richard Strauss and the later works of Wagner.6 (Anthony Baines)

As can be seen from the quotes above, the alto trombone is rarely associated with Brahms' orchestral works. However, a re-examination of the existing evidence reveals a rather different picture in which the alto features prominently. One of the difficulties in assessing the make-up of Brahms' trombone section is that, in contrast to Bruckner, no original hand-copied parts exist.7 Fortunately, the first published editions of his works appeared shortly after the completion of composition – invariably no more than a year later – and Brahms was critically involved in the publication process.

According to Margit McCorkle:

From the start of his career Brahms composed for eventual publication. With this end in view, he put his works through rigorous paces, normally progressing through three distinct stages. He first solicited the reactions of his trusted musical confidants. Then he sought opportunities for test performances... Moreover, he repeatedly insisted to his eager publishers that the release of his works must wait until he had had sufficient opportunity to hear them performed and make his final revisions... From the Violin Concerto on, all trial performances were played from 'printed' string parts (that is, pulled proofs); Simrock was willing to print these, even though Brahms reserved the right to make whatever changes might be necessary once he had heard the compositions... Orchestras testing the work would purchase the performing materials (parts other than those for the strings were still usually hand-written); these would at some point, according to circumstances, be returned either to the composer or the publisher and in due course were replaced with the published parts. When the last concert of a season was over, Brahms would collect the performing materials and revise, correct and refine the full score, based on his experience of conducting and hearing the pieces... Finally, when he was satisfied with the results of these semi-private (or even public) trial performances, he released the revised score, parts and other relevant manuscripts... to the publisher, together with appropriate instructions for editing and engraving.8

4:1 Brahms and the Trial Performances of his Orchestral Works

To evaluate his compositions adequately, Brahms would insist on as many test performances as possible ('Für die Herausgabe muss ich eine vollständige gute Aufführung hinter mir haben'9) and as many rehearsals as he required ('Das Wichtigste an der Aufführung ist nur: so viel und oft probieren können, wie ich mag'). (See Table 4.1, p. 124 for a list of trial performance of Brahms' large-scale works.)10 For example, for the premiere of the Second Symphony Brahms was allocated three 'pre-rehearsals', a Korrect-Probe (proof-reading session) and one full, regular rehearsal plus dress rehearsal.11 After Vienna the piece was tested in performances in Leipzig, Amsterdam, The Hague, Dresden and Düsseldorf before it went to the printer.12

Brahms developed a special relationship with the Court Orchestra of Meiningen, which was conducted by his friend Bülow and where his compositions were often tested;13 thus Brahms could be assured that his pieces would be prepared exactly as he wished14:

Es war nämlich immer ein heimlich lieber Gedanke, das Ding zuerst in der kleinen Stadt, die einen guten Freund, guten Capellmeister und gutes Orchester, zu hören.15

With regard to the Requiem, his colleague Joachim recommended that it be tested in Bremen because 'die Mittel wären in Bremen herrlich, die Kirche von wunderbarer Akustik', and, most importantly, 'Fleiss würde dem Dirigenten jedenfalls nich fehlen, er wäre sehr hingenommen von deiner Partitur'.16 Brahms was concerned not only that the work should be well rehearsed, but also that the musicians should be competent:

Mein Werk ist doch schwer und in Bremen geht man doch bedächtiger zum hohen a hinauf als in Wien... Ich schicke hierbei die Partitur der ersten Sätze, da ich herzlich wünsche und hoffe, Sie lassen das Streichquartett sich beteilen an den Singproben; es wäre sehr schön, wenn die Geiger hernach die Sache kennten. Sind wohl die Stimmen der übrigen Sätze fertig und recht korrekt?17

Brahms' process for testing his compositions was painstakingly meticulous, and the slow 'deliberate pace with which Brahms' works progressed towards publication'18 must have severely tried the patience of his publisher Simrock. When Simrock beseeched Brahms to send the manuscript and parts of his First Symphony after the Vienna performance, it having already been performed in Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Munich, Brahms adamantly demanded further trial performances in Leipzig, Cambridge and London.19 Even after the release of the publication, Brahms corrected it three more times by letter.20

An example of Brahms' 'deliberate pace' and attention to detail is demonstrated in his detailed pre-publication plan for the Third Symphony, as described to Simrock:

Nun habe ich aber noch die Grosse Bitte, das Sie mir für Pest neue Bratschen und erste und zweite Violinen abziehen lassen... Am 2ten April ist die Symphonie in Pest. Dann schicke Ihnen Partitur und Stimmen... Von Pest werde ich Ihnen den ganzen Ballast zuschicken. Die Stimmen müssen natürlich nach der Partitur revidiert werden... Das Überklebte in den ersten Quartettstimmen gilt nicht – ich werde es inder Partitur korrigieren.21

Brahms' critical involvement in the supervision of the printing of the first editions is typified by the following letter to Simrock. After the penultimate trial performance in Dresden of the Second Symphony, Brahms had the parts sent to Simrock with these instructions:

Ich wollte Ihnen die Stimmen schön korrigieren, sehe aber, dass sie doch, ehe sie zum Stecher gehen, von kundigen Augen besehn werden mussen... lassen Sie mich ja eine Korrektur der Stimmen lesen.22

During the rehearsals in Düsseldorf for the final test performance, Brahms hurriedly contacted Simrock, who was then in the process of a second printing for this performance, and urged him to desist because more mistakes had been found in the parts and score:23 'Es sind allerwärts sehr böse Fehler'.24 Yet even after the Düsseldorf concert Brahms requested a small pre-publication printing to allow him to check for more mistakes:25 'Sie lassen wohl die Symphonie möglichst wenig drücken – das man noch Fehler finden darf'.26 Brahms' perfectionism is summed up in his statement regarding the printing of the Triumphlied:

Ich muss durchaus die Erlaubnis haben, nachher alles Mögliche in den Platten ändern zu lassen! Das wird nun zwar wahrscheinlich nicht gefährlich sein, aber möglich ist es.27

The 'expert eyes' to which Brahms refers were most assuredly those of Simrock's 'valued house editor',28 Robert Keller, known for his scrupulous attention to detail. As critical and meticulous as Brahms was, he could also rely on Keller's superb proof-reading skills, and he paid tribute:

to Keller's acute eye and systematic expertise as a corrector. [Keller] identified errors of all kinds, comment[ed] on suspected mistakes, and ma[d]e suggestions of his own for improvement... Keller's method of work was to note discrepancies within the score and the parts.29

Pascall adds that it was customary for the parts used in the trial performances 'rather than the score, to be used as engravers' Exemplaren for the printing of the set of parts'.30

Table 4.1

Brahms: Chronology of Orchestral and Large Choral Works31

Work, Opus Publication
Publisher/Date		 Performance prior to publication
Date, Place/Conductor, Soloist
Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 Rieter-Biedermann/
Oct. 1868 (choral parts)
Nov. 1868 (score)
Dec. 1868 (piano-vocal score)
Jan. 1869 (orch. parts)
Before Mar. 1871 (organ part)		 Mvts 1-3: 1 Dec. 1867, Vienna/J. Herbeck, R. Panzer
Mvts 1-4, 6, 7: 10 Apr. 1868, Bremen/Brahms, J. Stockhausen; also 27 Apr. 1868, Bremen/K. Reinthaler, F. Krolop (Brahms was present as a listener)
Mvt. 5: 17 Sept. 1868, Zurich/F. Hegar, I. Suter-Weber
Rinaldo, Op. 50 N. Simrock/Aug. 1869
(score, parts, piano-vocal score)		 28 Feb. 1869, Vienna/Brahms, G. Walter
Schicksalslied, Op. 54 N. Simrock/Dec. 1871
(score, parts, piano-vocal score)		 18 Oct. 1871, Karlsruhe/Brahms
Triumphlied, Op. 55 N. Simrock/Nov. 1872
(score, parts, piano-vocal score)		 Mvt. 1: 7 Apr. 1871, Bremen/Brahms
Complete work: 5 June 1872, Karlsruhe/H. Levi, J. Stockhausen
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 N. Simrock/Oct. 1877
(score, parts, piano four-hand arrangements)		 4 Nov. 1876, Karlsruhe/O. Dessoff
8 performances between 7 Nov. 1876 and 16 Apr. 1877 in Mannheim, Munich, Vienna, Leipzig, Breslau, Cambridge, London/Brahms or J. Joachim; A. Manns and W. Cusins (in England)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 N. Simrock/Aug. 1878
(score, parts, piano four-hand arrangement)		 30 Dec. 1877, Vienna/H. Richter
6 performances between 10 Jan. and mid-June 1878 in Leipzig, Amsterdam, The Hague, Dresden, Düsseldorf/Brahms, F. Wüllner (Dresden) and J. Joachim (Düsseldorf)
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 N. Simrock/July 1881
(score, parts, piano four-hand arrangement)		 Test performance: 6 Dec. 1880, Berlin/J. Joachim or Brahms(?) directed the Hochschule orchestra
4 Jan. 1881, Breslau/Brahms
7 Performances between 13 Jan. and 20 Mar. 1881 in Leipzig, Münster, Krefeld, Vienna/Brahms; H. Richter (Vienna)
Tragic Overture, Op. 81 N. Simrock/July 1881
(score, parts, piano four-hand arrangement)		 Test performance: same as Op. 80
26 Dec. 1880, Vienna/H. Richter
From Breslau to Haarlem same as Op. 80
Nänie, Op. 82 C. F. Peters/Dec. 1881
(score, parts, piano-vocal score)		 Test performance: 19 Oxt. 1881, Meiningen/Brahms or H. von Bülow? (without chorus)
6 Dec. 1881, Zurich/Brahms
Gesang der Parzen, Op. 89 N. Simrock/Feb. 1883
(score, parts, piano-vocal score)		 10 Dec. 1882, Basel/Brahms
7 performances between 17 Dec. 1882 and 18 Feb. 1883 in Zurich, Strasbourg, Bonn, Krefeld, Oldenburg, Schwerin, Vienna/Brahms
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 N. Simrock/May 1884
(score and parts, two-piano arr.)		 2 Dec. 1883, Vienna/H. Richter
13 performances between 4 Jan. and 2 Apr. 1884 in Berlin, Wiesbaden, Meiningen, Leipzig, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bremen, Amsterdam, Dresden, Frankfurt a. M., Budapest/J. Joachim (1st Berlin performance), Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 N. Simrock/May 1886
(two-piano arr.)
Oct. 1886 (score and parts)		 25 Oct. 1885, Meiningen/Brahms
23 performances between 1 Nov. and mid-June 1886 in Meiningen, Frankfurt a. M., Essen, Elberfeld, Utrecht, Amsterdam, The Hague, Krefeld, Cologne, Wiesbaden, Mannheim, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Hamburg, Hanover, Breslau, London/Brahms, H. von. Bülow (Meiningen), J. Joachim (1st Berlin performance), H. Richter (Vienna and London), F. Wüllner (3rd Cologne performance)

4:2 Brahms and Tone Colour

In his Third Symphony, Brahms demonstrated his awareness of the various nuances of tone colour that different species of the same instrument could provide. According to McCorkle, if one compares the conductor's score used for the first performance in Vienna in December 1883 with Simrock's first printed edition, there is a change from Bb to the more lyrical A clarinets32 in the second theme of the first movement, and 'the addition or elimination of certain instruments, thus subtly influencing the coloration of various passages'.33 Similarly in the fourth movement of the First Symphony Brahms expressed his preference for (what some consider) the more majestic sounding Bb clarinet over the A clarinet: 'Damit es nun mit der Confusion nicht weiter gehe muss Hr F. auch in der Part[itur] die Clarinetten nach B transponieren'.34

An example of Brahms' use of trombone tone colour to convey a particular mood is shown in the section's first chordal entry in the Second Symphony. Despite the protestations in August 1879,35 of his colleague Vincenz Lachner who argued that the introduction of the trombones, with their 'düstern, lugubrigen Töne'36 spoiled what was otherwise an 'idyllisch heitere'37 symphony (Ex. 4.1), Brahms refused to delete the passage. According to Lachner:

Überhaupt möchte ich aus diesem Satz Pos[aunen] u. Tuba ausgeschlossen sehen, die mir zur Grundstimmung desselben nicht nöthig scheinen u. der Kraftfülle, wo sie in der Conzentrierung aller Tonmittel auftritt, kein wesentliches Element zuführen. Damit würden auch die Stellen wegfallen, wo diese Instrumente imitatorisch das Motiv des Basses (1ter Takt) in befremdlicher Weise aufgreifen und plötzlich eine Tonqualität blosstellen, die mit dem Adel der Umgebung kontrastirt, in ihrer gesteigerten Wiederholung aber bis zu einem grellen Ausbruch von Wuth u. Schmerz vorschreiten, der mein Ohr verletzt wenn auch mein Auge die thematische Verwendung des Motivs bewundert. Mit diesen Instrumenten, deren Intonation ja nie ganz reinlich, in dissonierender Übereinanderstellung so weit vorzugehen scheint mir verwegen, den Wohllaut schwer beeinträchtigend.38

Brahms replied rather cryptically that:

Ebenso flüchtig sage ich, daß ich sehr gewunscht u. versucht habe in jenem ersten Satz ohne Posaunen auszukommen. (Die e-moll-Stelle hätte ich gern geopfert, wie ich sie Ihnen also jetzt opfere.) Aber ihr erster Eintritt, der gehört mir u. ihn u. also auch die Posaunen kann ich nicht entbehren. Sollte ich jene Stelle vertheidigen da müßte ich weitläufig sein. Ich müßte bekennen daß ich nebenbei ein schwer melancholischer Mensch bin, daß schwarze Fittiche beständig über uns rauschen, daß – vielleicht nicht so ganz ohne Absicht in m[einem] Werken – auf jene Sinfonie eine kleine Abhandlung über das große 'Warum' folgt. Wenn Sie die (Motette) nicht kennen so schicke ich sie Ihnen. Sie wirft den nöthigen Schlagschatten auf die heitre Sinfonie u. erklärt vielleicht jene Pauken u. Posaunen.39

According to Reinhold Brinkmann, the profound sadness expressed in the Motet, 'Warum ist das Licht gegeben den Mühseligen' (No. 1 from Opus 74), which Brahms was working on concurrently with the Second Symphony, 'die hier nicht nur zeitlich, sondern auch als innerer Kontrapost zur "heitren" sinfonie trit',40 casts a 'Schlagschatten'41 upon it. The initial entry of the trombones in the symphony produces a similar effect:

Geprägt vom Ausdruckscharacter der verminderten Septakkorde... bilden... den dunklen Gegenpol zur idyllischen Natursmetapher des Anfangs... ein nachdrückliches Infrage-Stellen der pastoralen Welt.42

This creates a sense of underlying tension and unease from the outset.

'Schwarze Fittiche beständig über uns rauschen': Aus diesem Geist sind die Posaunen-akkorde... [und] 'die Partitur... mit Trauerrand' geschaften.43

It is worth noting that, according to the autograph score, Brahms originally intended to use a fourth trombone in the outer movements44 (Ex. 4.2), but decided to use a tuba instead, which according to Brinkmann could have been due to the fact:

dass die Bass-Posaune, wenn sie nicht allein auf die Fundierung des Posaunenchores beschränkt bleiben, sich nicht gut mit den tiefen Streichern mischten, vor allem eine Parallelführung mit den Kontrabassen war ein Problem.45

4:3 Brahms' Problematic Use of Trombone Nomenclature and Clef in his Scores

Like Bruckner, Brahms' use of nomenclature and clef in his scores is an unreliable means of determining the choice of instrument for the first trombone part of his works. For example, in the Tragic Overture (Ex. 4.3), all three trombone parts – labelled '3 Posaunen' – are on a single stave of tenor clef. On the first page of the Academic Festival Overture, Brahms places '3 Posaunen' and 'Bass Tuba' together on the same stave of bass clef. But on page three of the autograph, while still in bass clef, he refers to the trombones as 'Alt, Tenor, Bass'; by page 16 the trombones, now called '1, 2, 3', are still on one stave but in tenor clef (See Ex. 4.4). The first trombone in Brahms' Symphony No. 1 starts out in alto clef but changes to tenor clef at the soli-chorale at letter [c] (See Ex. 4.5).

According to the musicologist Dr Michael Struck, on the first page of the autograph score of the Schicksalslied the trombones are called '3 Posaunen' and are written in tenor clef on a single system (Ex. 4.6); yet on page six the trombones appear as 'Alt-/Ten.-Pos.' on the same stave in tenor clef, and 'Bass-Posaune' in the bass clef.46 Hermann Levi's Partiturabschrift (copy of the score), which also served as the Stichvorlage (engraver's manuscript for the printing of the score), has the trombones labelled as '3 Posaunen' in tenor and bass clef, and thus they appear in Simrock's printed score.47 Yet in Simrock's printed parts:

lauten die drei separaten Stimmen: "Trombone Alto" + Altschlüssel, "Trombone Tenore" + Tenorschlüssel, und "Trombone Basso" + Baßschlüssel.48

In the autograph score of the Requiem (Ex. 4.7), the first trombone changes clef several times: for instance, it is in bass clef in the second movement (Ex. 4.8), tenor clef in the third movement, and at Feierlich in the seventh movement it is in alto clef.49 Anne Kathrin Mascus of Breitkopf & Härtel confirms that the first trombone part of their 1928 publication of the Requiem is designated 'Alt-Posaune', and is written in alto clef:

The original [printed] parts are still in our archive, and the orchestral material which is available on sale is almost identical to the original.50

Robert Pascall cautions that some scholarly editions can also be misleading:

Because the vast majority of Brahms' works were published during his lifetime and with his close collaboration, it was widely assumed until recently that these published texts, unless revised or corrected in Brahms' personal copies (the Handexemplare), represent the exact and final wishes of the composer. Indeed, the assumption lay behind the decision of Mandyczewski and Gál to base nearly all their editions for the Johannes Brahms Sämtliche Werke on the Handexamplare and to place little value on readings in the other primary sources – autographs, copyists' manuscripts and other contemporaneous editions. Studies in textual criticism undertaken during the last few years... have shown this view to be erroneous for a number of Brahms' compositions... However, issues from original plates of around 1897 should play an important part in establishing the definitive text of a Brahms work, since they should have picked up all the corrections Brahms made by letter (assuming that Simrock or Röder heeded Brahms' requests, as in general they did).51

The most typical kinds of errors are also those which happen to be of the greatest interest to performers: omission of performance signs; confusion over which stave performance signs apply to, over similar signs such as sf, rf, or staccato and accent; inaccurate extension of crescendo, decrescendo and slur marks (a most characteristic engraver's error); inaccurate placement (including notes by the interval of a third); and inaccurate standardisation.52

4:4 Brahms and the Publication Process

Given Brahms' critical involvement in the publication process and his demonstrated awareness of instrumental colour, the parts from the first printed editions can, according to Michael Struck,53 be relied upon to indicate the make-up of his trombone section. George Bozarth concurs: 'the score notation is a simplification and the parts leave no doubt about which instruments play what'.54 The conclusions reached by the present author as to whether Brahms intended an alto or a tenor for the first trombone part in his works are based on first-hand observation of both the first-printed parts and the later-issued parts cited by Pascall.55

4:5 Brahms' Vocal Works with Trombone Parts

The small choral work, Begräbnisgesang (Ex. 4.9), composed in 1858, is apparently the first composition in which Brahms used a trombone section. The accompaniment also includes two oboes, two clarinets, two bass bassoons, two horns, tuba and tympani.56 In the first printed edition by J. Rieter-Biedermann (Ex. 4.10), the first trombone part is labelled 'Alt-Posaune'. Although I have found no evidence of trial performances of Begräbnisgesang to suggest Brahms' involvement in its publication as with his later works, one could surmise that it was written for the alto trombone as it is the most treble voice of the six-part brass choir and is frequently used to double the alto voice. Moreover, in the first printed edition of the Deutsches Requiem, of which there is ample evidence of Brahms' central role in the publication process57 and which he started to compose during the same period as the Begräbnisgesang (considered by many to be its precursor58), the parts for the low brass are specified as alto, tenor, bass and tuba.

In Begräbnisgesang, Brahms also features the alto trombone in melodic passages. In bars 17-24 the alto, in harmony with the tenor trombone, plays an obbligato in contrary motion to the horn solo before joining the alto voices in unison in bars 25-34 on 'er und... von Erden wieder aufstehn, wenn Gottes Posaun' wird angehn'59 (See Ex. 4.11).

Soli-chorales, a hallmark of Brahms' trombone writing, are used to create a sense of solemnity as well as dark moods of gloom and despair (Ex. 4.12); a soft, berceuse-type chorale of soulful resignation precedes the final melancholy coda in c minor, 'nun lassen wir uns schlafen'60 (Ex. 4.13).

The listener is immediately struck by the similarities of mood and colour between this work and the Requiem; as in the Begräbnisgesang, the tuba in the Requiem helps Brahms achieve the dark Klangcharacter, especially in the second movement ('Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras'61) as shown in Example 4.14. Although in the Requiem the alto trombone frequently fulfills its 'traditional' role of vocal support (Ex. 4.15, 4.16, 4.17), Brahms also uses it in ways where a less conservative composer might have used a tenor trombone as shown in Ex. 4.14, 4.18. Another atypical use for an alto trombone occurs in the third movement, in which Brahms assigns a D/d pedal point to the trombones and tuba which they sustain for thirty-five bars (Ex. 4.18).

According to Dr Michael Struck, Brahms employed the alto not so much because it was needed to reinforce the alto vocal line, but simply because the instrument was part of the Brahms orchestra.62 Those who attribute to Brahms the use of a trombone section composed of two tenors and a bass demonstrate the tendency of contemporary musicians to mistakenly associate the more classical Brahms – 'criticised in his lifetime for being a dry reactionary'63 – with the heavy romanticism of Wagner, post-Linz Bruckner, and Richard Strauss. Ron Barron, Principal Trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, states that many conductors feel that the alto trombone has the appropriate timbre for first trombone parts only for works composed 'before 1840 or so'.64

According to Pascall:

Brahms had his share of... conservative inclinations. For instance, [although] horns had had valves added from 1815 on... Brahms continued to write for valveless horns, and in this he was more conservative than his predecessor and friend Robert Schumann... As pianist too, Brahms preferred conservative-sounding instruments for his private use... Although there was a general tendency for the romantic orchestra to increase in size during Brahms' time... there are however some clear indications that Brahms preferred smaller orchestras.65

As choruses in Germany and Austria also became larger during this time, the need for different timbred trombones to support their vocal counterparts became superfluous. Pascall writes that 'in the nineteenth century the choir would characteristically outnumber the orchestra, and this represented a change from the eighteenth century practice'.66 In Vienna, for example, the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, which Brahms conducted for a short time, had 122 members in 1859; in 1869, around the time of the first Vienna performances of the Requiem, it had 297 members; by 1878 it had 360.67 Significantly, Pascall adds that 'the choir, in common with many others then... had problems with its tenor section',68 the tenors being too weak to balance the other voices. As Rober Sheldon states:

Brahms is relatively late stuff and his sporadic chorus-trombone doubling seems to be just orchestration for beauty's sake and not due to any practical need of any sort69

Brahms the traditionalist seems to have intended an alto trombone in his choral works, including Schicksalslied (1871), Triumphlied (1872), Nänie (1881) and Gesang der Parzen (1883), Ex. 4.6, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, respectively. Only in Rinaldo (1869) in which the first trombone part of the first printed edition is in bass clef and labelled 'Trombone 1', does Brahms not designate an alto as the first trombone. Scored for men's chorus and orchestra, the work employs trombones which operate largely independently of the voices. Appropriately, Brahms used the first trombone a number of times to double the first tenors (See Ex. 4.22).

4:6 Alto or Tenor Trombone?

Thus according to the parts from the respective first printed editions and confirmed by the later issues published around the time of his death in 1897, with the exception of Rinaldo noted above, it appears that Brahms was writing for an alto in all of his large orchestral works that used a trombone section. In all of these compositions, from the German Requiem in 186970 through to the Fourth Symphony in 1886 (Ex. 4.23), which appears to be the last major work in the nineteenth-century standard symphonic repertoire that specifically demands the ATB trio, the trombone parts are called 'Alt-Posaune' (in alto clef), 'Tenor-Posaune' (in tenor clef) and 'Bass-Posaune' (in bass clef).71

Using the score to decipher Brahms' intentions regarding the use of the alto or tenor trombone for the first trombone part is inherently unreliable. For example, based on the range of the first trombone (g-a') in Brahms' Symphony No. 1 and the integration of the trombone section with the trumpets and horns to create a brass choir (see Ex. 4.24), one might argue that a tenor trombone was intended for the first desk. Likewise, one might deduce that Brahms had a first tenor trombone in mind for his large choral works, given the not particularly demanding tessitura of the first parts and the fact that the first trombone is frequently independent of its would-be vocal counterpart, especially in the Requiem, Triumphlied and Gesang der Parzen, in all of which the alto would seem to be an unlikely choice to balance the tuba.

However, it remains to be seen whether Brahms' wishes regarding the alto were always respected, even during his lifetime, for this was a period in which the tenor trombone was rapidly and conclusively eclipsing the alto. Surely, more often than he would have preferred, Brahms was compelled to accept the fact that the number of trombonists who could play or even owned an alto was rapidly dwindling, and resign himself to making do with the resources at hand. Indeed, even in Vienna, it appears Brahms could not always count on getting the trombone section he intended: Archival material strongly suggests that in the first performances of Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, the trombonists used valved instruments.72

  1. Alan Lumsden, The Sound of the Sackbut: A Lecture in Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Collection of Musical Instruments, 1988, p. 9. Return to Article
  2. Donald Appert, 'The Alto Trombone: Its Uses, Problems and Solutions', ITA Journal 8 (March 1980), p. 13. Return to Article
  3. John Drew, 'The Emancipation of the Trombone in Orchestral Literature', ITA Journal 9 (1981), p. 2. Return to Article
  4. Philip Bate, The Trumpet and Trombone, London, 1966, p. 56. Return to Article
  5. Hartman, op. cit., p. 38. Regarding Dr Hartman's assertion on score notation, as will be shown, Brahms frequently did not use three separate clefs in his scores; as to the 'special note' used by composers, with the exception of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique and two short passages in Mahler's sixth and seventh symphonies (see Coda), I have found no evidence of this whatsoever in the standard orchestral repertoire. Return to Article
  6. Anthony Baines, 'The Trombone' in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th edition, London, 1954, vol. 8, p. 555. Return to Article
  7. Dr Michael Struck, personal correspondence, 22.2.96. Return to Article
  8. Margit McCorkle, 'The Role of Trial Performances for Brahms' Orchestral and Large Choral Works: Sources and Circumstances', in George S. Bozarth (ed.) Brahms Studies: Analytical and Historical Perspectives, Oxford, 1990, pp. 296-97, 318. Return to Article
  9. 'Before publication I must have a completely good performance behind me.' Max Kalbeck (ed.), Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, erster Band, vol. ix, 1974, p. 105. Trans. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 312. Return to Article
  10. 'The single most important thing with regard to the performance is to be able to rehearse as much and as often as I wish.' Wilhelm Altman (ed.), Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, vol. iii, Berlin, 1908, p. 13. Return to Article
  11. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 319. Return to Article
  12. Ibid., p. 300. Return to Article
  13. Robert Pascall, 'Playing Brahms: A Study in Nineteenth-Century Performance Practice', Papers in Musicology, No. 1, Nottingham, 1991. p. 11. Return to Article
  14. Dr Michael Struck, personal interview, 4.9.96. Return to Article
  15. 'I always secretly preferred, of course, the thought of hearing the thing first performed in a small city which has a good friend, a good Kapellmeister, and a good orchestra.' Karl Krebs (ed.), Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, vol. xvi, Berlin, 1920, p. 144. Trans. McCorkle op. cit., p. 315. Return to Article
  16. 'the financial resources would be excellent in Bremen, the church has splendid acoustics', and 'in any case the conductor [Karl Reinthalter, Cathedral organist and Director of the Bremen Singakademie] would not fail to be diligent; he would be very taken with your score.' Andreas Moser (ed.) Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, zweiter Band, vol. vi, Berlin, 1912, p. 49. Return to Article
  17. 'My compositions are indeed very difficult and in Bremen one goes rather more cautiously up to high 'A' than in Vienna... I am now enclosing the score for the first [three] movements, as I sincerely wish and hope that you will have the strings take part in the chorus rehearsals; it would be very nice if the violinists were acquainted with the thing from now on. Are the parts for the other movements ready and fairly correct?' Altmann (ed.), Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, vol. iii, pp. 15-16. Trans. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 305. Return to Article
  18. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 318. Return to Article
  19. Ibid., p. 298. Return to Article
  20. Pascall, op. cit., p. 287. Return to Article
  21. 'Now I have yet the biggest request, that you run off a new viola and first and second violin parts for Pest... On 2nd April the Symphony takes place in Pest. Then I shall send you score and parts; the whole ballast, from Pest. The parts of course must be revised according to the score... The paste-over in the first string part does not stand – I shall correct it in the score.' Max Kalbeck (ed.) Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, dritter Band, vol. xi, Tutzing, 1974, pp. 52-53, 54. Trans. Pascall, op. cit., p. 286, edited by John Wagstaff. Return to Article
  22. 'I wanted to correct the parts for you nicely, but I see that they must be looked at by expert eyes before they go to the engraver... let me have a proof of the parts to read'. ' Max Kalbeck (ed.) Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, dritter Band, vol. x, Tutzing, 1974, p. 69. Trans. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 319. Return to Article
  23. McCorkle, op. cit, p. 319. Return to Article
  24. 'There are very bad errors everywhere'. Kalbeck, op. cit., p. 75. Return to Article
  25. Pascall, op. cit., p. 287. Return to Article
  26. 'Possibly you could carry out a small print-run – so that one might spot more errors'. Kalbeck, Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, vol. x, p. 75. Return to Article
  27. 'I must absolutely have permission to have all possible changes made on the plates afterwards! For sure, they probably won't be serious, but it is possible.' Kalbeck, Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, vol.ix, p. 102. Trans. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 312, edited by Ken Shifrin. Return to Article
  28. Robert Pascall, 'The Publication of Brahms' Third Symphony: A Crisis in Dissemination', in George S. Bozarth (ed.), Brahms Studies, p. 288. Return to Article
  29. Ibid., p. 288. Return to Article
  30. Ibid., p. 286. Return to Article
  31. Source: Margit L. McCorkle, 'The Role of Trial Performances', pp. 298-302. Return to Article
  32. According to M. Mimart, 'la clarinette en la a le son légèrement voilé, ce qui lui donne un charactére un peu sombre, mais tendre et élégiaque' ('the A clarinet has a lightly veiled sound, which gives it a slightly sombre but tender and elegiac character'.) M. Mimart, 'La Clarinette', in Encyclopédie de la Musique et Dictionnaire du Conservatoire, Deuxième Partie: Technique-Esthétique-Pédagogie, Paris, 1925, p. 1653. Return to Article
  33. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 324. Return to Article
  34. 'So that the confusion goes no further, Herr F[uller, the copyist] should also transpose the clarinets in the score to Bb'. Carl Krebs (ed.) Johannes Brahms Briefwechsel, vol. xvi, Berlin, 1920, p. 150. Trans McCorkle, op. cit., p. 315. Return to Article
  35. An indication that Brahms solicited the opinions of his colleagues even after publication, as Simrock's first edition had appeared a year earlier. Return to Article
  36. 'dark, lugubrious sound'. Reinhold Brinkmann, 'Die "heitere Sinfonie" und der "schwer melancholische Mensche"' in Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht (ed.) Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, Stuttgart, 1989, p. 297. Return to Article
  37. 'idyllic, cheerful', Ibid., p. 297. Return to Article
  38. 'In general I would like to see trombone and tuba excluded from this movement, since it seems to me superfluous to the basic mood, and there is no element of strength in the register in which their notes are concentrated. Additionally, I would also delete the passage in which these instruments imitate the motif of the basses (first bar) in a disturbing fashion, because when they take up the theme, suddenly a tone quality that contrasts with the surrounding majesty appears in the repetition, intensifying yet striding forth in a shrill outbreak of rage and pain that hurts my ears, even if my eye beholds with admiration the thematic use of the motif. To give priority to the dissonant combination of these instruments, whose intonation is indeed never completely pure, seems to me seems to me to be too audacious and adversely affects the pleasant sound.' Letter from Vincenz Lachner, Oberstdorf in Allgäu, August 6 1879, to Brahms. Cited by Brinkmann, ibid., pp. 297-98. Intonation difficulties can be more apparent when this passage is played with an alto on the first trombone part, due to the relatively low register and long slide positions required. Pitch dissonances are also easier to mask in the TTB trio because of the similarity of timbre. Return to Article
  39. 'Even though I say in passing, I earnestly wished and attempted to manage without the trombones in the first movement. (The E-minor passage I would have gladly sacrificed as you yourself would now thus sacrifice.) But their first entry belongs to me and to it, and therefore I cannot dispense with the trombones. If I should have to defend that passage I would need to go on at length. I must confess by the way that I am a deeply melancholy person, that black wings constantly rustle over us, that perhaps not quite unintentionally in my works [and] about the symphony a small discourse on the great 'Why' follows. If you do not know it (the Motet) then I'll send it to you. It throws the necessary cloud over the cheerful symphony and explains perhaps the timpani and trombones.' Letter from Brahms to Lachner, August 1879, cited by Brinkmann, ibid., pp. 301-302. Return to Article
  40. 'which here is not only contemporaneous but also appears as an internal opposite to the "cheerful" symphony'. Brinkmann, ibid., p. 297. Return to Article
  41. Brahms' word for 'shadow'. Return to Article
  42. 'stamped with the expressive character of the diminished seventh-chord... form the dark, opposite pole to the idyllic metaphor of Nature at the beginning... an emphatic built-in questioning of the pastoral world.' Ibid., p. 305. Return to Article
  43. '"Black wings rustle over us": From this spectre the trombone chords... [and] the score... are shaped with a black border'. Ibid., p. 305. Brinkmann quotes from Brahms' letter to Simrock of 22.11.1877 regarding the Second Symphony: 'Die neue Symphonie ist so melancholisch, dass Sie es nicht aushalten. Ich habe noch nie so was Trauriges, Molliges geschrieben: die Partitur muss mit Trauerrand erscheinen. ('The new symphony is so melancholy that you will not be able to bear it. Never before have I written something so sad and steeped in a minor tonality: the score must appear with a black border around it.') Brahms Briefwechsel, vol 10, Band 2, ed. Max Kalbeck, Tutzing, 1974, p. 56 f. Return to Article
  44. The tuba was always intended for the second movement. Reinhold Brinkmann, 'Johannes Brahms: Die Zweite Symphonie, Späte Idylle', Musik-Konzepte vol. 70 (October 1990), Munich, p. 13. Return to Article
  45. 'that the bass trombone, when it is not limited to functioning as the foundation for the trombone section on its own, does not blend well with the lower strings; especially problematic is playing in parallel with the contrabasses.' Ibid., p. 15. Return to Article
  46. Michael Struck, personal correspondence with the author, 22.2.96. Return to Article
  47. Ibid. Return to Article
  48. 'the three separate parts are called "Alto Trombone" in alto clef, "Tenor Trombone" in tenor clef, and "Bass Trombone" in bass clef'. Michael Struck, ibid. Return to Article
  49. Dr Teresa Hrdlicka, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, Archiv, personal correspondence with the author, 4.12.95. Return to Article
  50. Anne Kathrin Mascus, Breitkopf (Wiesbaden) sales department, personal correspondence with the author, 22.12.95. Return to Article
  51. Robert Pascall, 'Brahms' Third Symphony', pp. 283, 294. Return to Article
  52. Robert Pascall, 'Playing Brahms', p. 5. Return to Article
  53. Michael Struck, personal interview, 4.9.96. Return to Article
  54. George Bozarth, personal correspondence with the author, 14.2.96. Return to Article
  55. As the trombone nomenclature used in the first and second printed editions is identical, for purposes of brevity the term 'first-printed edition' should be understood to include both. The author wishes to express his gratitude to Dr Michael Struck of the Johannes Brahms Gesamtausgabe of the Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität Kiel, who made these parts available and who provided invaluable supervision. Also to be acknowledged is the kind assistance of Lothar Niefind, archivist from Anton J. Benjamin Verlag (formerly Simrock), and of Jürg Mullendorf, archivist of Peters Edition Germany, who provided confirmation in many instances. Return to Article
  56. Acording to Malcolm MacDonald, Brahms had originally intended to use low strings as well, but omitted them so that the 'Burial Song' could be performed outdoors. Malcolm MacDonald, Brahms, London, 1990, p. 114. Return to Article
  57. Trial performances took place in Vienna, in Bremen (twice) and in Zurich. McCorkle, op. cit, p. 298. Return to Article
  58. For example, Virginia Hancock, in her Brahms' Choral Compositions and His Library of Early Music, Ann Arbor, 1977, p. 114. Return to Article
  59. 'And he... will rise up from the earth again when God's trombone sounds'. Return to Article
  60. 'Now let us sleep'. Return to Article
  61. 'For all flesh is like grass'. Return to Article
  62. Michael Struck, personal interview, 4.9.96. Return to Article
  63. Philip F. Radcliffe, 'Brahms', in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, op. cit., 5th edition, London, 1954, vol. 8, p. 888. Return to Article
  64. Quoted in Hartman, op. cit., p. 86. Return to Article
  65. Pascall, 'Playing Brahms', pp. 9, 11. Return to Article
  66. Ibid., p. 12. Return to Article
  67. Ibid. Return to Article
  68. Ibid. Return to Article
  69. Robert Sheldon, personal correspondence with the author, 19.9.95. Return to Article
  70. Although Simrock published the score in November 1868, the orchestral parts were not printed until two months later. McCorkle, op. cit., p. 298. Return to Article
  71. Oddly, only in the Second Symphony does Simrock label the parts 'Posaune I (Alt)', 'Posaune II (Tenor)' and 'Posaune III (Bass)'. Return to Article
  72. Haus-Hof-Stadt-Archiv, Wien: Oper/K80/1884/Nr. 557. It appears that from 1862-1883 the trombonists of the Vienna Philharmonic/Opera used valved tenor and bass trombones exclusively (ibid). Return to Article

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