Tenor trombone, nominal pitch: B♭

Antoine Courtois

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Instrument

Tenor trombone

Instrument Family

Wind

Maker

Antoine Courtois

Place Made

Western Europe ; France ; Europe ; Paris

Date Made

1865

Description

Technical description: Silver-plated brass. Inner slides silver-plated, with stockings. Spring-loaded `siphon' water-key on outer slide bow guard. With alternative tuning-slide for a different pitch standard. According to the firm's archives [instruments books], the instrument was model A55, made in a batch of six. Overall size: 1145; bell 151. Sounding length: with shorter tuning slide, 2668; the longer of the alternative tuning slides adds c 90mm to the air column length; lengths of inner slides each 648. Bore: minimum 11.3; descending slide, 11.4; ascending slide, 11.4; m.t.s. bore, 12.2 - 13.4; at c 403mm from bell end, 16.1; at 23.6mm from bell end, 88.7. B = 0.81 (with shorter tuning slide). Bell cutoff = 900 Hz. Dia of mouthpiece receiver: m.r.t. 12.0 - 11.5. Decorative features: Ornate embossed embellishments on ferrules and stay ends. Signature marks: Inscribed on bell (within applied embossed oak-leaf wreath) "Conservatoire Imperial / de musique / 1er. Prix / décerné à / Henri Ludovic / de Lorenzo / 1865", and "ANTOINE COURTOIS / Breveté / FACTEUR DU CONSERVATOIRE IMPÉRIAL / 88, rue des Marais St. Martin / CI-DEVANT RUE DU CAIRE / Paris. Usable pitch: Plays a little higher than A⁴ = 440 Hz with short tuning-slide, which can be pulled to play at 440; plays at A⁴ = 430 Hz with long tuning-slide. Repair History: Tuning-slide receivers on bell section have been shortened, but the legs of the shorter tuning slides have not been shortened to match, so it stops at c 22mm short of full insertion. The limitation is a step in the proximal receiver at c 62mm, the distal receiver is unrestricted (expanding to the bell). Purchased by lender and possibly formerly used with mouthpiece (3748).

Notes

R. Parks, 13.9.97; A. Myers, bores 12.7.97.

Measurements

1145; bell 151.

Provenance

Henri Ludovic Agnellé de Lorenzo was born in Naples, 13th September 1832, and won the second prize at the Conservatoire Impérial de musique for trombone in 1863; first prize in 1865. He was later musicien gendarmerie de la garde. ; on loan to the Collection.