Abstract
There has not been such a guide to the evolution of the orchestral brass section from Johann Sebastian Bach to Ludwig van Beethoven to Hector Berlioz. I believe it is necessary to provide historical context, instrument choices, and various performance examples for the studying brass instrumentalist. This narrative aims to provide much of that gathered in one place so that successful practice and performances of these works can continue to be produced. The brass section of the orchestra has gone under many changes since the uses of corno da caccia and baroque trumpets. Aside from the slide instruments, the brass instruments used in orchestras of the baroque period and prior consisted simply of a tube with no valves or keys. The musician was limited to the notes of the harmonic series and had to rely on the function of the lips to change pitch. After the baroque period into the late classical period, musicians noticed that one could manipulate the pitch by moving the hand in the bell of certain instruments like the baroque horn and certain coiled trumpets. Later, holes were added to further correct the intonation problems brought on by the impure harmonics. Brass instruments became more capable of functioning within the orchestra and composers begun to increase the size of the brass section in their works. In the Mass in B minor, Bach scored for three
trumpets and one corno da caccia (hunting horn). Most of the time when the brass was playing, they were playing the melody, and, due to the only available diatonic scale being after the 8th partial of the harmonic series, these instruments were played in the very high register. Composers like Beethoven, among others, brought these instruments into the texture of the orchestra and soon they had other functions outside the high tessitura playing of the baroque period. In Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, trombones were added to the symphony orchestra. Composers experimented with more horns and trumpets. By the beginning of the 19th century, the long-awaited desire for many of these instruments to play chromatically was realized and composers like Berlioz expanded the brass section even further by adding a bass tuba to the orchestra. Soon, the orchestral brass section became standardized and the pool of composers that utilized the brass increased even more as these instruments were constantly improving. An understanding of the context of these instruments and compositions will serve the orchestral brass player in performance of these works, among others of these time periods.