Sackbut
by Philip Dale.

The Sackbut. A short history. 

The Trombone goes back a long way, in fact about 50-60cm! 

In 15th century we find references to an instrument called a Trompette Saqueboute which was different to a fixed pitched natural trumpet because the player used a telescopic slide to lengthen and shorten the tubing. The word Saqueboute combines two old French words, saque (to pull) and boute (to push) to describe the movement of the players arms and hands. In old English manuscripts we see it referred to in many differing spellings including Shagbolt, Sagbutt, Shackbusshe and Sackbutt. Italians adopted the name Trombone (large trumpet) and in Germany, Posaune. Today we use the word Sackbut to separate it from the much larger and differently designed modern Trombone. 

The Sackbut has a much lighter tone quality to the modern-day equivalent having a much smaller bore and smaller bell. It was this quality, coupled with a fully tuneable slide which made it a very popular choice in the 16th and 17th centuries to accompany the small cathedral choirs. Composers wouldn’t be afraid to use large groups of sackbuts which would include Alto, Tenor and Bass. They sound particularly resplendent in large cathedrals but also powerful enough to be used outdoors with Trumpets, Racketts and Shawms in the many Waits bands throughout Europe.

I play Alto and Tenor Sackbut and they were made by Ewald Meinl (Germany) in 2007. These two instruments are my pride and joy and have travelled with me to a great many countries including Israel, Columbia and Mexico. Perhaps one of the most memorable experiences for me was performing at St Mark's Basilica, Venice. Such a magnificent building and the home to some of the most sublime music ever written for Sackbut by the great composer, Giovanni Gabrielli.