Equale
Funeral music for four equal trombones.
What it means
Equale designates a short piece for instruments of the same kind, in the narrower sense for four trombones. The name refers to this equality of scoring. Such pieces belong in the context of mourning and funeral music as was customary in Austrian and southern German regions: the sound of trombones was regarded as appropriate for occasions of this kind and was used at funerals and on certain days of the church year.
Musical use
Musically, equali are tersely and plainly built, usually homophonic, in a calm tempo and with clear harmony. The appeal lies in the sound of the uniform scoring: four trombones yield a closed, dark colour without contrast, which corresponds to the occasion. The short form is explained by the use — such pieces sound within the framework of a ceremony, not as concert music. Individual equali were later provided with text and performed as vocal settings, which underlines the close connection of trombone sound and choral writing.
Performance practice
Watch for pure intonation in the chords; with a uniform scoring, nothing covers an impurity. Tune the slide positions by ear and orient thirds and fifths on the root. Keep the volume restrained, because trombones carry strongly outdoors and in church spaces. Play connected and with a soft attack so that the texture sounds unified. Settle the tempo beforehand and keep it stable, since such pieces are embedded in a ceremony and agreements during playing are not possible.
Bear in mind that such pieces usually sound outdoors or in reverberant church spaces: choose a calm tempo and articulate more distinctly than would be necessary in the rehearsal room, because the reverberation otherwise draws the voices together. Settle beforehand where you stand and whether everyone hears each other. Tune the instruments on site and allow for effects of temperature. For intonation, reference to the bass part is decisive.
State the occasion in the programme, because such pieces come from a particular use.
Also check whether a vocal version of the same piece exists, because it explains the phrasing.