The Baroque Trombone traces the development of the instrument from the early seventeenth century, when it was widely used throughout Europe, to the middle of the eighteenth century, by which time it was hardly known outside of German-speaking regions.

Author Stewart Carter explores the evolution of the role this storied instrument has played in a variety of performance contexts, which once included churches, towns, and royal courts, as well as how social roles and practices for the trombone varied from one country to another. The Baroque Trombone also traces how the instrument's physical characteristics have changed over time, with more than sixty images that reveal the instrument's different forms, its constituent parts, and how they affect the way the baroque trombone was played. Featuring over twenty musical examples that illustrate the breadth and highlights of the instrument's repertory, from ensembles to solos, with excerpts from works by Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, Dieterich Buxtehude, George Frederick Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach, The Baroque Trombone is a fitting tribute to this expressive instrument.

An amazing contribution to music history, The Baroque Trombone will serve as a key source for everyone connected with the study and performance of music from this period.