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Way back in 1997 The Horn Call published an article that I wrote on the history of the Kopprasch etudes, a version of which may be found online here. Also back a couple years ago I posted an article in Horn Matters that focused on the original 1832/33 version of the Kopprasch etudes, and that you could download that version on the IMSLP website.
As quick background (described in more depth in the articles linked above) Georg Kopprasch published two volumes of etudes. The Op. 6 low horn etudes are the ones we know and love that have been through many editions. The little used Op. 5 high horn etudes are similar but focused in a higher range.
The new development for 2011 is that trombonist Benny Sluchin has now made available an edition of the 60 Etudes, Opus 5, in a version for bass trombone, and it is available as a free download on the website of bass trombonist Doug Yeo! There he writes,
When Benny published his Brass Urtext critical edition of the two volumes of Koppprasch Etudes, adopted for tenor trombone in 2000 (now out of print, but soon to be available from Warwick Music), I was surprised to learn of the Opus 5 Etudes which were previously unknown to me. Originally for high horn (Cor Alto – premier horn), they are very different than the better known Opus 6 Etudes which were written for low horn (Cor Basse – second cor). Originally published in two volumes, each with 30 etudes, the 60 Etudes, Opus 5 were an important addition to my trombone music library. Over the years, as I worked on these “new” etudes – which are higher in tessitura than the Opus 6 Etudes and are all in tenor clef in Benny’s edition – I thought it might be useful to have a printing of these exercises an octave lower than the original, thereby making them more suitable for bass trombone. I contacted Benny to ask him if he would be willing to prepare another edition of the Kopprasch Etudes, Opus 5 for bass trombone. Not only did he agree, but he has offered to offer them at no cost to players who would like to use these fine Etudes. Benny and I both feel that the Kopprasch Etudes are a very important part of the “daily diet” of technical exercises every trombonist should use each day. With Benny generously offering his new edition of Kopprasch Etudes to players for free, I told him I would be willing to host them on my website, thereby giving players around the world access to this resource. We all owe Benny our heartiest thanks for his preparation of this edition, and for making them available at no cost to players and teachers.
More information is here as is the downloadable version as a PDF.
This new bass trombone version will work GREAT for low horn study. The tessitura is perfect (reading in “new notation” bass clef only a couple notes here and there are too low to play) and another neat thing for us in the horn world as well is that musically they are very similar to the standard version but none of them are the same, they will keep you on your toes! I will be making use of these in the studio this year; this version is certainly one for hornists to check out.
And while you are at the Doug Yeo website do look around a bit, it is a classic site and one of the very best ever put out in our brass world.
