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In 2000, trombonist and scholar Benny Sluchin published an edition of the 60 Etudes, Opus 5, and 60 Etudes, Opus 6, by Georg Kopprasch, adapted for trombone. Kopprasch's name is well known to trombonists as the composer of a celebrated book of etudes that were originally written for low horn, his 60 Etudes, Opus 6. These etudes are available in many editions by many publishers and are part of nearly every trombonists' daily practice routine.

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.

While Kopprasch's Opus 6 Etudes are well known, little is known about the composer himself. Below is the preface to the edition, written by Benny Sluchin, which provides some information about Kopprasch as well as Benny's suggestions on how to get the greatest benefit from the exercises.

Georg Kopprasch was the son of the bassoonist and composer Wilhelm (Wenzel or Wencelas) Kopprasch (c. 1750 - after 1832). Kopprasch the elder was attached to the orchestra of the Chapel of Dessau. He wrote an opera, Einer jagt den Andern (The Hunter Hunted), Air with variations for bassoon and orchestra, a bassoon concerto, Symphony concertante for two bassoons, six variations for piano and eight duos for horns.

Georg Kopprasch was born in Deaasu sometime before 1800 and is first noted as a hornist in the band of the Prussian regiment. He then entered the orchestra of the Berlin Royal Theatre, where he is mentioned in 1824. By 1834, Kopprasch returned to his home town to serve as second horn in the Court orchestra. These scanty biographical details come from two sources: Fetis, Biographie Universelle des Musciens (Paris, 1874), and Mendel, Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon (Berlin, 1876). Of his compositions we have:

• Six short and easy quartets for horns
• Twelve small duets for horns
• Three grand duets
• Six sonatas for 2 horns, 2 trumpets and 3 trombones
• Sixty Studies for "cor alto", Opus 5
• Sixty Studies for "cor basse", Opus 6

From this list, the Soixante etudes pour le Cor Basse (second cor) Opus 6 are the widely known Kopprasch studies, of which there exist other adaptations for brass instruments. A complementary volume entitled Soixante etudes pour le Cor Alto (premier cor) Opus 5 has until now only been available in a partial modern edition. Both works were printed around 1832/2 by Breitkopf & Hartel in Leipzig. The adoption of these terms for the two types of horn probably stems from the Methode de cor alto et cor basse (paris, 1824) by Louis-Francois Dauprat (1787-1868) which was a standard pedagogical source of the period. At that time, the horn register was mastered by two different types of player: those who specialized in the high register (c' to c''') and those in the lower (c to a'').

This new, complete edition of the Kopprasch Etudes adopted for bass trombone is based on the 1832/3 edition of Opus 5. The two original volumes (of 30 Etudes each) have been divided into three PDF files, each with about 20 Etudes.

In the adaptation, the same transposition has been followed for all the studies, with them now being an octave lower than the original.

Particular care has been taken to respect the original page layout and to make clear the original notation, all signs added by the editor being placed within square brackets or within parentheses in the case of editorial courtesy accidentals. A few missing articulations and dynamic indications have been added. All these points are covered in the Editorial Notes.

Work suggestions

Like other traditional studies for horn written in the nineteenth century, Kopprasch's Etudes feature scales, arpeggios and articulations. By nature repetitive, they are harmonically predictable and have a clearly defined character. Some are essentially melodic, but most deal with articulations, and a few highlight trills and wide leaps. Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of these Etudes:

Tonalities: The Kopprasch Etudes were composed at a time when the valve horn was only just beginning to establish itself. On the other hand, it is not specified that these studies were written for the natural horn. As the tonalities do not vary in Etudes, it may be assumed either that they were used for instruments of different lengths or that they were transposed. To maximise the usefulness of these studies, they should be worked in other tonalities.

Articulations: Some studies (indicated by *) present the player with a choice of articulation. There is no need, however, to limit oneself to the indicated choice. Other articulations can be chosen and applied, even in the case of those studies without variable articulations.

Octaves: The range used in these studies can be widened by means of partial or complete transpositions to the upper or lower octave.

Dynamics: The dynamic indications should be taken as merely the starting point for practice. The player is free to change them or to add others.

Tempo: The Etudes bear no metronomic indications. The speed of a study must be established in relation to its tempo indication. Try experimenting with different tempi.

Bibliography

• Robert Merill Culbertson. The Kopprasch Etudes for Horn, D.M.A. treatise, University of Texas at Austin, 1990.
• Louis-Francois Dauprat. Methode de cor alto et cor basse (Paris, Schonenberger, ca. 1824).
• Heinrich Domnich. Methode de premier et de second cor (Paris, Conservatoire Imperial de Musique, 1807).
• John Ericson. The Original Kopprasch Etudes. The Horn Call, No 27/2 (1997), pp. 17-21.
• Francois-Joseph Fetis. Biographie Universelle des Musiciens et Bibliographie generale de la Musique. 2me ed. (Paris, Firmin Didot Freres, 1866-70).
• Vern Reynolds. The Horn Handbook, Amadeus Press (Portland, 1997), pp. 50-61.

While this music is being offered for free, it is copyrighted by Benny Sluchin, © Benny Sluchin, 2011, All Rights Reserved. The copyright is to ensure that this material will not be downloaded and subsequently published and sold for profit, and to protect the material from being used for personal gain. Permission is granted for individuals to download unlimited copies of this music for personal use only. Publication and/or sale of this material is prohibited.