Equale

thumb|Page 1 of "Drei Equale für vier Posaunen" ("Three Aequales for four Trombones") by [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] An equale or aequale (from , equal voices or parts) is a musical idiom. It is a piece for equal voices or instruments. In the 18th century the equale became established as a generic term for short, chordal pieces for trombone choirs, usually quartets or trios. The instruments were not necessarily equal in pitch, but formed a closed consort.

==Commemoration of the dead== thumb|Beethoven's funeral procession, led by a [[processional cross and four trombonists and sixteen singers performing Seyfried's voice arrangement of his Equali]] thumb|Trombones announcing a death from the belfry and playing at a Moravian music|Moravian funeral in [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1874]] Aequales were conventionally used in Austria to commemorate the dead. They were performed from towers on All Souls' Day (2 November), and on the previous evening. They were also performed at funerals.