...the modern compositions display a range not expected, but entirely worthwhile.
Before 1815, with the invention of the valve trumpet, a very different instrument, now called a "baroque trumpet," dominated the scene. The baroque trumpet is surely brassy and brilliant, and it inspired countless ceremonial flourishes and much important music of its day. Yet it also has its own qualities, not replicated on the modern instrument.
The battles of "early music" style, which raged in the classical music world in the 1970s, have largely been won. And the more unique, the odder, maybe, that "original instruments" sound to modern ears, the way they force listeners to pause and hear music freshly -- well, surely the better. The Seattle Trumpet Consort, seven virtuosi blending magnificently on baroque trumpets, have been exploring a little known repertoire niche since the group's formation in 2001. Much of this music can be classified as "fanfares," and the casual listener will think, "Aha, period movies and television!" But there is a reason for that cliché -- the natural excitement and nobility of fanfares. This new recording explores the tradition in fifteen short compositions dating from the late baroque through Benjamin Britten's Fanfare For St. Edmondsbury, from 1959. The sound is spectacular, the ensemble brilliantly complex, the trumpets "something else" in more ways than one. Note to the explorer: Try this.
- Andrew Freund
Track Listing:
1. L. Mozart Fanfare (0:56)
2. C.P.E. Bach March for the Ark (2:44)
3-8. W.A. Mozart Divertimento for Two Flutes, Five Trumpets and Timpani K.188 (9:39)
9-11. L.J. Ott Three Fanfares for Two Brass Choirs and Timpani (4:09)
12-16. M. Gebauer Premiere Suite of Fanfares (4:44)
17-19. A. Diabelli Heroic Music for Six Trumpets
and Timpani (5:46)
20-27. W.A. Mozart Divertimento for Two Flutes, Five Trumpets and Timpani K.187 (10:27)
28. R.Wagner Fanfare No. 1 (0:54)
29-31. S.R. Neukumm Three Fanfares (2:44)
32. R. Wagner Fanfare No. 2 (0:33)
33. F. Davern Quartet No. 6 for Four Natural Trumpets (3:44)
34. A. Dvořák Fanfare (2:03)
35. R. Wagner Fanfare No. 3 (0:53)
36-37. M. Epstein Two Canons for Seven Trumpets (3:09)
38. B. Britten Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury (3:11)
Performers:
The Seattle Trumpet Consort:
Brian Chin
David Cole
Matt Dalton
Ansgar Duemchen
Bob Gale
Judson Scott
Gordon Ullmann
Dan Oie, Timpani
with friends:
Kim Pineda - Baroque Flute
Jennifer Rhyne - Baroque Flute
Production Info:
Produced by Brian Chin
Production Assistance by Judson Scott and members of the STC
Recording Engineer: Ronald Haight
Engineered and Mastered by Ronald Haight Music in First Free Methodist Chuch, Seattle, WA
This recording was made possible by a generous grant from the people at 4Culture, King County's cultural services agency (Seattle, WA)
Reviews of After Baroque: Music For The Natural Trumpet
All Music (Adam Greenberg)
A group created in order to study and exhibit the sound of the natural trumpet (the trumpet prior to the addition of valves), the Seattle Trumpet Consort put together a collection of works created after the Baroque period that showcases the trumpet in its original form, using instruments modeled after museum pieces. Combining with them is a timpani ...