Alison Balsom has called the Baroque period "the golden age of the trumpet", and here performs a selection of works that show great Baroque composers writing brilliantly for her instrument. The trumpeter's own Balsom Ensemble accompanies her in works by Handel (the famed Music for the Royal Fireworks), Purcell, Telemann and Bach.
Featuring
Alison Balsom
Simon Wright
Balsom Ensemble
George Frideric Handel
Henry Purcell
Johann Sebastian Bach
Georg Philipp Telemann
Did you know?
1/7
Interpretation
The album features newly arranged versions of famous Baroque works, adapted to elevate the natural trumpet and place it front and center.
Composition History
Bach likely wrote his difficult trumpet parts for Gottfried Reiche, his principal trumpeter, who died two months before the first performance of the Christmas Oratorio.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The Baroque trumpet was used to express a wide range of emotions and styles, from virtuosity and lyricism to stoicism and capricious flights.
Instruments
The Baroque trumpet, used on this recording, has no valves; every note is produced entirely by the shape of the player's lips.
Composer Biography
In Bach's Leipzig, a "Stadtpfeifer" (municipal musician) was expected to be competent on many instruments, including cornetto, horn, trombone, oboe, flute, and violin, not just the trumpet.
Historical Context
Baroque music for the trumpet was often composed with a specific musician in mind, such as John Shore for Purcell, Gottfried Reiche for Bach, and Valentine Snow for Handel.
Recording & Production
The organ sound on this recording is a virtual pipe organ using Hauptwerk software and samples from historical South German organs dating from 1642 to 1673.
You might also enjoy...
Fontana & Gabrieli: Sonate & Canzone
Still und lieblich
Á 2 Violin verstimbt
Hertel & Sponholz: Chamber Music for Winds
Weckmann: Chamber Works
Schmelzer, Biber, Pachelbel, Barthali & Turini: Deutsche Barock Kammermusik III
Chamber Music: London Baroque - Rosenmuller, J. / Hacquart, C. / Buxtehude, D. / Biber, H. I. F. (The Trio Sonata in 17Th Century Germany)
