Baroque Trumpet

Since I study trumpet with a Baroque trumpet specialist, I've gained quite an affection for the instrument and the Baroque style.

The trumpet that we know today has come a long way. Trumpets did not always have valves as they do today. In fact valved trumpets did not come around until the early/middle part of the 19th century. Until then trumpets were long, wound up pieces of brass, similar to a modern bugle. These trumpets played in two registers. The lower sounding register, known as the "Principale" consisted mainly of the natural harmonic series. This means that it could not play a full scale. The upper sounding register is known as the "Clarino", and is very difficult to play in, however one can achieve full scales and chromatic pitches.

The Baroque trumpet flourished during a period known as the "High Baroque" era, which was during the late 1600's and early 1700's. Composers such as Handel and Bach wrote music for the Baroque, or "natural", trumpet. Handel's "Messiah" features a solo for Baroque trumpet in the song "The Trumpet Shall Sound". One of the most famous pieces, and most difficult, of the trumpet repertoire is "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2" by J.S. Bach. Both of these pieces require great skill on the instrument.

Over time specialty clarino playing became a rarity, with very few players being able to achieve clarity and sound in the upper register. This slow decline in clarino trumpet players led to the demise of the Baroque trumpet. By the time of Mozart and Beethoven the Baroque trumpet had been reduced to a fanfare, or "herald", instrument. The main use of trumpets was for fanfares and for accenting the main chords in a musical piece.

The Baroque trumpet has enjoyed a nice revival, with several people around the world specializing in the performance of Baroque trumpet playing.

Home	Page 1 The Mustang
Page 2 The SRT-4	Page 3 The Barracuda
Page 4 My Trumpet History	Page 6 Performance Repertoire
Page 7 Other Websites