The Art of the Baroque Trumpet with Edward H Tarr

Sacqueboutier over at Symphonyshare has been posting the mother lode of brass music recently so I thought I'd make a long overdue contribution. This stereo Nonesuch album is the first record that I ever bought some, gosh 32 years ago maybe?? The Art of the Baroque Trumpet with renowned trumpeter and scholar of the baroque period, Edward H Tarr.

Edward H Tarr is one of the greatest name in the history of trumpet performance and scholarship. Spending many years combing the libraries of Europe, Tarr almost singlehandedly resurrected an entire ouevre of music that had all but disappeared. A very fine trumpeter to boot, Tarr "premiered" scores of works for trumpet alone, trumpet and organ and, trumpet and ensemble to audiences in a directed effort to preach the rich history that the modern day trumpet and its predecessors has played in musical performance, ceremony and innovation. His legacy was to take the trumpet out of the modern orchestra and employ it in surroundings that best captured its initial purpose in the cultural life of a bygone age.  For more on Maestro Tarr, please see his website here.

The works on this record  are richly varied, from Altenberger's wonderful Concerto for 7 Clarini and timpani to Handel's Suite for trumpet and strings (from the Water Music). Tarr, and colleagues perform on both valved instruments and the ancient clarino trumpet which has has neither keys or valves but is a hollowed instrument with holes and a "trumpet" type  mouthpiece. The performances are lively and spirited though allowances need to be made for intonation. Trumpet playing on original instruments has progressed  light years since these records were cut in the late 60's and early 70's. Again, I stress that we own Tarr a great deal or gratitude for his herculean efforts and, Nonesuch for releasing a veritable treasure trove of lps dedicated to the wonderful instrument that I happily call my own.

Enjoy this fine anthology. Listening today is every bit as enjoyable as when I first put it on my dad's Zenith console turntable in 1979!? I am old!

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The Golden Age of Brass with Roger Voisin and The Brass Ensemble

Well...guess I've been on a brass kick lately, what with the two Stagliano posts, so here is something by a distinguished colleague of James Stagliano's, namely Roger Voisin. Recorded in 1954 for Unicorn and re released on the Kapp label, Voisin leads the Boston based "The Brass Ensemble" in a program of favorites from the late Remaissance and early Baroque periods.

This recording is important for several reasons. First, it is one of the first, if not the first to explore the vast baroque literature that had been written for, or arranged for, brass instruments. Second, it is a testament to the lifelong work of Robert King as arranger and advocate of brass music for various sized ensembles. I mentioned in a previous post that Mr King for years ran a successful and indispensable mail order service for brass players just a few miles from my boyhood home. King arranged scores of pieces for quartet, quintet, octet etc. and his reasonably priced charts were the basis of many a brass ensembles' library. And, they are fun to play!

Roger Voisin needs no introduction however, I'll say that he was a man that dedicated his life to trumpet performance, brass music literature, scores of students and the city of Boston, of which he loved so deeply. Roger was one of the last proponents of the great French School of trumpet playing that dominated orchestras like the BSO for over half a century. I remember him from several master classes as kindly, patient, but authoritative just the same.

I have to admit that I was expecting more favorable musical results here. Most of the record sounds like it was recorded in someone's den, way too small an acoustic for the sounds of trumpets, trombones, horns and tuba. The overall playing at times is downright sloppy with out of tune horns, bunches of flubbed notes and numerous suspect entrances. I am also surprised at how Roger and Armando Ghitalla have a difficult time blending throughout the program. My suspicion is that these were no more than run throughs and that the recording process was maybe semi professional at best.. I recall that when Roger recorded his 4 or 5 lp set of trumpet concertos for Kapp, there were many instances where he sounded down right labored and worn out. I suspect that Kapp was trying to get everything done in one shot come hell or high water. Whatever the case, this particular record should be best remembered as possibly he first of its kind so as a historical document, it is vital, imperative and worth a listen. However, to be frank, all the repertoire has since been recorded in better acoustic, by technically sure musicians under proper recording circumstances.

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Baroque Fanfares and Sonatas realized by Joshua Rifkin

A couple really fine Nonesuch dandies here for my respected colleague Don, the man we know as  "Sacqueboutier." Joshua Rifkin leads the finest brass players of London, c. 1972, in music of Biber and the early baroque. Yes, Philip Jones, John Iveson, John Wilbraham are here in all their glory!

The conductor/scholar/musicologist Rifkin is one of the leading proponents of period performance and practice in the world. His work, albeit controversial in some circles, has led musicians and public alike to look at perennial favorites in an entirely new light. I remember hearing Rifkin's take on Bach's B Minor Mass with one to a part and, well, being floored by the detail and supporting lines that were often buried in larger scale performances. Rifkin's way with his wide repertoire of music from the middle ages through the classical period is most always characterized by freshness and vitality.

The baroque works by Speer and Pezel take me back to the days of playing through the Robert King Brass editions at summer music camp. Brass players remember the old Robert King catalog and his delightful, and inexpensive, arrangements of music from the renaissance and baroque, al scored for modern brass instruments. I lived in the town over from King's business and would often go by for a purchase or two. King's business was almost exclusively mail since it was located in a large basement area beneath a barber shop with no signage on the building!  One of my most vivid memories of the place was the picture of Mr King with Maurice Andre, taken in the shop itself. Wow!

Stereo FLACS with notes included.

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