In the words of the recording artists themselves, “We are extremely glad to share our debut album with our audience. The present album, 2021, represents therefore a welcome exploration of how the trumpet repertoire evolved during the period of the instrument’s full maturity. In 1815 the modern valve trumpet was invented, and the use of the trumpet as a solo instrument became gradually widespread various versions of this instruments were also created, allowing for a greater flexibility in terms of range and of timbre. (Unfortunately, Mozart reportedly hated the trumpet’s sound, so he used it only rarely). The technical limitations of the natural trumpet (employed roughly between the 16th and 18th century) did not prevent certain types of spectacular virtuosity to be practised, as happens in some solo parts written by Bach or Handel however, excellent performers were only seldom found, and many composers did not regard the trumpet as a solo instrument. The emergence of the trumpet as an orchestral instrument, and as an instrument capable of complex solo parts, was a relatively slow conquest. By way of contrast, this same role is played by the trombone in the German-speaking countries, where Luther’s translation of the Bible was used and where the word Posaune (the trombone) was employed to translate the same Greek or Hebrew originals. Thus, Southern European composers frequently employ the trumpet also as a symbol of religion, of the “numinous”, of transcendence and of God’s majesty. In the Latin and Catholic countries, which employed the Latin translation of the Bible until very recently, the trumpet was normally understood as the “modern” equivalent of the Latin word tuba. The trumpet is also found, with similar meanings, in the Bible, and here a curious phenomenon is observed. They range from heroism to pomp, from virility to majesty, and the trumpet evokes parades, solemn festivities, anthems and musical banners or flags. While it is possible to play both a lullaby and a triumphal march on a piano (and thus the symbolic value of piano music emerges from the musical contents rather from the sound in se), the trumpet immediately evokes some particular symbolic features. This association with the military sphere quickly translated into cognate fields, and the trumpet’s sound acquired a symbolic value of its own. By way of contrast, the sounds produced by many trumpets throughout the ages were meant to transmit a very precise meaning, and one which had a very clear verbal translation: it sounded attacks, retreats, alarms and other important message for the human community. Of course, music is in general a form of communication however, it is normally understood as conveying an affective and emotional meaning, one that cannot be expressed in words. In spite of the surrounding clamour, the trumpet’s sound could almost always be heard, and thus convey significant communications to the armies and soldiers. Its penetrating and intense sound, and the high pitch achieved by many forms of trumpet, encouraged its use on the battlefield and in other equally noisy contexts. On the other hand, its standing as a solo instrument has been recognized only relatively recently in Western music, although the twentieth century saw a sudden and magnificent flowering of solo works for this instrument, not only in the classical repertoire but also in a wide range of other musical styles.Īnother ironic aspect is that the trumpet has almost always been used in a “soloistic” fashion: indeed, in many cultures it was crafted and employed mostly as a source for aural signals. On the one hand, it is one of the oldest instruments created by humankind, and, with its many variants (in shape, matter, size and sound) it is found in most cultures through time and space.
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