Mr. Handel's Trumpeters - Barocktrompeten Ensemble Berlin

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Mr. Handel's Trumpeters
English Trumpet Music from Purcell to Handel


With the splendid sound of up to eight trumpets and timpani, with a large and colourful group of Basso Continuo (small organ, theorba, bassoon, violoncello & violone) the Baroque Trumpet Ensemble Berlin plays english Court Trumpet music of the time from Henry Purcell to George Frideric Handel.

The titel of the CD was choosen with a special intention. Beside the marvellous trumpet sounds of this era, we have another interesting and special fact there: the very close relationship and cooperation between the composers an their musicians - and: with their trumpet players indeed!
Valentine Snow was one of the most talented trumpet players of the flourishing 18. century in England. Around 1730 he joined G.Fr. Handel’s Orchestra in London. Handel was amazed and convinced by the talent of this young musician and wrote a lot of fine trumpet part for him. So, Valentine Snow got the second name “Mr. Handel’s Trumpeter”.

Henry Purcell had a long time friendship to the King Sergeant Trumpeter Mathias Shore (the father of John Shore). If you see the works by Purcell in his last 10 years, you will find this friendship and the respect for an outstanding musician very well documentated in the trumpet parts.

From contemporary reports we know that George Frideric Handel used very large instruments for his concerts from the Tower of London: military drums - big (wooden) timpani. They were tuned one octave lower then the normal timpani. Together in a octave-sound with the smaller timpani the result is a marvellous overtone-explosion for the sound of the whole ensemble! We used this nice technique in the large scored pieces on our CD.

Johann Plietzsch 2015


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