Ca. 1700 Sinfonia a due Trombe (arranged)

Anonymus (1700) Sinfonia a due Trombe arranged for 4 trumpets and continuo. Edition Immer, Musikverlag Martin Schmid, SM50591. 2015. www.martin-schmid-blechblaesernoten.de

Friedemann Immer has presented a very clever arrangement of an anonymous  work from the Torelli-school for two trumpets and continuo. This duo was first published by Ed Tarr in 1975 by the Brass Press. An easy piece it’s not! It’s a long blow and while not in the highest tessitura, does consistently stay in the C” to C ‘’’ octave with long flurries of sixteenth notes. What Friedemann Immer has done is simply break up the passages between trumpets one and two and then given over to trumpets three and four. Thus he maintains the integrity of the composition and gives the trumpeters enough rests to have a reasonable chance of getting through the piece without collapse. In the last two bars Immer allows all four trumpets to play together by writing in some octave doublings and simple harmonies ending with a very effective conclusion. Martin Schmid’s publication is published with a large and readable font on sturdy stock as is the norm for his music editions. Those who attended the 2012 HBS Symposium in NYC had the chance to hear him join his colleagues in a wonderful natural trumpet ensemble performance of this work.

-- Jeffrey Nussbaum