Jason Dovel and Schuyler Robinson, Baroque Music for Trumpet and Organ (New Branch Records 019, 2018). www.newbranchrecords.com and www.jasondovel.com.
Jason Dovel has produced a beautiful recording with a stunning program of five well known and elegant works from the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth century trumpet repertoire. Those who attended the HBS symposium in New York in 2017 will remember his fine playing with his Kentucky University baroque trumpet ensemble. Jason Dovel is a great promoter of historical trumpet performance and has established, perhaps the very largest university baroque trumpet program in the US at the University of Kentucky.
Dovel plays at A=415 Hz on a 3-hole Egger copy of a Haas original. The program very intelligently organized by Dovel consists of Giovanni Viviani’s (1638-1693) first sonata, Johann Fasch’s (1688-1758) concerto, a suite by Handel (1685-1759), a sonata by Biber (1681-1749) and one of Torelli’s (1658-1709) D-major sonatas. Schuyler Robinson, a very able musical partner, adapted the string parts to organ as necessary. Dovel has a glorious tone and handles the florid lines flawlessly.
The Fasch piece is particularly difficult and Jason Dovel shows off his virtuosity with aplomb. He makes the high range and elaborate lines seem effortless. Dovel’s lyrical playing is evident in works by Handel, Biber and Viviani. Of particular note is his use of articulations employing the concept of lingua reversa thus producing a soft, flowing and historically informed approach. Torelli and Handel will, of course, have a special place in the hearts of trumpeters, and here too Jason Dovel performs them with flair and elegance.
This is a brilliant CD of some of the most wonderful works in the trumpet repertoire and gloriously performed by Jason Dovel.
-- Jeffrey Nussbaum
