Adagio et Grande Polonaise Brillante by Georges Kastner (1810-1867). Edited by Jean-Louis Couturier. Sempre piu Editions SP0045, 2013.

Georges Kastner, known for his important theoretical writings on instrumentation and also the author of one of the most definitive studies of military music (Manuel General de Musique á l’Usage des Armées Françaises [1848]) was also a gifted composer. The Adagio et Grande Polonaise Brillante for Saxhorn in B flat with piano accompaniment was dedicated to Jean-Baptiste Arban and published by Brandus in 1849 when Arban must have been at a high point of his ability. While the fabled Edison recording of Arban still remains elusive, works such as this Kastner composition can give us some idea of his virtuosity. A full-scale solo work with florid passages and lovely lyrical lines it is 298 measures long and chromatically more adventurous than many works of this period. The piano accompaniment is equally demanding. The composition encompasses a two octave range from F to f”. In Couturier’s editorial notes he explains that Kastner was an early supporter of Adolph Sax’s instrument making activities. Kastner followed Sax’s reforms, in particular the new compositions for military music that followed. The source that Couturier used for this fine and readable edition is Bibliothéque Nationale de France no. Vm103. Jean-Louis Couturier deserves praise for another fine edition in the original French wind music series put out by Sempre piu Editions.

-- Jeffrey Nussbaum

Cesare Bendinelli, Tutta l’arte della Trombetta (1614), Facsimile edition with Translation and Critical Commentary by Edward H. Tarr, revised and augmented (Vuarmarens, Switzerland: Editions BIM, 2011)
Girolamo Fantini, Modo per Imparare a Sonare di Tromba (1638), Facsimile edition with Translation and Critical Commentary by Edward H. Tarr, revised and augmented (Vuarmarens, Switzerland: Editions BIM, 2009)
[editor's note: the BIM website lists the updated sections as sold seperately, if you already own the 1975 facsimiles - BP]

The importance of Bendinelli and Fantini’s trumpet methods cannot be overstated. Published in 1614 and 1638 respectively, The Brass Press offered the first complete English translations with critical commentary by Edward H. Tarr in 1975. Since that time there has been significant research done on the works and their importance to performance practice by Tarr and several of his students. The Brass Press has now released revised editions of the commentary as well as handsomely bound facsimile editions. The facsimile editions are slightly smaller than their predecessors (they are no longer full-sized facsimiles if you will): Bendinelli was 16”x11” and is now 13”x9 ½ “; Fantini was 14x9 ½ “; now is13” x9 5/16”. The commentaries include the accumulation of new research. The endnotes have been expanded and updated in both editions. They are highly detailed and explanatory: traits one has come to expect from Tarr. The purpose of this review is to compare editions and cite the expansion of information they contain.

Taking the commentary on the Bendinelli first, the reader learns much more about the man’s biography. A sense of his status is revealed in the colorful biographical details presented. For example, one of his daughters became the chief chamber servant of the Queen of France. Another married Michelangelo Galilei, brother of the famous astronomer and lutenist of the Munich court. This new edition presents a nearly full page color reproduction of the votive painting (and a detail of it as well) of Bendinelli praying to the Virgin Mary while a passenger on a boat which was about to enter a dangerous whirlpool on the Danube (the 1975 edition depicted these in black and white). Bendinelli’s activities as a teacher are discussed as well as his travels throughout Europe (including to Nuremburg to purchase eighteen trumpets from Anton Schnitzer). It is mentioned that he had a hobby of building automatic music boxes. In order to better understand the importance of Bendinelli’s method, Tarr discusses the two earlier methods of Heinrich Lübeck and Magnus Thomsen, citing research by Peter Downey.

Tarr’s commentary on the Fantini method is, again, greatly expanded from the 1975 edition. Although the bulk of the scholarship is his own, he graciously cites others who have contributed including dissertations by Peter Downey (1983) and Henry Meredith (1983) dissertation and two articles in our own HBS Journal by Ignio Conforzi from 1993 and 1994. We learn that based upon the organs of the day and their location the likely tuning pitch for his music would have been possibly as high as A=493 Hz(!) and are given details of two recordings of the music (one by Conforzi on Quadrivium and one by Tarr on Christophorous). On the topic of articulation, Tarr presents a detailed yet succinct summary of styles and syllables which illustrates the differences with their modern counterparts. In discussing the military signals, Tarr’s commentary follows upon the work of Downey. Tarr also presents a clear description of the differences between trillo and groppo and how they should be performed. His commentary on the duets focuses mostly on compositional forms and styles rather than aspects of performance.
In order to properly understand the correct way to perform trumpet music from the late Renaissance and baroque periods, it is essential for one to absorb what Bendinelli and Fantini have left for us. These new editions by Edward H. Tarr are the best way to lead us to that understanding.

-- James Miller
 

Anna Amalia von Preussen (1723-87), Sonata 2da colla tromba in D major for trumpet (or violin) and keyboard instrument (harpsichord, piano), edited by Arne Thielemann (Nagold: Musikverlag Spaeth/Schmid 2006) (Edition Immer, SM 50494), 20 euros.

Unbelievable! An original piece for trumpet and keyboard instrument written by the sister of Frederick the Great? Or perhaps it was only copied by her at the age of 12? The indefatigable Arne Thielemann’s detailed preface of this edition contains as much information as there is on the work.

The sonata for “tromba ô violin” is one of four contained in the manuscript Berlin, Prussian State Library, Amalienbibliothek 485. The other three are for violin and keyboard instrument. In addition, the manuscript also includes two concertos for violin and piano or harpsichord, although the solo part is missing from the second of these. The manuscript’s cover bears the date 10 December 1735, the keyboard part 3 July 1737. Thielemann writes: “As she was only 12 respectively [sic] 14 years old at the time …, it is not very likely that she also composed the pieces. It rather seems that she copied and/or transcribed existing pieces for her own musical education.” According to Klaus Hofmann, who published his own edition a year later, it now seems that the sonatas were copied by Anna Amalia’s sister Luise Ulrike. The name of the true composer has not yet been discovered.

However this may be, Anna Amalia, under the tutelage of J. S. Bach’s pupil J. P. Kirnberger, later became a capable composer. She wrote church music, including the oratorio Der Tod Jesu, several chorales, chamber music and military marches. Her music collection has survived under the name of Amalienbibliothek (Amalia’s library). It is on a high level.

The present Sonata seconda is in three movements: [Allegro], Aria: Risoluto, and Menuet. Although the trumpet part, which conforms perfectly to the harmonic series, has a limited range between concert d´ and b´´, it presupposes an excellent trumpeter because of its long phrases with few rests. In addition, the trumpeter must play softly since the accompanying part with few exceptions consists of two single lines of music with Alberti figuration. Chords occur mainly at final cadences. The keyboardist’s right-hand line is usually a second part to the trumpeter’s melody; occasionally the two parts cross.

What kind of piece is this? With frequent repetitions and sequences, it has the character of an etude. It seems more valuable as a training piece, rather than a concert piece. It is highly interesting in any case.

--Edward H. Tarr

Hammerschmidt, Andreas. Selections from the Gespräche (1655-56) with Capellen. Edited by Charlotte A. Leonard (Middleton, Wisconsin: A-R Editions, Inc.) 2010 168 pages, ISBN 978-0-89579-686-8. Available directly from A-R Editions. Portions of the text can be previewed on-line.

Charlotte Leonard is no stranger to HBS readers; participants in past Early Brass Festivals will recall her tireless work as the facilitator of reading sessions of choral and instrumental works, mostly from the Lutheran tradition. The pieces in the present volume of A-R Edition’s well-known “Recent Researches of the Baroque Era” series are selected from two important collections by Andreas Hammerschmidt: Musicalische Gespräche über die Evangelia (musical conversations about the gospels) of 1655 and Ander Theil Geistlicher Gespräche über die Evangelia (second part of the sacred conversations about the gospels) of 1656. Of the eight works from these two sources, most include cornetti, trombones, choir, and basso continuo. Several others include strings, and other winds such as clarino trumpets and recorders. The possibility for the substitution of other instruments, especially basso continuo instruments, makes for a flexible instrumentation that one can select from to realize performances of this repertoire. The originals, published in part books, survive as a complete set in Dresden (Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Musikabteilung, Mus Gri 39, 1 & 2). There are sets in other locations as well. The works were chosen to reflect the diversity of different dialogs and instrumentations used in the Gespräche and to show “the various ways in which capellen were created to supplement and enlarge German Lutheran vocal works during the seventeenth century” (page 163). Hammerschmidt’s contemporary, Michael Büttner as well as his copyists created extra vocal and instrumental parts to add to compositions of this type. This volume is the first to combine Hammerschmidt’s music with Büttners additions. This was a common practice and encouraged by Hammerschmidt himself. The Büttner material (refered to as the Bohn collection) is housed at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Presßischer Kulturbesitz. Büttner added instrumental sinfonias as preludes and interludes, reinforced and doubled voices (colla parte) and rewrote pieces to turn them into polychoral works.

Leonard provides a thoughtful and organized commentary on Hammerschmidt and how these compositions fit into the liturgical cycles of the Lutheran liturgy. Lutheran cycles are about the weekly gospel readings that drive the order of worship from day to day, week to week and year to year. Following the gospel reading, appropriate music reflected the gospel message and provided a meditation on and reinforcement of that message. Leonard discusses the history of the use of these musical dialogues and offers a detailed analysis of their context and musical style. Each of the eight selections is discussed with relation to its position in the liturgical cycle noted. There are detailed notes on the performance practice including discussion of instrumentation, the cappella, articulation, pronunciation and ornamentation, organ tablature and an appendix that provides tables that show the piece’s place in the liturgical year, the extent of the original instrumentation by Hammerschmidt and the number of parts that were added by Büttner and his circle. There are translations of the texts and six full-page facsimile plates as well as extensive documentation with detailed footnotes. In short, this is a critical edition of the highest quality. The historical commentary and plates take the first thirty-eight pages of the volume with another eight pages devoted to a critical report that outlines source material and other sources and editorial methods. A-R Editions informed me that sets of parts are not yet available for this music, but that parts can be extracted from the score with adequate notice, with the cost varying by size and venue.

The music itself is appealing and dynamic in the concertato style. In other words, there are small elite soloistic forces known as favoriten pitted against larger ripieno forces known as the cappellen. Formidable tutti effects are created when all the forces unite on important stretches of text or particularly dramatic moments. As Leonard points out, Hammerschmidt was second only to Heinrich Schütz as the most important German composer of the seventeenth century. He emphasized the clarity of the text in these works even with rather large ensemble forces. The music is written in such a way that the text prevails as the first compositional priority. For example, in the first selection, Freue dich, du Tochter Zion (Rejoice, Daughter of Zion) there is a capellen of cornetto and four trombones who largely double the voices of the capellen. The tessitura of the capellen instrument forces are therefore the same as the voices of that group and are quite manageable and vocal in style. The favoriten group requires two soloistic cornetti (or violins) and they act as a type of fanfare-like descant above the vocal forces of the SATB vocal ensemble of the favoriten. These cornetto parts stay in the upper register and go up to the occasional high C. The writing for these cornetti are more idiomatically instrumental in character. Naturally, a basso continuo group unites the entire structure. This selection is appropriate for the first Sunday in Advent (four Sundays before Christmas). It reflects the joy and anticipation of the coming season and particular emphasis is give to the portion of the text that proclaims “Hosanna to the Son of David! Praise be to he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Unison rhythms set syllabically leave no doubt about the importance of those words.
Other pieces in the collection vary the instrumental forces and give us a feeling for the wide variety of possibilities that are possible with this genre.

I once asked a veteran early music ensemble director what he would do if he had to start a collegium musicum or early music ensemble from scratch. Without hesitation, he said that he would put together a good choir with a cornett and sackbut ensemble and perform the colla parte repertoire to give the instrumentalists a sense of style. I think that this was exactly the type of repertoire he had in mind. The selections work as church or concert music or with modern or period instruments. There is a great amount of flexibility in what the conductor can do with instrumentation and that consequently makes the repertoire very useful to the changing personnel in college, civic and church ensembles. Brava to Charlotte Leonard for making this beautiful music available to a wider audience once again.

-- Ralph Dudgeon
State University of New York, College at Cortland & Colgate University