Trumpets and Organ: Mouret - Purcell - Vivaldi - Couperin

00:00 Premiere Suite in D major, for 3 Trumpets & Organ (Jean-Joseph Mouret, 1682-1738):
Allegro - Gracieusement - (Allegro), Guay, (Allegro)
08:30 Sonata in F major, for Trumpet & Organ (Daniel Purcell, c1664-1717):
Andante cantabile - Moderato - Allegro - Adagio - Allegretto
14:45 Sonata a Tre, Op, 5 no. 5, for 2 Trumpets & Organ (Antonio Vivaldi, 1678-1741):
Prelude - Allemande - Courante
23:05 La Steinkerque (François Couperin, 1668-1733)
32:08 Neuvieme Concert ¨Ritratto dell´Amore¨, for Trumpet & Organ (Couperin):
Le Charme - L’Enjouement - Les Graces: Courante françoise - Le je-ne-scay-quoy - La Vivacité - La Noble Fierté - Sarabande La Douceur - L’Et Caetera ou Menuets

Maurice André, Raymond André & Bernard Soustrot: trumpets
Hedwig Bilgram: Detlef Kleuker organ of the German Evangelic Church of Paris
Revisions and realizations by Hedwig Bilgram

The trumpet, like the horn, is one of the oldest instruments; initially made from an animal horn, its evolution was relatively swift and the ancients already spoke of “trumpets of brass.” The Hebrews employed the trumpet for signals, or to accompany hymns of victory. It was also much honored by the Greeks; Aeschylus, Virgil and Homer attributed to it the power of awakening or of strengthening both courage and the warlike virtues. By means of signals established according to a code, the trumpet was in general use everywhere to command naval maneuvers or the disposition of warriors. It was without doubt the Romans who made widest use of the trumpet, however, using it for all events both military and civilian. Furthermore, the trumpeters, known as Aeneators, held an exalted position in the hierarchy, great privileges being granted to them. It is known that the Romans recognized several types of trumpet, each with a specific role. The tuba, a straight tube with a flared bell, was intended for use with the infantry, while the cavalry used the hook-belled lituus. There was also the spiral buccina and the cornu, a large trumpet which had certain horn-like characteristics.

Like the horn, the trumpet has been modified to achieve greater ease and efficiency of tone production, but musicians continue to argue the possible existence of some unknown trumpet for the performance of works by Bach and Handel. The discovery of a sort of slide trumpet in Heidelberg seems to support them in this, but there are also documents from the close of the 18th century which cite the truly phenomenal existence of players able to perform all the music of the beginning of the century on an ordinary trumpet, including the works of Bach and Handel, with a brilliance and accuracy unknown at that time.

The composers represented on this disc are almost contemporaries. The oldest is the Englishman Daniel Purcell, not to be confused with his brother Henry who was two years his senior. The Purcells were a great family of musicians attached to the royal household. Daniel (1660-1717) certainly did not possess the genius of his brother Henry, but he was nonetheless reckoned among the musical elite of his time. Several of his works were published, notably various Psalms and Cantatas as well as the musical interludes of several of the theatrical pieces which he wrote either alone or in collaboration with Jeremiah Clarke or Richard Leveridge. Many of his manuscripts still remain to be brought to light, notably his funeral Ode on the death of Henry Purcell. The Sonata recorded here was written for recorder and keyboard. The trumpet arrangement demands transcendental virtuosity. The Andante cantabile and the Adagio reveal a fine nobility touched with melancholy, while the quick movements, well differentiated, are of amazing lightness in their gaiety.

Next comes the Frenchman François Couperin, who also belonged to a great family of musicians; his uncle, Louis, was among others, already famous, and his works have lost nothing of their value.