ScottOpus PRODUCTIONS
ScottOpus PRODUCTIONS
TOPIC:- Natural Trumpet by Kerry R. Scott
The "Natural Trumpet" is in fact a modern trumpet without the valves and in some early cases without any coils. The earliest reference to an instrument that at all resembles the Trumpet is contained within the Tomb of King Tut. Additional early references also are contanied in the Old Testament (Joshua Chpt 6:20) where the walls of Jericho were demolished with the sounds of trumpets.
"So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."
References are also found of a Lituus in the Roman Empire which according to rather reliable sources was a "cylindro-conical Trumpet for cavalry use". All the sources cited above really only refer to a very primitive form of a straight cylindrical bore instrument with a slight bell at one end and a crude mouthpiece at the other end
The Natural Trumpet as is portrayed today is the instrument that we believe was in use in some form in the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. During that time it developed from a simple cylinder with a mouthpiece at one end and a small bell at the other to a complex small bore cylinder with a series of keys, "crooks" and holes throughout the whole instrument.
The range of the instrument spaned over four octaves but as the instrument could only sound the notes in the "Harmonic Series" much of the range was useless. In addition it was not possible for one player to perform the music written for the complete range. Therefore trumpet performers of the time specialized in particular parts of the complete range. The lowest three octaves were played by a player called the 'Princpale Trumpeter" While the highest two octaves were played by the "Clarino" Trumpet player. In addition sometimes the "clarino" range was divided into two. The "Clarino II" player would play the notes in the upper half of the third octave and the lower half of the fourth octave; while the "Clarino I" player would play the whole of the fourth octave (see topic Clarino Trumpet). Another division of the whole range was titled "Tromba" - this player played the notes in the third octave of the full range and most closely resembles the range of the modern trumpet (see topic Trumpet).
The range of notes available to the Natural Trumpet was based upon the "Harmonic Series" of the "Fundamental" (see topic "Harmonic Series") pitch of the instruments (lowest note possible). In most cases (particularly by the beginning of the Nineteenth Century) this was set to "F". Short tubes of brass or silver, called "crooks" were, however, part of the Natural Trumpet which could be inserted into the body of the instrument thus changing the "Fundamental" to E, Eflat, D and C.
The phsyical construction of the Natural Trumpet during the early part of the sixteenth Century was little more than a single tube of brass with a bell resembling the "Post Horn" of the time. The first change was to bend the tube back on itself, thus halving the length of the instruement and making it significantly more easy to play. The next stage of development was to bend it back on itself three times thus making the length of the instrument a third of its original length. It is this format that became common in Natural Trumpet construction and is continued to this day even with the modern trumpet.
A brief departure from this construction format was seen in the early Eighteenth Century when the Natural Trumpet was tightly coiled as in a Hunting Horn. This type of Natural Turmpet was called a "Jägertrummet" and had a slightly more mellow tone than the original form of Natural Trumpet. Another somewhat abortive effort effort to make the Natural Trumpet more flexible was the "slide Trumpet" or "Tromba-da tirarsi". A similar instrument devised at the time was the "English Slide Trumpet". Both of these instruments worked on the same principle as the slide Trombone but wheras this technique was very successful for the Tenor and Bass Trombone is was less than adequate for an instrument that used a higher register. In another effort to "Chromaticise" the Natural Trumpet, woodwind type keys were added to the length of the instrument. It is thought that the Trumpet Concerto of Joseph Haydn (1732 -- 1809), completed in the year 1796 was composed for the Keyed Trumpet notwithstanding that the Keyed Trumpet only appeared in the first years of the Nineteenth Century. It is, however, true that the work could not have possibly been performed on the traditional Natural Trumpet.
It was not until the addition of "Valves" to the Trumpet that a true chromatic instrument was obtained. This was acheived in the middle of the Nineteenth Century and from that time until recently the Natural Trumpet lasped into obscurity. It is thought now, however, that authentic performance should be played on the instruments they were written for; and with that in mind a new interest has emerged in the old instruments particularly the Natural Trumpet. Performers are now practising the old art of "clarino" playing and intrument makers are again constructing accurate (but improved) reproductions of the old instruments. With this the new technical knowledge available it means that we can now hear how the performances were envisage by the composer.
Trumpet Voluntary
Further information on Kerry R. Scott's life and Compositions
A listing/portfolio of the music compositions of Kerry R. Scott
Further Information on The Tudor Rose School of Music
Further information on the Music CD -- Bubble and Squeak
Further information on the Music CD -- Rattle and Rhyme
Further information on the Music CD -- Beyond the Virtual Creation
Further information on the Music CD -- Brandy Butter, Brass and Bells
Further information on the Music CD -- The Old, The New, and an Eclectic Medley
Further information on the Music CD -- Mass 2100
Orchestral Suite from Mass 2100 and Mass 2100 original performance edition.
Further information on the Music CD -- Smphony No. ! -- Soundscapes of a Forgotten Britian
Further information on the live recording of the first performance of Mass 2100
Further information on compositional and composition commissions.
Further information on the stories and writings of Kerry R. Scott.
ScottOpus PRODUCTIONS