Treasures of early Baroque trumpet music are still to be discovered in Spain! Hidden in the notated organ music and lute tablatures of the seventeenth century are titles such as “Batalla” and “Clarines y Trompetas” that point to the well-known Spanish horizontal trumpet stops, or perhaps to the transmission of popular trumpet music, since direct notation of the music was forbidden by the requirement of secrecy of the trumpet players’ guilds. Back then, the art of improvisation was wide spread, and so the Baroque Trumpet Ensemble Berlin, under the direction of Johann Plietzsch, lets us experience spirited improvisation in the recurring chaconnas, whose dance-like character takes us back to Moorish-influenced Spain. Through the lute and percussion instruments, whose origins lie in the Arabian culture, the clear, brilliant sound of the trumpets is lent a light swing in which a bit of southern-European joie de vivre is hidden. Onward to Spain with drums beating and trumpets sounding!
