“The Trumpet Shall Sound!” I thought this was a chamber music series, you say! What is a trumpet doing in your group? Well, that’s a good question. I admit, it is unusual. 2008 was the last time we had a trumpet player join us. One reason is the lack of repertoire for the trumpet in a mixed ensemble such as ours. By far the greatest chamber music outlet for trumpet (and brass players in general) is the brass quintet. That is a longstanding tradition with music written for a small brass ensemble going back at least to the 16th century.

An interesting thing about the program we are about to start performing Wednesday, July 15 is that the trumpet is so well incorporated into the ensembles in the different works. Although it will definitely stand out, it is also part of the team, well integrated into the texture. In fact, the first work on the program entitled The Military Septet, is really more of a piano concerto than a trumpet display piece. The composer, Johann Nepomuk Hummel (for some reason, no one seems to call him just Johann Hummel), was a fabulous piano virtuoso and a major figure in the first half of the 19th century. Like many great pianists including Mozart and Mendelssohn, they found that a work featuring the piano, with a small, varied ensemble, a big asset on their tour program. Symphony orchestras were almost nonexistent so a quintet or larger was both an economic and practical feasibility.

Hummel came to Vienna as a young boy from what is now the Czech Republic. He soon caught the attention of Mozart who was so impressed with his talent that he took him into his home to live with his family so that he could give Hummel regular lessons. In 1802, Hummel became Haydn’s successor at the Court of Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy, a position Haydn had held for more than 30 years. To mark the occasion, Hummel wrote a Trumpet Concerto for the newly minted keyed trumpet. Prior to the introduction of keys (and then valves), the trumpet was very limited in the notes it could play (much like the bugle). With keys, the instrument had much greater flexibility, and Hummel’s Concerto has become one of his most well-known works and a favorite of trumpet enthusiasts.

The Military Sextet was written in 1829 and became very popular much like Beethoven’s Septet had decades earlier. The trumpet does not dominate in this piece, but it lends its authority just enough to earn the work the title of The Military Septet. Hummel has created the perfect little touring orchestra. However, it would not have been thought of as a substitute for an orchestra because most audiences in those days . didn’t have the opportunity to hear orchestras. Orchestral were still nearly nonexistent. If anything, with the addition of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and bass, this work is a richly orchestrated chamber piece suggesting things to come.

Our trumpet player is an exceptional young talent, Ansel Norris. He is Associate Principal Trumpet with the Florida Orchestra. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and also studied at Rice University. He has been a guest performer with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, and the Atlanta Symphony.

Following the Hummel comes something entirely different. Our oboist, Lindsay Flowers, switches to English Horn to join with Ansel Norris’s trumpet and our string players for Aaron Copland’s Quiet City. Suggesting the middle of the night, it is intended to “invoke a dream-like sense of aloneness.” It is a hauntingly beautiful and evocative adaptation of music from 1939 original meant to accompany a Broadway play

After intermission comes the pièce de resistance, once again featuring the piano, trumpet, and strings. For those who reveled in the Second Piano Trio by Camille Saint-Saëns a couple of weeks ago, this should be a strong attraction. The Septet is very playful, festive, dance-like, charming, and very French. Composers were experimenting with different version of low-pitched trumpets around this time. Wagner uses the Bass Trumpet in his Ring Operas and Mahler uses the F Trumpet in his Fifth Symphony. Modern trumpet players have come up with ingenious ways to play the Saint-Saëns on modern instruments, so perhaps Ansel will give us a clue to his solution during these performances. The strings, which include double bass, have some gorgeous writing to enjoy, and Jeannie Yu’s piano will overflow with glorious figurations.

I didn’t mention that our trumpet player, Ansel Norris, is the brother of our Griffon violinist, Alex Norris, who will also be performing on this program. This will be the first time the two of them have performed together in a long time, so there should be plenty of extra chemistry each performance. Don’t miss it. And by the way, just like we either say Hummel, or Johann Nepomuk Hummel, but never just Johann Hummel, we also say Mozart, or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but not just Wolfgang Mozart. I don’t have the answer. Let me know if you do.

Jim Berkenstock
Artistic Director