The Art of the Baroque Trumpet
             Volume 4
         Virtuoso Concertos

Joseph Arnold Gross(1701-1784), Trumpet Concerto in D major
Michael Haydn(1737-1806), Trumpet Concerto No. 2 in C major
Johann Melchior Molter(1696-1765), Trumpet Concerto No. 2 in D major
Johann Wilhelm Hertel(1727-1789), Double Concerto in E flat major
   for Trumpet and Oboe
Georg Philipp Telemann(1681-1767), Trumpet Concerto No. 2 in D major
George Frideric Handel(1685-1759), Overture to "Atalanta"

Naxos 8.554375
Recorded June 1997
Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble
Nils-Erik Sparf, Director
Niklas Eklund, Baroque Trumpet
Ulf Bjurenhed, Oboe
TT 67:34

Don's Conclusions: Buy - Don't Buy - Life Goes On

Naxos has reached Volume 4 of its series titled "The Art of the Baroque
Trumpet".  Niklas Eklund has been the baroque trumpet soloist throughout
the series, and his playing in Volume 4 meets the high standards he
displayed in the previous three volumes.

I do have a few reservations about the most recent entry.  As is so
frequent with discs of this type, the trumpet is well forward of the
other instruments.  To get any sort of crisp and well projected sound from
the orchestra, the volume needs to be boosted to a level which makes the
trumpet much too loud; be ready for some piercing impacts to your eardrums.
Overall, the orchestral playing is too smooth and demure.

Another reservation concerns the quality of much of the music.  The works
by Gross, Haydn, and particularly Hertel are just 'routine' baroque fare
of the type encountered on morning classical radio programs.  They are
pleasant but little more.

The Molter concerto has a little more meat to it than the concertos of the
three composers noted above.  Of course, a major upgrade in quality takes
place when the Telemann and Handel works reach center-stage.  However, I
was disappointed in the Andante to the Overture to Handel's opera Atalanta;
it's too slow and reticent.

It is hard to recommend such light music after listening extensively to
organ works from coomposers like Bach, Buxtehude, and Pachelbel.  Also,
there's nothing special about the performances.  However, it all sits well
while driving around; full concentration on the music is not satisfying.

I can only recommend the disc to die-hard baroque trumpet enthusiasts.
Others will likely find the disc too easy to digest.  Since the price is so
low, there's not much to lose by buying it; there also isn't much to be
gained either.

My larger objection to the music and performances is that many folks
define baroque music by such discs; it's what they tend to hear frequently
on the radio.  The baroque era has so much more to offer, and these fairly
innocuous compositions do not do the time period justice.  On the other
hand, you can simply sink in and enjoy these major-key works while
day-dreaming about the good life.  The choice is yours.

Don Satz
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