Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 45 Number 11, Allemande, performed by David Summer. This third duet in the series by Joseph Boismortier is an Allemande. An allemande is a moderate tempo dance form that was popular during the baroque. An allemande is generally the first or second part of a suite, with a "suite" being a collection of dances. Again there are several "question and answer" sections, as we’ve seen in previous duets. But this time the "answers" start before the end of the...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 44 Number 10, Gigue, performed by David Summer. This second duet in the series of duets by Boismortier is another Gigue and again it's in 6/8 time at a fast tempo, played "in 2". The student may be challenged by the tied over dotted quarter notes in the last part of the piece. Once more, the student has to be able to hear continuous eighth notes in order to place all the eighths correctly. In this case, that's helped by the fact that the second trumpet...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 43 Number 9, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was a French composer active in the first half of the 1700s. Boismortier was one of the first composers to make an income from publishing his compositions rather than writing for a patron. Up until that time, financially successful composers wrote compositions, often on demand, for wealthy patrons. These patrons were usually royalty. Boismortier was the first French...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 42 Number 8, Maestoso, performed by David Summer. Maestoso, the defacto title of this duet, again means "march-like". Other synonyms include majestic, stately and dignified. This duet is also in 3/8 and includes some dotted 16th - 32nd note figures that are usually played with a slight detachment between the two notes. The range in the 32nd note runs may prove an insurmountable challenge for an inexperienced student. If that’s the case, the teacher...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 41 Number 7, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. This is another good duet for studying 6/8 played in 2. The student has to be able to hear continuous eigth notes in order to place all the eigths correctly. To help with this, the teacher might try playing the trumpet one part with all eigth notes for a line or 2 at the same time the student plays the part as written. This should help the student to understand how to subdivide 6/8 played "in 2". For...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 40 Number 6, Andantino, performed by David Summer. This duet is in a time signature that may be unfamiliar to a student, 3/8. It may take some time for a student to get used to seeing and playing the 32nd notes. The teacher should point out that the 32nd notes are grouped into groups of 4 notes, as a visual affordance for 4 16th notes being contained within one beat. Andantino, the simple title of this duet, is a tempo that is slightly faster than...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 39 Number 5, Tamburin, performed by David Summer. Nicolas Chédeville was an 18 century French composer who wrote many pieces for the musette or hurdy-gurdy. This duet, with its many scale passages, was probably well suited to the amateur hurdy gurdy players who were the target audience of Chédeville. Many passages in this duet are musical echoes. Repeating one or two measures, with the repeated passage being played at a softer dynamic, manifests the...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 38 Number 4, Rondo, performed by David Summer. Michel de la Barre, the composer of this duet, was also a famous flutist. He is credited with being the first composer to publish music for solo flute. This duet does have a somewhat delicate, flute-like quality to it. The duet is in the key of F# minor, with a brief foray into C# minor, and contains several E sharps and B sharps that should be pointed out to the student. This is a good opportunity for...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 34 Number 1, Rondinetto, performed by David Summer. The composer of this duet, Louis A. Saint-Jacome, was also a solo cornetist and musical arranger. Originally from Paris France, Saint-Jacome moved to London, England where he worked as a musical arranger for the Messieurs La Fleur Publishing Company. While there, Saint-Jacome wrote his famous Grand Method For Trumpet Or Cornet in 1870. This comprehensive trumpet or cornet method book is still in wide use...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 30 Number 5, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. This is the last duet in the series of 5 duets by French composer Pierre François Clodomir. The teacher should take the opportunity to point out the various scales and arpeggios that are clearly present here. The student may need to be cautioned not to let the tempo run away on the 16th note runs and to watch the key change on the second page. Again, a light tongue is helpful here. The...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 28 Number 4, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. This duet, by Clodomir, should be played with a light tongue and strict observance of the staccato markings. These carry through almost the entire duet with only brief respites. These are marked dolce (sweetly) and grazioso (gracefully). There are also several key changes present. The piece starts in the key of g minor. Then, at the first “dolce” marking the key changes to the relative major, Bb...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 27 Number 3, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. This next duet by French composer Pierre Clodomir consists of 6 short sections, with a key change in the middle of the duet. The second to last line also changes key, to D major, although the change is not noted in the key signature. An inexperienced student may be challenged by the Trumpet One rhythms in the second half of the duet being different from those in the Trumpet Two part. The...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 26 Number 2, Moderato, performed by David Summer. This is the second duet in the series of 5 duets by French composer Pierre François Clodomir. When presenting this duet to a student, the teacher should point out the G arpeggio in the 1st and 3rd measures of the 2nd trumpet part. In both cases, these arpeggios are "answered" by a D7 arpeggio in the trumpet one part. The duet also features several scale sections, which briefly take the piece out of the key...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 25 Number 1, Moderato, performed by David Summer. This duet begins a section of 5 duets by Pierre François Clodomir. Clodomir, a 19th century French composer, wrote a brass method book, published in 1870 entitled "Méthode élémetaire de cornet à pistons". In this first duet in the series, special attention should be paid to the syncopated 2nd trumpet part in the 4th line. Also, right before the daCapo, this duet contains a brief “question and answer”...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 24 Number 22, Giga, performed by David Summer. A Giga like the previously titled duet "Gigue" is a lively baroque dance originating from the British jig. Again, this is 6/8 time at a fast tempo, played "in 2". That is, heavily accenting the first and the fourth beats of the measure. The first section of the duet features some canonic, or imitative musical phrases. The metronome setting for this performance is dotted quarter note = 88.

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 24 Number 21, Musette, performed by David Summer. A Musette is probably best known as the name of an instrument that is similar to a bagpipe. It was popular in the 1700's and used in a wide variety of music including chamber music and operas. The piccolo oboe, also known as the piccoloboe, the smallest and highest pitched member of the oboe family, pitched in E-flat or F above the regular oboe, is also historically known as an oboe musette. Finally,...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 23 Number 20, Minuet, performed by David Summer. This minuet, by Haag, is evocative of summer concerts in the park, especially in the trio section of the duet. Recall that a "trio section" is the third section of a piece and generally changes key, adding flats. "Trio" sections are especially prevalent in marches. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 96.

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 22 Number 19, Jumping Dance, performed by David Summer. This duet is reminiscent of the previous duets that were imitative of a hunting horn, except this time the image is meant to be of a dance that includes jumping in the air. There are some back and forth sections where, at times, the student will be playing alone. The metronome setting for this performance is dotted quarter note = 76.

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 21 Number 18, Time Study, performed by David Summer. This is a rhythmically interesting duet because of all the meter changes. These are indicated in the unusual time signature. The almost constant meter changes can prove a real challenge for a student, but the duet makes an interesting study. This is an especially good duet to have the student practice both parts of. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 100.

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 20 Number 17, Andante, performed by David Summer. This duet is simply entitled Andante, which translates roughly to "at a walking pace". The second part of the piece makes use of a simple, but effective descending line in the Trumpet 2 part, which nicely offsets the Trumpet 1 melody line. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 92.

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 20 Number 16, Processional, performed by David Summer. A processional is generally a slow march tune. Think of the "Bridal March" or "Pomp and Circumstance". The tempo marking "maestoso", meaning march-like, reflects this. A processional is also thought of as stately, dignified and majestic. This processional has two sections and, with the second repeat omitted, follows an AABA musical pattern. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 18 Number 15, Lustily, performed by David Summer. This is another duet with an interesting tempo marking, open to interpretation. I'm taking this one to mean "with exuberance". Call and response sections are another feature, along with a poco allargando tempo marking at the end. "Poco allargando" generally means to get a bit slower and broader. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 126.

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 18 Number 14, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. Here is another duet that changes time signature midway through the piece. This time the composer is Walrad Guericke and the duet is probably from his collection of duets for two recorders. The 2/4 section of the duet is written in a style that is in marked contrast to the first section (in 3/4). The 2/4 section has a jagged sound that is amplified by the use of an ascending grace note in the first...

Selected Duets for Trumpet, Page 17 Number 13, Allegro, performed by David Summer. This third, and last, duet by Metger is fairly complex rhythmically when both trumpet parts are played together. It’s rare to see the rhythm pattern "dotted-eighth, sixteenth, eighth" played against 3 eighth notes for example, as occurs more than once here. The duet also changes meter from 6/8 to 4/4, with the quarter note in the new meter equal to the dotted quarter in the previous meter. All of this...