Giuseppe Torelli and the Mystery Trumpet Concerto
J.M. Schlitz 張 傑
hear the concerto
Preface to the online version
This study was originally written in late 2004 and modified for this online version. I view scholarship as not static but as an ongoing process, and well known works pose a potential for controversy. This in mind, I invite all concerned to submit opposing viewpoints and evidence which I may have neglected to mention; I will post new material as it becomes available.
- JMS
ABSTRACT
The earliest dated mature solo concertos, as we understand the term today, come from Torelli's Opus 6, which was published in 1698 and written for violin and strings. The piece for which Torelli is now best known, however, is an undated and untitled piece scored for trumpet and strings. Though it too is one of Torelli's few 'mature' concertos, its manuscript does not appear alongside Torelli's other trumpet pieces, all of which are well-preserved in the archives of the basilica di San Petronio. Furthermore, since the piece appears only as part of a printed collection of works by 'Bitti, Vivaldi, and Torelli', some (including Franz Giegling) have doubted its authenticity altogether, and the concerto remains unnumbered amongst catalogues of Torelli's works. Although Torelli's authorship is widely accepted, there has never been any attempt to substantiate—or question—this attribution.
This study considers a number of factors—markings within the score; the trumpeters and trumpet music at San Petronio during Torelli's tenure there; cross-harmonic and structural analyses of Torelli's few dated pieces, including non-trumpet music (the eight Opus sets) and the oft-neglected middle movements during which the trumpet(s) is tacit; etc.—in order to help clarify 1) when, in terms of Torelli's dated works and course of stylistic development, the concerto could have been composed; and 2) why and with how much certainty we can attribute the aforementioned trumpet concerto to Torelli.
GENERAL OUTLINE
I. The Issue of Authenticity
A. The Status Quo
B. New Considerations
II. Comparisons
A. With Bitti and Vivaldi
B. With Torelli's other works for solo trumpet and strings
C. With Torelli's string music
D. General comparison
III. Conclusions & Further Research
