Baroque Brass

A while back, when I was working on the Overture and Dead March from Handel's Samson (which the PCO performed on our March 7th concert) some questions arose about the range of the horns and trumpets that Handel used in his original score. The horn parts (written for Horns in G, since the score is in G major; modern French Horns are in the key of F) go up to (what looks like) the stratospheric(!) C above the treble clef. For modern horns in F, the F at the top of the treble clef is at the edge of its range. In the Dead March (in the key of D major) the horns AND trumpets go up to the D two ledger lines above the treble clef! I was quite confused, to say the least. So I asked around, spoke to some people in the know, and did the other thing I usually do when I am stumped about something . . . I GOOGLED IT!!! After reading up on what I could find [by the way, the horns sound lower than written, and the trumpets sound exactly as written], I checked out YouTube and found these wonderful videos by the amazing Alison Balsom. I now have such respect for those early brass players!

Introducing the Baroque Trumpet

Sound the Trumpet (Royal Music of Purcell & Handel)