INSTRUMENTS IN THE ORCHESTRA:

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 428, 5 September 1947, Page 21

INSTRUMENTS IN THE ORCHESTRA:

(9) The Trumpet

T= ninth of a series of short articles on the instruments of the National Orchestra, written to help interested listeners towards a more informed appreciation of orchestral music and a better understanding of the resources at the command of the conductor,

HE trumpet consists of a yy brass or silver tube, doubled round upon itself, and having a cylindrical bore for about threequarters of its length. It has a cupshaped mouthpiece, and _ the opposite end opens into a bell of medium size. It has three valves which, when pressed down by the player, serve

to increase the length of tubing through which the air from the player’s mouth has to pass by opening up small extra sections of tube in the path of the column of air, thus producing a different note. The valves may be used separately, all together, or in combinations of two, each change bringing about a different effect. The movements of the player’s lips and tongue also help to de-

termine the note to be produced, in addition to which a "mute" can be used. This is a pearshaped stopper which the player inserts into the bell of .the instrument, softening and subduing the tone.. Many other kinds of mutes for novel effects have been devised from time to time, but these are seldom used by the trumpet players in a symphony orchestra. The trumpet is pitched in B flat, but this can be modified to A if required. The history of the trumpet is a long one. In its simplest form, that is a straight tube without finger-holes, it was used by the ancient Greeks and the Romans, and some readers may have heard the broadcast a few years ago in which trumpets recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen were blown. With the birth and growth of the orchestra

the trumpet came into wide use, but lost favour about the time of Mozart, possibly due to the latter’s objection to the manner in which it was used in. certain compositions by Handel and Bach, and which he transcribed, substituting woodwind instruments. During the early 19th Century, after many devices to overcome the limitations under which the trumpet still laboured had been tried with little success, the valve trumpet was invented. It was first used in 1835, and it was Wagner a few years later who. restored it to popularity. by his extensive use of it in his compositions. Since his day, most composers have featured two or three trumpets in their orchestral works, and it is sometimes to be found in smaller combinations of instruments. The National Orchestra has three trumpets. ~