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 | | Edward Tarr and Bengt Eklund |
On June 15-16, 2001 ITG Honorary Member Dr. Edward H. Tarr celebrated his 65th birthday and his retirement from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (the renowned early music wing of the Music Academy of Basel, Switzerland). He will be succeeded at the Schola by Jean-Francois Madeuf from the National Conservatory of Lyon in France. The celebration was also dedicated to the great German trumpet-theorist J.E.Altenburg (June 15th 1734 - May 14th 1801), and the concert in Bad Säckingen was the Trumpet Museum's contribution to the city's three-day Bridge Festival.
Tarr had invited 50 baroque trumpet players, most of them his former students, together with his closest friends and family to participate in the celebrations. Friday evening featured a majestic summit meeting (Trompeter-Gipfeltreffen) of 55 prominent Baroque trumpeters in the Predigerkirche, one of the oldest churches in Basel. Tarr's first Scandinavian student from 1970, Bengt Eklund, inspired  | | Trumpeters under Bengt Eklund in the Predigerkirche |
and challenged the players to their very potential with the musical movements of his baton. The trumpeters thrilled the audience with a selection of pieces by Girolamo Fantini, Johann Ernst Altenburg, Cesare Bendinelli, and the anonymous composer of the Portuguese court trumpet ensemble, the so-called Charamela real (1770). Afterwards, the Schola Cantorum hosted a dinner for the guests. On Saturday morning the same trumpeters graciously gave a new concert in Bad Säckingen, Germany, where its well-spoken mayor, Günter Nufer, afterwards served an unforgettable dinner on a boat cruising up the Rhine. The name of the boat, written in golden letters above the entrance door, was of course "The Trumpeter of Säckingen!"
The large number of attending baroque trumpeters from Europe, USA, and Australia sounded their horns with heart and precision, their pieces interspersed with rousing baroque kettledrum performances. Edward H. Tarr's son Philip Tarr, a medical doctor residing in New York, honored his father vigorously with the most spectacular displays on these drums. He also appeared in duo with his former teacher Dieter Dyk (first timpanist of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra), whose work Timpanies Delight, dedicated to Philip and his wife Bettina Tarr-Rigoli, was premiered on this occasion. Dieter Dyk 's Quadriga for 4 kettledrum pairs was composed especially for Tarr's celebration, and the premiere of this breathtaking piece was also deeply appreciated by the audience. Tarr's wife Irmtraud performed on both organ and double-bass to everyone's admiration and delight. Apart from being a refined musician, she also enjoys a busy career as psychotherapist and the author of well-selling books in several fields.
When Tarr himself entered the stage as part of the quintet Concert Brass Basel, audience expectations were high. They had just returned to Germany from concerts in the large Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Their special instrumentation gave the performance a round and rich sound very suitable for the romantic music. Hélène Berglund laid the perfect foundation with her tuba, Heiner Krause and Dirk Amrein set solid inner voices with their alto and tenor horns, and Edward Tarr and André Schüpbach drew melodic lines through the air with the softness of their cornets. The irresistible performance of Viktor Ewald's Thema con Variazoni (from Quintet No.2, Op.6, from c. 1917) highlighted the concerts.
 | | L'eléphant, Concert Brass Basel with Martin Bärenz, Andreas Cincera, and Irmtraud Tarr, basses |
Concert Brass Basel also appeared with the three double-basses of Martin Bärenz, Andreas Cincera (Fredy Steinauer on June 16th), and Irmtraud Tarr. They performed the humorous piece L'eléphant from the Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns. In the Basel concert Reinhold Friedrich and Hannes Läubin sounded their piccolo trumpets from the gallery together with Irmtraud Tarr's accompanying organ pipes in Petronio Franceschini's Sonata à 7 from 1680. Their musical interpretation enhanced the perception of the large Gothic church building and the magnificent, colorful glass windows. On Saturday morning, a guitar-playing troubadour, Christof Stählin, sang a charming ballad by the German Baroque poet Johann Christian Günther while Tarr improvised on the B-flat trumpet, pianissimo.
 | | Concert Brass Basel |
Tarr had prepared a birthday CD for his guests, a token of gratitude to everyone who made his celebration possible. Apart from historical recordings from his own collection, this CD also presents his performance from 1946 of Handel's Largo accompanied by his mother Ruth W. Tarr. "Happy Easter, Daddy, here is the solo you wanted me to learn!" Ed shared with us how he as 9 year old had problems with the high notes and that his mother had to wait for him because of his somewhat personal timing! The audience had a good laugh trying to imagine Ed Tarr struggling with these difficulties! The entire celebration demonstrated an atmosphere of respect and gratitude for this musician and teacher who has enriched the trumpet world so immensely through his research, performances, and personality during his entire career.
Hearing 35 baroque trumpets surpass each other with cascades of high notes and descants in a surprise "Happy Birthday to You," in which the entire audience joined in, was an hilarious experience! Welcome to Bad Säckingen's next trumpet festival November 1-4, 2001!
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