Trumpet Consort von Humboldt - please click image for bigger version and detailed caption

Gil Cline of Humboldt State University, Arcata, California shares this photo of Trumpet Consort von Humboldt, on stage in concert, April 4, 2007. Depicted are five natural trumpets made by David Edwards of Surrey, England. Like the 1667 Simon Beale, London instrument these long trumpets have copper tubing and bells, with silver garnishes: garland, bauble, and sockets. One Beale copy is owned by Cline, a second by Frederick Bélanger (recent Humboldt State University graduate), and the other three by Humboldt State University (HSU); plans are underway to obtain a fourth instrument for the university.

Audiences are enjoying the rich sound of the Beale trumpets, which have good dynamic range and an amazingly in tune low G needed for so much ensemble work. Beginning in January 2007 Trumpet Consort von Humboldt (TCvH) began a unit of study playing the trumpets natural, without the vent yards provided, and a number of advantages were found. Copies of Gil Cline's personal mouthpiece were made locally by Daniel Gurneé, and Cline made a mouthpiece for Bélanger. Tuning bits, another piece of the baroque trumpet puzzle, have been made and provided both by Edwards and Gurneé. A wonderful pair of timpani are on loan from Jim Rich, leader of Jefferson Baroque Orchestra, Ashland/Grants Pass, Oregon.

Cline reports that TCvH in Spring 2007 managed its business with one weekly rehearsal of those playing the five Beales. In 2006 the group rehearsed with up to seven players, using three Beales along with two of the 1715 John Harris copies by Edwards, and the pair of HSU's 1984 natural trumpets by Marc L'Angelier of San Francisco. The latter are now devoted each semester solely to a pair of undergraduate students wishing to delve into the world of "the one, true trumpet" as these trumpets do not blend in timbre or intonation with the Beale trumpets.

Along with a number of campus concerts, TCvH took a modest road trip in April 2007 and visited several brass repair shops; played open rehearsals in the Franciscan Mission in Sonoma, and in St. Vincent's Cathedral, San Rafael; played two church services in Oakland; and ended by playing tower music 200 feet above UC Berkeley, in Sather Tower. There they played a number of repertory works, but also new works for carillon and modern trumpet. These included Cline's Tower Bells in the Firmament and also arrangements of Binge's Cornet Carillon and Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. Cline confirms that with carillon bells at very close proximity, all trumpeters' ears were protected by ear plugs, although gusty winds came close to carrying away much of the sheet music!

TCvH's repertoire in the past three years has included works by C.P.E. Bach, Biber, Diabelli, Dauverné, Handel, Schiedermayr, and others. Works unique to TCvH include Zwei Kinderliedern by Kenneth Biggs, and Surrey Flourish and Cinq Chansons by Gil Cline. Other works are periodically explored and tested, and new ones have been written for TCvH appearances for local port arrivals of the ships Lady Washington on its west coast tours, and the Endeavour, a replica of Captain Cook's ship.

In fall of 2006 TCvH performed in a local opera production of Francesco Cavalli's 1643 L'Egisto with Cline's arrangement of a prominent fanfare in that work. Also on the same concert was Sondheim's The Frogs and, noting the natural harmonics present in a musical call in that work, Cline performed that on natural trumpet. Looking to the future, in fall 2007 HSU completes the installation of a modest little tracker pipe organ, eagerly anticipated, and TCvH will offer a new fanfare composed for the dedication concert.

Lastly, Cline reports that he has scaled back his baroque trumpet gigging, but enjoys occasional solo engagements. In February he appeared in Eugene, Oregon for a master class at the University of Oregon, and then performed with the Oregon Bach Collegium on Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and Telemann’s Cantata No. 48. Cline used his own modification of an Edwards Harris 1715 copy (cut from D to F) for the Bach, and performed natural (no vents) the Telemann on his Edwards/Beale. At present he is working on two modest publications for trumpet, both titled "Gil's Guide" with one being expressly for natural/baroque trumpet.

Links:
Gil Cline at Humboldt State University
Department of Music, Humboldt State University