It’s ideal to do it in one breath but if you need to breathe my clip example shows you an option that I like. The phrase from 7 to the fermata is pretty long. Try to catch the contrast in dynamics at 7. Don’t over emphasize downbeats or large intervallic leaps. This probably isn’t so hard on a harpsichord! We have to work at following through the bottom note of the slurred passage to make everything sound smooth and even. For the tennis players out there it’s the difference between slapping at the ball and stroking through the ball.įlowing through intervallic slurs is not one of the trumpet’s easier tasks. This is a common occurrence and playing this way makes it difficult to create a flow or longer line. I, I played how NOT to play slightly emphasizing the articulated note of the slur. OK, in my first pass through the opening of Var. At the very least bring out the contrast in the many echo effects from f – p that occurs throughout the piece. These swells and diminuendos are contrary to how a harpsichord would have played this music but those dynamic shifts make this sound much more vocal. The next thing you might notice is that there are a lot of dynamic changes. Try NOT to breathe inside the phrase marking. Think of the music like a paragraph and the large phrase marking is telling you where the periods are after the sentences. The big “slur” is actually a phrase marking. The first thing you might notice is that there is one big three-measure slur and a bunch of slurs inside that the larger one.
This piece should always maintain a song-like quality and never sound technical. Typical theme and variations tend to have a pretty intro and theme then get “notey” and technical for the variations. While Handel did not write this for a vocalist the intention is clearly lyrical.
Practice/Performance Tipsįirst off, this is titled Aria, which means song. I’m sure this would also be fine on C trumpet. The entire work is in concert F or our G major, with the highest note being our high B. Both of these work great for this selection. The Aria was adapted by Fitzgerald for Bb trumpet or cornet. It appears on Wisconsin’s Solo Ensemble Class A solo list. Our repertoire has increased tremendously thanks to his work. Bernard Fitzgerald was a pioneer in transcribing music for brass instruments, primarily trumpet. Bernard Fitzgerald) Biographical InfoĪria con Variazioni began life as one of Handel’s many works for solo keyboard specifically his 5 th Harpsichord Suite. Title Aria con Variazioni For Bb trumpet/cornet and piano By G.