Guy Touvron - Molter: Trumpet Concertos (2007)

Johann Molter was a prodigious composer of trumpet concertos in the first half of the eighteenth century. He spent his musical life moving between his base, Karlsruhe, and Italy, where he obviously absorbed the baroque influences of the time. He was an inventive and capable composer, and although these concertos are very much alike they are each enjoyable if taken singly. The allegros have vitality and slow movements are agreeable, sometimes serene, sometimes moving on at a gentle, walking gait. The Andantes of the double concertos are for strings alone, to give their highly stressed soloists a chance for a breather before returning to the fray in the finales. MWVIV.10 is the exception, offering instead a charming interlude, scored for woodwind, to make a foil for the florid trumpet writing in the outer movements. And make no mistake about it, Molter knows just how to make his paired trumpets sound brilliantly ear-tickling. The solo concertos all bring solo participation in central movements, exploiting the high clarino range lyrically most of the writing throughout is stratospheric. The playing here is superbly secure and stylish.

Jorg Faerber and his Wurttembergers provide alertly sympathetic accompaniments and they make the Andantes sing gracefully, within a wholly sympathetic acoustic. Of course, modern trumpets are used, and so there is none of that throttled effect which too often afflicts trumpeters using older instruments. -- Ivan March