Gabrielli, Domenico 1651-1690 Sonata Nr. 1 (D.XI.3) / Trumpet, Strings, Basso continuo

Bolognese School - San Petronio
Gabrielli, Domenico 1651-1690
(Natural) Trumpet in D / (piccolo) trumpet in A & accompaniment (by a simple set of parts and basso continuo.
edited by Edward Tarr

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Bolognese Trumpet Sonatas
When construction began in 1390, the Basilica di S. Petronio was intended to become the largest in all Christendom. In the 1660s that idea was finally given up. The church is nevertheless enormous. The nave, which was to have become the transept, is 132m long and 44m high; with the aisles the basilica is 60m wide.
From 1665 well into the following century, Bologna composers produced an unusually large number of sonatas or sinfonias for one, two, or four trumpets with strings. They were performed during Mass, chiefly on October 4, the feast day of Petronius, Bologna’s patron saint. The number of performers on these festive occasions increased greatly through the hiring of outside musicians, among them one to four trumpeters. At least once there were 180 performers, including the choir. On the festival of St. Petronius in 1687 there were 106 musicians, of whom 31 were in the orchestra. The number of performers thus corresponded to the vastness of the basilica. We are convinced that composers introduced the trumpet for acoustical reasons beside the obvious symbolic ones: in the huge church it is the only instrument whose sound carries clearly.