Date of Award

Spring 8-1-1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Music

First Advisor

David William McCarty

Second Advisor

David Watkins

Third Advisor

John Hull

Abstract

This study addresses the development of a trumpet capable of playing a complete chromatic scale. The invention of the keyed trumpet at the end of the eighteenth century freed the instrument from the acoustic limitations of the Baroque "natural" trumpet. These limitations are explained in the study. The capabilities of the keyed trumpet prompted first Franz Joseph Haydn and later Johann Nepomuk Hummel to compose concerti in which the solo trumpet parts contain novel chromatic melodic passages impossible to perform on natural trumpets. These concerti, both written for the same instrument, with only seven years separating their composition dates, reflect the evolution of musical style between the end of the Classical era and the beginning of the Romantic era. This changing musical style motivated various experiments to achieve a truly chromatic trumpet, of which the keyed trumpet is the most notable example. In order to assess both the technical and the stylistic advantages of the keyed trumpet, this study provides a detailed harmonic and formal analysis of the Haydn and the Hummel trumpet concerti. Particular attention is given to the pitch material and tonal areas contained in the solo trumpet parts, so that conclusions may be drawn regarding the specific mechanical and acoustic properties of this early chromatic trumpet.

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