Review

Daniel Speer
Six Sonatas: from Musicalisch-Türkischer Eulen-Spiegel

Arranged by Henry Howey

2 trumpets in C, horn in F, trombone, tuba, continuo (optional)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2019
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

Speer was born in Breslau, now Wrocław, Poland in 1636 and died in Göppingen in 1707. These sonatas were written originally for cornetti and trombones, published in Ulm in 1688. They are arranged here for a ‘standard’ brass quintet comprised of 2 trumpets in C, horn in F, tenor trombone and tuba. An alto trombone part is included as a possible substitute for horn and there is an optional keyboard continuo part. These pieces, homophonic in style, have a great sense of movement and are never dull. Neither was the composer’s life; he and his wife adopted two orphaned children and he was imprisoned in Göppingen in 1689 for political activity.

The set is comprised of Sonatas 25-30. They are given in G major (25), C major (26-28), A minor (29), and E minor (30). Key signatures are not used and Sonata 30, which is quite chromatic, has many accidentals. Four are in 3/2 meter, two in 2/2. The trombone is kept well occupied; its part has only two full measures of rest in the whole set. Bass clef is used throughout; overall range is B–f¹. Alto trombone range is f-sharp-a¹. First trumpet tops out at a². The tonal resources of the quintet are used imaginatively with the tutti ensemble playing in only 55 of more than 300 measures altogether.

The cryptic legend, Dacianschen SIMPLICISSIMO in Güntz appears under the composer’s name at the top of the score. ‘Dacianischer Simplicissimus’ was an alias that he used for a novel, published in 1683, and ‘Güntz’ stands in for Göppingen, where he was the music teacher in the Latin School. I am grateful to Dr. Howey for supplying this information. Eulen-Spiegel is a ‘rascal’; Dacia is part of what is now Romania.

Henry Howey is Professor of Euphonium at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He has published previously on Speer, who was also the subject of his dissertation.