Toy trumpets!

The Ensemble de l’Encyclopédie (dir. Florent Albrecht) recent recording of Leopold Mozart’s (Wolfgang Amadeus’ dad) Toy Symphony and Sleigh Ride required the reconstruction of two brass toy trumpets due to the inability to obtain playable 18th century originals. It was the brass maker Patrick Fraize, accustomed to this kind of curiosity (see the reconstruction of a small 18th century post horn for a concerto by Johann Beer) who, one again, has to built it.

For the instrument to produce a G in the Toy Symphony, the thing to do was to length the small post horn mentioned previously because the proportions are similar.

For the instrument to produce a C in the Sleigh Ride, he created a shorter and straighter instrument but in acoustic proportions to the previous instrument.

A large battery of percussion instruments, birdcalls, etc… was also brought in by percussionist David Joignaux to join the trumpet.

These very distinctive works will soon be released with two fantasies by Wolfgang Amadeus on the Harmonia Mundi label.