Gottfried Reiche (; 5 February 1667 6 October 1734) was a German

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

player and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

era. Reiche is best known for having been

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's chief trumpeter at Leipzig from Bach's arrival there in 1723 until Reiche's death.Nyphil.org
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Biography

Reiche was steeped in trumpet playing from an early age – he was born in the town of Weissenfels,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

which had a long tradition of trumpet music at its court. He went to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in 1688, eventually succeeding trumpeter Johann C. Genzmer there as ''Senior Stadtmusicus'' in 1719. Reiche was a musician of great skill, if one can judge from the trumpet parts written for him by Bach. They are among the most florid, creative, and difficult trumpet parts of the Baroque era, quite clearly intended for a player of great virtuosity. He is the subject of a famous

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

of the era, which was made by Leipzig artist E.G. Haussmann for the occasion of Reiche's 60th birthday in 1727. In the portrait, Reiche holds a coiled

natural trumpet A natural trumpet is a valveless brass instrument that is able to play the notes of the harmonic series. History :''See: Clarion'' The natural trumpet was used as a military instrument to facilitate communication (e.g. break camp, retreat, e ...

(Ger. Jägertrompete, trans. hunting trumpet) in his right hand. In his left hand, he holds a sheet of manuscript music on which is written a short ''Abblasen'' or

fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introdu ...

. The musical notes are depicted accurately in the painting, and the fanfare has been transcribed and performed by several artists. It has also served for many years as the theme music to the American television show ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by Ch ...

''. While Reiche himself composed many such '' Abblasen'' and other "tower music" (''Turmmusik'') (most of which is lost), some scholars believe that the style of the music in the portrait hints at possibly being composed by J.S. Bach himself, perhaps as a birthday gift for his chief trumpeter. BWV215

Reiche died of a stroke in

, collapsing in the street while walking home one night. A contemporary account attributed the stroke to the strain of having played trumpet the previous evening, with "his condition having been greatly aggravated from the smoke given off by the torch-lights", when he participated in the performance of Bach's congratulatory cantata ''

Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen, BWV 215 ' (Praise your good fortune, blessed Saxony), BWV 215, is a List of Bach cantatas, secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the ' (Bach cantata, congratulatory cantata) or ' (drama in music) in Leipzig as a ' (Festive music for ...

''. After his death, Reiche was succeeded by Christoph Ruhe.

Literature

* Don Smithers, ''Gottfried Reiches Ansehen und sein Einfluß auf die Musik Johann Sebastian Bachs'', ''

Bach-Jahrbuch The ''Bach-Jahrbuch'' ("Bach yearbook" or according to the publication's website "Bach Annals") is an Periodical literature, annual publication related to the composer Bach. It is published in German by the Neue Bachgesellschaft in Leipzig. It is t ...

'' 73, p. 113-150, 1987 * Don Smithers, ''Bach, Reiche and the Leipzig Collegia Musica'', Historic Brass Society Journal 2, p. 1-51, 1990 * The Ewald Brass Quintet's recording of the complete ''Vierundzwanzig neue Quatricinien'' (1696): Hungaroton HCD 32451

References

External links

Musical score and sound files of the "Abblasen"Did Bach actually compose the famous "Abblasen?"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reiche, Gottfried 1667 births 1734 deaths People from Weißenfels German classical trumpeters German male trumpeters German Baroque composers German multi-instrumentalists 18th-century German classical composers German male classical composers 18th-century German male musicians