ITG Music Reviews

Brent Flinchbaugh

Knight, Tim. Concertino for Trumpet and Organ. Wehr’s Music House, 2006.

The trumpet and organ concert repertoire is limited, but with Tim Knight’s Concertino for Trumpet and Organ we now have a work of substance, integrity, and pizzazz to add to the list. A successful oeuvre of various styles and orchestrations, Tim Knight incorporates his British sensibility and interest in 20^th century American style into this exciting three-movement work.

The first movement, Allegro molto, opens with a flashy, punctuated theme set by the trumpet and imitated by the organ. After a central, lyrical melody quickly develops, the movement culminates with a restatement of the opening fanfare. The second movement, marked Adagio Molto espressivo, spins a wonderful, nostalgic song, complete with soaring lines and heroic arrivals. The third movement, Allegro Maestoso, abruptly begins similarly to the first with punctuation from the organ and proud, boisterous statements by the trumpet. This movement races to the final bar without looking back, or giving much rest to the soloist.

This work poses a challenge for the trumpet soloist, ranging from F’ to C’’’ and generally settling around G’’. With no note lower than the staff, this work might be easier to execute on an Eb trumpet, to help lighten the timbre and aide in quick articulation above the staff. Also, the soloist is not given much rest during the movements, totaling only seventeen bars rest out of one hundred eighty-eight measures, which comprise the three-movement work. Combined with the overall high tessitura of this work, Knight’s Concertino should be programmed intelligently, with thought to overall fatigue during a full recital.

Tim Knight adds flash and color to our limited repertoire with Concertino for Trumpet and Organ. Though not for the novice trumpeter, this work lends itself to a variety of performance levels and venues, and will surely be found on recital programs on both sides of the Atlantic in due time.