AUDIO REVIEW: Bach Works for Trumpet

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The trumpet's soaring sound, when played as a solo instrument, evoked the term "a trumpet solitary." Born in Hertfordshire in 1978, Alison Balsom plays with solitary introspection the pensive "Agnus Dei" (Lamb of God) from Bach's B Minor Mass. The verbal message of the Angus Dei, "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace," comes through emotionally and spiritually. Another refined selection, "Bist du Bei Mir," is a song pledging eternal faith that was long a favorite at weddings. Although it is now attributed to Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, another eighteenth-century composer, instead of Bach, the song's authentic expression of fidelity is preserved in the humble, philosophical performance by Balsom. Accompanied deftly by the harpsichordist and organist Alistair Ross, Balsom's light, thoughtful performance makes the trumpet seem like a thinking musician's instrument. Since Biblical times, the trumpet's majestic resonance has been lauded, as in Psalm 150: "Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp." The Archangel Gabriel will play a trumpet at the Last Judgment, we are told, whereas in Greek mythology Triton is the trumpeter of the deep, the son of the Sea God Poseidon. Alongside these majestic precedents, Balsom's Bach is unswaggering, understated, and eloquent, the perfect companion for solitary moments.