Antonio Vivaldi

Concerto in Fa maggiore - RV 539

2 trumpets (corni da caccia) and strings or piano

Exact instrumentation: 6.5.5.4.3 + B.C. - solo parts in F or Bb

Editor's note: for hornists, works for corno da caccia are extremely difficult because of their especially high tessitura. Even by adopting the compromise of playing the parts with a modern piston valve corno da caccia, which is to the old corno da caccia what the modern piccolo trumpet is to the baroque natural trumpet. On the other hand, the range of the flugelhorn or of the Bb trumpet corresponds perfectly to these parts which are then easily playable without altering their character. These superb baroque works - originally for brass instruments - so long neglected for the reasons given above, are thus now accessible to countless musicians.