Like Frederick the Great, Johann Ernst Altenburg is one of the thousands of figures in the 18th century who were not professional composers, but nonetheless wrote a handful of very masterful works which deserve to be included in the general repertoire.

Altenburg's father Johann Kaspar Altenburg (1689-1761)  is considered one of the possible trumpeters for whom Bach wrote his famous Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (Martin Bernstein, "The chronology of orchestral suites, BWV 1066-1069" in Report of the Eighth Congress of the International Musicological Society, New York 1961 [Kassel, 1962] , vol 2, pp. 127-128). He was well known for his expertise at clarino playing (the Baroque practice of playing in the higher octaves of the valveless trumpet where complete scales were possible) and from 1711-1746 led the Court Trumpeters of 3 successive Dukes of Weissenfels, as well as court trumpeters of other German courts. He was likely a descendant of the well-known church composer Michael Altenburg (1584-1640).

Johann Ernst Altenburg followed in his father's footsteps and endured a long initiation into the exclusive Trumpet Guild. From ages 2 to 18 he was apprenticed to his father before finally becoming a licensed Trumpeter. He was a field trumpeter in the Seven Years War and travelled to many German states, but ironically could never obtain a permanent position as a trumpeter due to post-Baroque social changes. Fortunately, he was also a skilled organist, music theorist, and composer. His composition teachers included Johann Theodor Römhild and Bach's son-in-law, Johann Christoph Altnikol.

Altenburg wrote mainly church compositions but is remembered most for having done for the trumpet what Leopold Mozart did for the violin, what Quantz did for the flute, and what C.P.E. Bach did for the harpsichord - he wrote (yes, that's right) a Versuch for trumpet playing. Altenburg's Versuch however is particularly notable for the circumstances under which it was written: first, with the advent of Classicism, composers stopped writing music demanding Baroque-style clarino playing; second, the Trumpet Guild had a virtual monopoly on knowledge of the art yet its members had dwindled (because they were no longer in demand by the nobles, who could no longer afford to hire them); and third, Altenburg belonged to the very last generation of trumpeters who had complete, first-hand experience in the art during its zenith.

The full title of Altenburg's essay is "Versuch einer Einleitung zu heroisch-musikalischen Trompeter- und Pauker-Kunst" (Halle, 1795) and it is the major source for 18th century trumpet scholarship, containing many jealously guarded trade secrets of the Trumpet Guild. It was ironically the Guild's secrecy, selectiveness in admitting new apprentices, and strict fines for "illegal trumpet playing" which helped contribute to the art's decline, and which thus prompted Altenburg to "break the code of silence" and publish his Versuch amongst nobles, in the hopes of reviving the dying art. It was a heroic attempt, but he did not succeed; the art of clarino trumpet was lost, and not rediscovered until the establishment of modern Baroque scholarship. Had Altenburg succeeded, today's trumpeters might very well have inherited a much wealthier body of solo repertoire from the Classicist and Romantic periods.


- six piano sonatas (Thomas, 1780; Breitkopf, 1781)
- Fugue in G minor
- bicinia, tricinia, quadracinia (works for 2-4 trumpets)
- motets (psalms)
- Concerto for 7 trumpets and timpani


- Versuch einer Einleitung zu heroisch-musikalischen Trompeter- und Pauker-Kunst (Halle,
1795)
- Lebens-Umsta:nde des Organisten Altenburg
- 18 letters

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MP3 Notes

Recommended: at least two speakers, placed far apart

The appendix of Altenburg's Versuch includes several compositions, among them this amazing concerto for 7 trumpets and timpani - no orchestra, no basso continuo (and of course no valves) - obviously an attempt to demonstrate the musical possibilities of the instrument. Despite the range and technical limitations of Altenburg's chosen ensemble, he manages to write all 3 movements in a very Classicist idiom skillfully, with an expressive yet noble slow movement (a compositional feat even for one solo trumpet).