Images from The Utley Virtual Gallery Natural Trumpet in D by Johann Leonhard Ehe III Imperial City of Nürnberg, ca. 1750 Front                                          Side NMM 7160.  Natural trumpet in D by Johann Leonhard Ehe III, Imperial City of Nürnberg, ca. 1750 (between 1722-1771). Five-piece brass body, held together by five ferrules of alternating length (long, short, long, short, long) and a walnut block with probably original, light-green binding and two tassels. Overlapping tab seam in front of first yard. Possibly used in 1895 by the trumpeter Walter Morrow (1850-1937) for demonstration of short excerpt from J. S. Bach’s B Minor Mass and whole final chorale of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Morrow is said to have borrowed the instrument from the lawyer William F. Blandford. Ex coll.: Edward H. Tarr, Rheinfelden-Eichsel, Germany. Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collction, 1999. The Maker's Signature Note: Click on any image below to see larger image Engraved on the garland to the right of the first bow, extending over one-third of the bell and reading from the mouthpiece end:  M IOHANN LEONHARD / EHE IN NURNB. The Master's Mark The engraved master's mark, showing head of a man wearing a turban, facing right. The initials IL are to the left, while the initial E is to the right of the mark. Bell Rim and Engraved Decorations Nürnberg rim, wire impressed in a leaf pattern (left). Tulip engraving and upper garland edge decoration (right) consisting of four straight engraved lines. Ferrules Receiver Ferrule Bow 1 (short) Bow 1 (long) Bow 2 (short) Bow 2 (long) The ferrules are engraved with straight lines in varying numbers on the different ferrules. Ball and Sleeves Ball is made of two-part, hammered, sheet-brass oval decorated with five engraved rings consisting of one to six lines. Sleeves have four engraved rings at each side of the ball consisting of three to six lines. Accessories:  Two brass tuning bits (old, but probably not original) and a brass mouthpiece stamped P NAUMANN (reproduction of a baroque mouthpiece). Sounding length:  2207 mm; internal diameter receiver:  11.9; internal diameter receiver minimum (at ca. 40 mm): 10.8 mm; bell diameter:  106 mm. The dating of this instrument, ca. 1750, is fairly late in the overall timeline of Nürnberg trumpet production. This conclusion can be supported by such features as the restrained decorations and generally less ornate style, in comparison with earlier instruments, as well as the relatively sharp bell flare common to the later Nürnberg trumpets. Although it was a requirement in Nürnberg for all craftsmen to have distinguishable master's marks, there were three generic master's marks, with only subtle deviations, used by many of the different trumpet makers in the Ehe family dynasty. The signature and mark on this trumpet are slightly different than those used by other family members, including the shape of the first two initials in the master's mark, the word MACHT that is abbreviated to only an M, and, the fact that both first names are written out in their entirety. Therefore, this instrument has been attributed to Johann Leonhard Ehe III. Although an important Nürnberg trumpet-maker, Ehe spent the end of his life in relative poverty, like other metal craftsmen, during this period of decline in trumpet production. Audio Excerpts of Edward H. Tarr Playing NMM 7160 with George Kent, Organist, Playing the Silbermann-Kern Organ of the Temple of St. Jean, Mulhouse, France 1.  Jeremiah Clarke (1637-1707), "Trumpet Tune" from English Suite in D 2.  Jeremiah Clarke, "The Prince of Denmark's March" from English Suite in D Note:  These excerpts are taken from Edward H. Tarr, Baroque Masterpieces for Trumpet & Organ, Vol. III (Nonesuch Records: 1978). Lit.:  Robert Barclay, The Art of the Trumpet-Maker (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), pp. 52, 59, 119, and 162. Reine Dahlqvist and Bengt Eklund, "The Brandenburg Concerto No. 2," Euro-ITG Newsletter 2 (1995), p. 6. Edward H. Tarr, "Trumpet," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition, Stanley Sadie, editor (New York and London: Macmillan, 2001), Vol. 25, p. 832, fig. 12a. -------, "Natural Trumpet in D by Johann Leonhard Ehe II," "Historical Instrument Window," International Trumpet Guild Journal (June 2003), p. 68.   Click arrow to continue Utley Virtual Gallery Tour Go to Utley Virtual Gallery Tour Index Go to Virtual Gallery Tour Index Go to Checklist of European Brass Instruments Made Before 1800 Go to Checklist of Natural Trumpets Made in the Imperial City of Nürnberg Before 1800 National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD   57069 ©National Music Museum, 2007 Most recent update:   April 18, 2007 You are the 1,821st visitor to this page since March 22, 2007. The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page