In modern times Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 has gained a notorious reputation as one of the most difficult pieces in the trumpet's repertoire. Bach demands complex passagework from all four of the solo instruments employed, and it is certainly true to say that the trumpet part is among the most technically demanding of any of Bach's surviving trumpet parts on account of the virtuosity required to negotiate Bach's intricate figuration. The fanfares in the principale register and the extraordinary floridity in the clarino register are hallmarks of Bach's exemplary trumpet writing. However, the headline difficulty for many trumpet players is the extremely high pitch of F major in this concerto.

In the score, neatly presented to impress the Margrave of Brandenburg*, we see a trumpet part in the harmonic series (ubiquitously notated in C major). In the same score the other instruments are notated in F major, which might lead us to conclude that the concerto should include a trumpet 'in F'**. However, this was not necessarily the case in the 18th Century, as different pitches (usually Chorton and Kammerton - choir pitch and chamber pitch) were often simultaneously in use within the same ensemble, particularly when the Hautbois (which were often associated with an even lower French pitch, Tief Kammerton) were employed. There were also regional differences in pitch, which may confuse the issue further. It is plausible that it could have sounded lower in pitch than it was notated, but it might never be possible for us to know the answer to this perplexing issue. Nevertheless, playing this on a lower, longer trumpet would make this piece less extreme in tessitura yet no less extraordinary as a composition.

Personally, the thrill of playing this concerto is not in standing-out as a trumpet soloist but rather in balancing with, and following the contours of the ingeniously intertwining lines within the quartet of soloists: Tromba, Flauto, Hautbois and Violino [instruments listed in score order]. [Incidentally, this concerto even works convincingly without the ripieno - I have performed it in this way several times]. Playing the trumpet part requires delicate, almost transparent, playing in the extreme high register so that the interesting Flauto line can be heard. The trumpet can balance with the recorder, oboe and violin. This is, I believe, where the true artistry of playing this piece lies.