Giuseppe Torelli was famous during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries as one of Bologna's premier violinists and as a composer who more or less invented the modern solo concerto—as is, of course, quite well known. That he was also the author of a wealth of trumpet music is considerably less well-known (save, naturally, to trumpeters). It was around 1690 that Torelli, then a player in the orchestra of San Petronio in Bologna, began to compose music for solo trumpet and ensemble (and also for trumpet duo, trio, and even quartet and ensemble). Bologna had a rich trumpet music tradition and was home to several noted trumpet virtuosos (including the very famous Giovanni Pellegrino Brandi), and even had in its law-books a law (from 1508) requiring city trumpeters to perform at celebrations of the Mass. Torelli's 36 works for solo trumpet(s) and small orchestra, which span the years from about 1690 to Torelli's death in 1709 but which cannot for the most part be dated with any real precision (none were ever published during their composer's lifetime), seem to have been composed specifically for such high-flying Masses. All have been preserved in manuscript at the archive of San Petronio, and for many decades they languished in that state—in recent years, however, an extensive publishing effort has been made, and quality recordings of this sparkling repertoire have at last begun to pop up on record store shelves.

Today, many people refer to Torelli's solo trumpet pieces exclusively as "concertos"—but in fact Torelli called most of his trumpet works "sinfonias," a name that hints at their use as overtures to the Mass celebration, and also called some of them simply "sonatas" (even though these, too, are for rather large ensemble). Some are works in the old sonata da chiesa mold: four movements, slow-fast-slow-fast. Others take up the new, three-movement concerto shape that Torelli himself devised for his violin concertos: fast-slow-fast, with movement designs that approach the soloist-promoting ritornello structures of, say, a Vivaldi concerto. It is safe to say, however, that Torelli used the three terms—concerto, sinfonia, and sonata—nearly interchangeably, and to try to pigeonhole any one piece based on its title would probably be unwise. Formal intricacies and structural charm aside, it is the bright, warm, and tuneful manner of Torelli's trumpet writing that makes these three dozen works so genuinely appealing. Often there is little in the way of brilliant virtuosity involved—it is enough for the trumpeter to exchange bits of theme and motive with the ensemble, and to offer a few choice elaborations of those bits. The trumpet is cast in a role wholly in keeping with the purpose of this music: it serves as a shining, ringing example of musical grace and purity, a symbol for the hundreds or even thousands who would have been sitting and waiting for what was to them the most sacred of sacraments.

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