La Trompette Française

With the title “La Trompette française” (The French trumpet), Jean-François Dion wanted to pay musical homage to fourteen of his trumpet player colleagues and friends who have done in the past or are currently doing their best to develop the art of trumpet playing in France, where in 1795 in Paris has been founded the first conservatory of the world including also all wind instruments (as related in the key-work written 1900 by Constant Pierre: “The Conservatoire National de Musique et de Déclamation, historical and administrative documents  [p. XIII] “has its true origin in the Band of the National Guard, organized 1789, and successively transformed into the Municipal School of Music (1792), then into the National Institute of Music (1793)”. The goal then being to develop qualified professional wind players for the numerous military bands, symphonic, opera and operettas orchestras as well as music directors for the cities and village bands, which were organized all over France. As corollaries to that movement, the wind instrument industry as well as the musical cultural level of the French population got large upturn. Today, the classes of the two major national music institutions (Conservatoires Nationaux Supérieurs de Musique of Paris and Lyon) are supplied by gifted candidates schooled in local music institutions and regional conservatories. This path today still reflects the great quality of teaching with many interactive and creative networks that unify, in a positive way, competitiveness and friendship. La Trompette française by Jean-François Dion is an homage to his personal colleagues and friends circle with whom he has been working throughout his successful career. However, one should keep in mind the fact that France has the privilege of having many circles of soloists and teachers who are transmitting the french art to tame that beautiful but sometimes perfidious trumpet.