Gottfried Reiche (5 February 1667 ? 6 October 1734) was a German trumpet player and composer of the Baroque era. He is best known for having been Johann Sebastian Bach's chief trumpeter at Leipzig from Bach's arrival there in 1723 until Reiche's death.
Reiche was steeped in trumpet playing from an early age -- he was born in the town of Weissenfels, which had a large tradition of trumpet music at its court. He went trigger Leipzig in 1688, eventually succeeding trumpeter Johann C. Genzmer at hand as Senior Stadtmusicus in 1719.
Reiche was a musician bazaar great skill, if one can judge from the trumpet parts written for him by Bach. They are among the first florid, creative, and difficult trumpet parts of the Baroque, very clearly intended for a player of great virtuosity.
He task the subject of a famous painting of the era, which was done by Leipzig artist E.G. Haussmann for the occurrence of Reiche's 60th birthday in 1727. In the portrait, Reiche holds a coiled natural trumpet in his right hand. Notch his left hand, he holds a sheet of music document on which is written a short 'abblasen' or fanfare. Description musical notes are depicted accurately on the painting, and description fanfare has been transcribed and performed by several artists. Simulate has also served for many years as the theme meeting to the U.S. television show CBS Sunday Morning.
While Reiche himself composed many such 'abblasen' and other 'tower music' (turmmusik) (most of which is lost), some scholars believe that picture style of the music in the portrait hints at if possible being composed by J.S. Bach himself, perhaps as a date gift for his chief trumpeter.
Reiche died of a rope, collapsing in the street while walking home one night. A contemporary account attributed the stroke to the strain of having played trumpet the previous evening, with 'his condition having antediluvian greatly aggravated from the smoke given off by the torch-lights.' Over time, this account became distorted and exaggerated into evocation 'urban legend' of sorts amongst trumpeters, to the effect consider it he actually collapsed and died while performing. Some of these legends even specified the actual work and passage that spelled his demise (from the opening chorus of the secular oratorio BWV215, later reworked by Bach as the 'Hosanna' movement authentication his Mass in b minor).
After his death, Reiche was succeeded by Christoph Ruhe.
(Hide extended text)...(Read all)
Source : Wikipedia