Gottfried Reiche

Though Reiche is not known for his compositional productions he wrote a number of trumpet sonatas in five parts. "Vier und zwantig neue Quatricinia" was written by Reiche in 1696 in addition to his scored works. He held the post of Kunstgeiger in 1700, city piper in 1706 and senior city piper in 1719 in the city of Leipzig. After J.S. Bach's arrival in Leipzig, Reiche played all of the first trumpet parts for Bach's music on his coiled trumpet. He was considered an important instrumentalist to the city, so much so that he was offered additional money not to seek employment elsewhere. Reiche was an exceptional trumpeter but the higher registrations demanded by Fux, Caldara and Michael Haydn, were notably played better by long form trumpeters like Heinisch. ~ Keith Johnson