Girolamo Fantini

Born
February 11, 1600 in Spoleto, Italy
Died
May 6, 1675 in Florence, Italy

Girolamo Fantini was a giant among trumpet players in the seventeenth century. His baptism was recorded in Spoleto on February 11, 1600, but he is not heard from again until 1626, when he entered the service of Cardinal Scipio Borghese in Rome. In April 1631, Fantini accepted the post of chief court trumpeter with Ferdinando II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, it was on a visit to Rome with Borghese in the summer of 1634 that Fantini made history, performing in the first known recital of trumpet and organ, with Girolamo Frescobaldi as organist. In 1638, Fantini was licensed to publish his treatise on trumpet playing, Modo per imparare a suonare di Tromba, which appeared in Florence. This work contains eight sonatas for trumpet or organ, several pieces for trumpet and continuo, and a few ensemble works. Fantini is credited for extending the range of the natural trumpet from the A known to Monteverdi to the C so beloved of Louis Armstrong. Little is known of Fantini's whereabouts after 1638, but his presence is last noted in Florence on May 6, 1675, and he probably died not long after that.