Trumpet Voluntary

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Trumpet Voluntary is the title of several English keyboard pieces from the Baroque era. Most commonly played on the organ, they generally consist of a slow introduction followed by a flamboyant faster section with the right hand playing fanfare-like figures over a simple accompaniment in the left hand.

The organist and composer John Stanley wrote a number of trumpet voluntaries, as did many of his lesser contemporaries. The most famous piece known by that name, however, is a composition by Jeremiah Clarke, properly a rondo for keyboard named Prince of Denmark's March. This piece was incorrectly attributed to Henry Purcell for many years, particularly in a well-known arrangement for trumpet, string orchestra and organ by Sir Henry Wood. Other famous organ voluntaries are those of Clarke's teacher John Blow.