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 are utilizing the trumpet stop, hence the name), 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.