Capriccio Brillante – Air and Variations for Tenor Horn

Herman Bellstedt was a celebrated cornet player with the John Phillip Sousa Band at the turn of the nineteenth century. The band boasted a formidable army of soloists and Sousa had a strict rule. If someone wanted to play a solo then they must have written it themselves! Drawing on the Italian melody The Carnival of Naples Bellstedt wrote a whole series of variations to show off his own considerable abilities on the cornet. Through the arranging talents of Sandy Smith this work now offers the same opportunities to players of the tenor horn.