My former teacher and mentor David Staff, who has died aged 68 of a heart condition, was a cornetto player and period trumpeter, but also well known as a maker of natural trumpets – valveless brass instruments which, in the hands of a good player, produce a distinctive and rich sound.
The natural trumpet was the type of trumpet which, for many centuries, accompanied men and horses on the battlefield, but it was also admired by composers such as Bach and Handel, who both wrote music for it.
