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Tuesday, May 29, 2007














[[InStRuMeNt 0f ThE wEeK - FRENCH HORN]]













The horn (popularly known also as the French horn) is a brass instrument decended from the natural horn that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. Modern horns have three or four finger-operated valves to help control the pitch. Someone who plays the horn is called a horn player or hornist. (The International Horn Society has recommended since 1971 that the instrument itself be properly referred to solely as the horn.)





The horn is a conical bore instrument much like the cornet and Saxhorns. This means the bore is tapered, steadily increasing in diameter along its length, unlike the trumpet and trombone which are considered cylindrical. Unlike most other valved brass instruments, which use piston valves, most modern horns use rotary valves, though earlier horns and horns used in Austria and France still use pistons. Each valve toggles a length of tubing, changing the length of the instrument and therefore the pitch. Each length of tubing is a separate part, and is moved to adjust the tuning of the instrument, making them tuning slides. A modern double horn contains a total of 21 ft (6.4 meters) of tubing, including all tuning slides, although not all this tubing can be played at any one time.
Compared to the other brass instruments commonly found in the orchestra, the typical range of the horn is set an octave higher in its harmonic series, facilitated by its small mouthpiece and narrow leadpipe. In this range, the partials—notes available in a given valve combination simply by changing the frequency of the lip buzz—are closer together than on other brass instruments, making it very prone to playing wrong notes, even among professional players, due to not having precisely the proper lip tension. Its conical bore is largely responsible for its characteristic tone, often described as "mellow". Horn music is often written in F, and sounds a perfect fifth lower than written, with the typical range starting at F-sharp immediately below the bass clef, to the C above the treble clef (sounding B below the bass clef to F at the top of the treble clef). Although this is the standard range found in classical repertoire, some players can play many notes beyond this range, both lower and higher.
Also important to note is that many pieces from Baroque to Romantic periods are written in keys other than F, with the player providing the final transposition to the correct pitch. This notion began in the early days of the horn before valves, when the composer would indicate the key the horn should be in (horn in D, horn in C, etc.) and the part would be notated as if it were in C. For example, a written C for horn in D would be transposed down a minor third, and played as an A on F horn. This tradition was only recently abandoned, being used as late as Wagner and Richard Strauss, albeit only for short passages (the majority of the piece being written for horn in F).











Double Horn











Despite the introduction of valves, the single F horn proved difficult for use in the highest range, where the partials grew closer and closer, making accuracy a great challenge. An early solution was simply to use a horn of higher pitch -- usually B-flat. The use of the F versus the B-flat horn were a hotbed of debate between horn players of the late nineteenth century, until the German horn maker Kruspe produced a prototype of the "double horn" in 1897.
The double horn combines two instruments into a single frame: the original horn in F, and a second, higher horn keyed in B-flat. By using a fourth valve (operated by the thumb), the horn player can quickly switch from the deep, warm tones of the F horn to the higher, brighter tones of the B-flat horn. The two sets of tones are commonly called "sides" of the horn.
In the words of Reginald Morley-Pegge, the invention of the double horn "revolutionized horn playing technique almost as much as did the invention of the valve." [Morley-Pegge, "Orchestral," 195]
In the USA, the two most common styles ("wraps") of double horns are named Kruspe and Geyer (also known as Knopf), after the first instrument makers who developed and standardized them. The Kruspe wrap locates the B flat change valve above the first valve, near the thumb. The Geyer wrap has the change valve behind the third valve, near the pinky finger (although the valve's trigger is still played with the thumb). In effect, the air flows in a completely different direction on the other model. Both models have their own strengths and weaknesses, and are a matter of personal choice among horn players. Kruspe wrap horns tend to be larger in the bell throat than the Geyer type.
In the UK and Europe the most popular horns are arguably those made by Gebr. Alexander, of Mainz (particularly the Alexander 103), and those made by Paxman in London. In Germany and the Benelux countries, the Alex. 103 is extremely popular. These horns do not fit strictly into the Kruspe or Geyer camps, but have features from both. Alexander prefer the traditional medium bell size, which they have produced for many years, whereas Paxman do offer their models in a range of bell throat sizes. In the United States, the Conn 8D is one of the most popular models in professional orchestras







Vienna horn











The Vienna horn is a special horn used primarily in Vienna, Austria. Instead of using rotary valves or piston valves, it uses the Pumpenvalve. Unlike the modern horn, which has grown considerably larger internally (for a bigger, broader, and louder tone), and considerably heavier (with the addition of valves and tubing in the case of the double horn) the Vienna horn very closely mimics the size and weight of the natural horn, (although the valves do add some weight, they are lighter than rotary valves) even using crooks in the front of the horn, between the mouthpiece and the instrument. Although instead of the full range of keys, Vienna horn players usually use an F crook for most music, switching to an A or B-flat crook for higher pitched music (Beethoven 7th symphony, Bach, various Mozart and Haydn, etc).



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