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In our first installment of ON MUSIC, we fluttered hi and low through the brass section of the orchestra, but never really got to know the French Horn, my very favorite in the section. Developed in England as a hunting horn around 1650, the modern-day French Horn has evolved through a series of technological innovations that enable a French Hornist to cover a super-ginormo range, one of the largest of any orchestral instrument.
A talented player can also get a variety of colors from the instrument by stuffing his hand in the bell for a muted tone, flipping the bell in the air for a brassy tone, or shoving a mute in there, which creates a crunchy, buzzy tone.
Today’s excerpt features a lot of these different techniques and comes from an amazing piece by Igor Stravinsky called Symphony of Psalms. Written in 1930 and commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Stravinsky’s three-movement symphony for chorus is sung in Latin. Of the piece, Stravinsky said, “It is not a symphony in which I have included Psalms to be sung. On the contrary, it is the singing of the Psalms that I am symphonizing.”
Listen to the Symphony of Psalms excerpt
After the “Halleluiah,” get ready for a hard-hitting fanfare from the Horn section—brassy and regal! Then, under the “laudate dominums” listen for the punchy horn accents that underscore every syllable the chorus sings. (By the way: think it smacks a little of West Side Story? Guess who loved to steal from Stravinsky?!) Then, about 1 minute in, after the flying trumpet riffs, listen for the big French Horn solo—all four horns in unison, belting out that jazzy, Star Trek-ish tune. Toward the end of the excerpt, the horns play a doorbell-sounding riff, each horn chiming in like tubular bells.
How’s that for diversity with one instrument in the span of a minute and a half?
Just posting to let you know that you didn’t change the text for the link. It says the “Symphony Fantastique” excerpt, but links to the psalms. Otherwise, Great!
posted by Max on 2-12-2007 at 9:53 am
Thanks Max!! Done and done.
posted by David on 2-12-2007 at 10:57 am
I played Horn in high school and college and believe me, it sounds awful when a beginner plays. But when it’s played correctly by professionals, there’s nothing like it. Thanks for the memories!
posted by Paula on 2-12-2007 at 11:04 am
Man, I love the french horn. When played properly, it’s just such a gorgeous sound. I’d agree with Paula though on the fact that beginners playing it sounds awful…they generally do not yet have the sense of pitch needed to perfect the tuning, and just have not gotten used to the instrument.
But good players…such a beautiful, stunning sound. So crisp and pure.
And I love Stravinsky! Always fantastic!
posted by Samantha on 2-12-2007 at 3:52 pm
Great writing here, indeed. Further proof of Stravinsky’s major chops as an orchestrator, and certainly, Bernstein cribbed from Stravinsky all the time. Good to note that Stravinsky himself wasn’t above the occasionally lifting of materials, as this piece shows: The last minutes of this work are pretty shameless in how directly they reference the last section of “Solace” by Scott Joplin. Listen to the two finales next to each other, it’s pretty wild…
posted by Lukas on 2-12-2007 at 3:53 pm
I play the French horn, and I am in fifth
grade, and it was hard at the beginning
but my band teacher helped me a lot. The
higher notes are harder for me, and the
really low notes like low B is hard. It’s my favorite instrument but do you think you can give me some pointers?
posted by Alexander Woolege on 2-23-2007 at 6:01 pm
Alexander: You might be our youngest reader yet! Thanks for writing in. The only pointer I feel I have the authority to give (because I don’t play the horn) is the old joke about Carnegie Hall:
A man in NYC stops a stranger on the street and says, “Excuse me, do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?”
The stranger says, “Sure: Practice, practice, practice.”
posted by David on 2-24-2007 at 8:00 am