Comments on: On Music: the French Horns in Symphony of Psalms

By: David

David — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 14:00:39 +0000

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.”

By: Alexander Woolege

Alexander Woolege — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:01:25 +0000

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?

By: Lukas

Lukas — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:53:08 +0000

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…

By: Samantha

Samantha — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:52:12 +0000

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!

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:04:56 +0000

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!

By: David

David — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:57:37 +0000

Thanks Max!! Done and done.

By: Max

Max — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:53:42 +0000

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!