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Horn players can improve their abilities to play artistically in a lyrical legato style, with a light mechanism, and employ a beautiful sound throughout the range of the horn through the study of bel canto vocal technique. No better singing model exists for horn players than that of the great bel canto singers of the early nineteenth century who were known for their refined technique, perfect legato, even tone, sparkling agility, and beautiful musical expression. Mastery of the expressive bel canto melodic style is a means for horn players to achieve artistry in performance. Pedagogical principles of nineteenth- and twentieth-century bel canto teachers, vocal exercises related to development of bel canto technique, and recorded performances of singers who have specialized in bel canto repertoire are examined. This study culminates in performer's guides to repertoire chosen from the few existing early nineteenth-century solo horn with piano pieces (by Balfe, Mercadante, and Rossini), with bel canto-informed horn technique explained.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / It has been the intention of the author to discuss in some detail the history and development of the French Hor n and its use in Chamber Music, up to the time when its position as an orchestral and chamber instrument was usurped by the valved horn. This covers a period of its use as an art instrument from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. These are of course the outward limits of the instrument's employment. [TRUNCATED]

abstract: In 1808, Heinrich Domnich (1767-1844) published his book, Méthode de Premier et de Second Cor, in which he credited the invention of hand horn to Dresden hornist Anton Joseph Hampel (1710-1771). The notion that Hampel was the first horn player to experiment and teach hand horn technique has persisted to the present day. This assumption disregards evidence found in Telemann's compositions and Baroque instrument design, where hand horn technique was clearly in use before Hampel. This paper presents evidence that before Hampel, hand horn was in use and called for by composers. Because of the number of works for horn he generated before and during Hampel's life, Telemann's pieces provide powerful insight into the use of Baroque horn. Musical examples originate from passages in Telemann's works where the horn performs in a solo capacity and the music requires the performer to produce pitches outside the harmonic series. By necessity, the performer must use either the hand or bend the note with the embouchure in order to produce the correct pitch with the hand being the logical choice. The paper also examines published interviews from horn pedagogues, history books, method books from the classical and baroque eras, baroque and hand horn design, as well as articles written by some of the world's foremost baroque and hand horn experts. By indentifying the number of non harmonic series tones in Telemann's music, combined with the opinions of hand horn experts, this paper suggests that horn players during the Baroque era must have known about, and used, hand horn technique. This knowledge will influence performer's interpretation of baroque pieces by providing a more historically informed performance, clearer understanding of intonation, the variety of tone colors expected, and create a better understanding of the development of the horn from foxhunting to the concert hall. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Performance 2014

abstract: This project examines over 40 publications consisting of published warm-ups, routines, and materials suitable for daily routines. The books were all written specifically for the horn and published between 1940 and 2015. They are split into periods of twenty years each during this timeframe: 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999, and 2000-2015. Included are brief annotations for each of the books which consist of general biographical information on the author, a summary of the material presented in each routine including a breakdown of how much each author covers a set of defined components, and suggestions for which type of student would be best to utilize each routine through an assessment of its strengths. Trends are also examined within each time period that attempt to demonstrate the larger evolution within the project over the course of the entire 75-year period. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2016

abstract: ABSTRACT Edouard Vuillermoz (1869-1939) was a horn player and teacher who studied and later taught at the Paris Conservatory during the early twentieth century. As did many of the professors from the Conservatory, Vuillermoz published works for the horn. Unfortunately, his name has largely faded into obscurity and most of his works are no longer in print, yet one has remained in the repertoire and is still available for purchase today—Dix Pièces Mélodiques. Published in 1927 by Alphonse-Leduc, Vuillermoz desired for his students a set of etudes that would teach mastery of transposition, but he was not a composer. The ten transposition exercises he created were selected and transcribed from a compilation of vocalises commissioned by a vocal professor at the Conservatory, Amédée-Louis Hettich (1856-1937). Hettich desired vocalise-etudes that would able aid and inspire his students, so he commissioned over one-hundred-fifty vocalises by modern composers during the first half of the twentieth century. Composers including Bozza, Copland, Dukas, Fauré, Messiaen, Nielsen, Ravel, and Tomasi answered his call for works between 1906 and 1938. These modern vocalise-etudes have since disappeared from the vocal repertoire. Now, a century later, many of these studies have entered the public domain and are resurfacing as instrumental transcriptions and concert etudes. This study promotes awareness of Edouard Vuillermoz’s Dix Pièces Mélodiques and advocates for their inclusion in a modern revival. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

Since the renewed interest in Baroque music in the twentieth century, no instrument has been more vexing for performers than the horn. The valveless Baroque horn, coupled with the anachronistic technique of clarino playing places hornists at a major disadvantage when faced with music of the Baroque Period. This study is an equipment guide that can be used as a starting point for conquering the upper-register, sound quality, and endurance challenges posed by Baroque horn writing. Chapter Two focuses on the options available to present-day period horn performers. Although it is not practical to perform on original Baroque horns, there are a number of craftsmen creating replicas of historical models that are available to today’s performers. A discussion of performance techniques as well as different approaches to horn design is included with pictures of original instruments and historical replicas. Chapter Three is of interest to artists performing on the modern horn. It examines specialty instruments and interchangeable components and includes relevant images. Chapter Four is a list of recommended recordings that demonstrate the options offered by this essay. Chapter Five consists of the conclusions of the study.

Composed entirely of runes, the 14th century manuscript Codex Runicus is comprised of 101 sheets and contains historical documents such as "Kings until Erik Menved" and "Boundaries between Denmark and Sweden." The end of the codex contains the oldest surviving Nordic music fragment with lyrical text "Drømde mik en drøm i nat um silki ok ærlik pæl" which translates as [I] dreamt me a dream last night of silk and lovely cloth. This melody, alongside three Norwegian folk slåttar written for fiddle, Fjellbekken (The Mountain Stream), Fjøllrosa (The Mountain Rose), and Syrgjefuen (The Bird of Sorrow), is used to generate the pitch material for this composition for string orchestra, english horn and french horn. The piece is contrapuntal in nature. A large portion of the work is formed from essentially five groups or layers of melody that comfortably co-exist towards, as well as away from, each other, their independent natures being most evident in the first half of the piece. Additionally, there are fluctuations within each group itself, for examples, forms of imitation, slippage, change in register, variation in playing technique, and micro-displays of rhythmic independence set against more heterophonic textures (Considerable use of rhythmic embellishment is derived from the ornamental style found in harding fiddle slåttar). Such micro-fluctuations further distinguish the texture-intentional orchestration of each group. Although the use of layered melody forms the framework for the entire composition, there is continual exploration of its possibilities through various parameters such as density vs. transparency, and continuation vs. fragmentation.

Composed entirely of runes, the 14th century manuscript Codex Runicus is comprised of 101 sheets and contains historical documents such as "Kings until Erik Menved" and "Boundaries between Denmark and Sweden." The end of the codex contains the oldest surviving Nordic music fragment with lyrical text "Drømde mik en drøm i nat um silki ok ærlik pæl" which translates as [I] dreamt me a dream last night of silk and lovely cloth. This melody, alongside three Norwegian folk slåttar written for fiddle, Fjellbekken (The Mountain Stream), Fjøllrosa (The Mountain Rose), and Syrgjefuen (The Bird of Sorrow), is used to generate the pitch material for this composition for string orchestra, english horn and french horn. The piece is contrapuntal in nature. A large portion of the work is formed from essentially five groups or layers of melody that comfortably co-exist towards, as well as away from, each other, their independent natures being most evident in the first half of the piece. Additionally, there are fluctuations within each group itself, for examples, forms of imitation, slippage, change in register, variation in playing technique, and micro-displays of rhythmic independence set against more heterophonic textures (Considerable use of rhythmic embellishment is derived from the ornamental style found in harding fiddle slåttar). Such micro-fluctuations further distinguish the texture-intentional orchestration of each group. Although the use of layered melody forms the framework for the entire composition, there is continual exploration of its possibilities through various parameters such as density vs. transparency, and continuation vs. fragmentation.

This study describes in detail the preparation that must be done by aspiring orchestral horn players in order to be sufficiently ready for an orchestral audition. The general physical and mental preparation, through to the very specific elements that require attention when practicing and learning a list of orchestral excerpts that will be performed for an audition committee, is investigated. This study provides both the necessary tools and the insight borne of a number of years of orchestral experience that will enable a player to take a given excerpt and learn not only the notes and rhythms, but also discern many other subtleties inherent in the music, resulting in a full understanding and mastery thereof. Ten musical examples are included in order to illustrate the type of additional information that a player must gain so as to develop an in-depth knowledge of an excerpt. Three lists are presented within the text of this study: 1) a list of excerpts that are most commonly found at auditions, 2) a list of those excerpts that are often included and 3) other excerpts that have been requested but are not as commonly found. Also included is advice regarding the audition procedure itself, a discussion of the music required for auditions, and a guide to the orchestral excerpt books in which these passages can be found. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Music / unrestricted