source file: mills3.txt


Subject:  Re: Historical temperaments

From:  jdowning@mailbox.syr.edu

On Sat, 19 Jul 1997, Gary Morrison wrote:
> >The use of unvalved
> >brass in the lower harmonics will naturally restrict key choices
>
>    This is why, by the way, natural horn parts notated as though they were
> in C-Major (even if they were in a minor key).  In the example Mozart's
> horn quintet, which is in Eb, they'd put on the Eb crook, and pretend like
> the fundamental were C.  A 3rd or 6th harmonic, notated as a G, would sound
> as a Bb.

Not exactly true.  There were a variety of solutions to writing for horn
in the classic period (pre-valve).  Mozart's G minor symphony calls for
on horn in G and the other in Bb.  This allowed for tonic triads in both
G minor, and the relative major, Bb.

The french theorist, Gaveart, wrote a book on orchestration in the 1830s.
He says that when a piece is in minor, the best solution is to call for
horns in the sub-dominant key.  (Ex: For g minor, use horns in C) He
reasons that a tonic triad will be playable.  Of course. today we would be
horrified that the open triad would have the ratios of 6:7:9 because the
third of the triad would be so low.  Gaveart proposes no solution, but it
is my guess that the minor third would be lip-tuned to a 5:6 ratio.

>    Now I don't know for sure, but I doubt if natural hornists had literally
> twelve (or more) crooks, in which case I suppose that they might use, for
> example, an A crook for something in E if they couldn't afford both.  So in
> that sense their ranges of keys could have been "restricted".

The horn players did not choose the crooks.  The composers always
specified which horn they were using, and it would be impossible to play
the part on any other horn.  The technique of using the right hand
inserted into the bell to alter the pitch was invented in the 1770s, but
only used for solo horn playing (It is necessary in Mozart's four horn
concertos, but not in any of the symphonies or operas.)  Fine tuning was
done with the lip.

BTW, horn players did not have unlimited crooks. I forget which were
considered standard (and some of them would be used in parallel to get new
possibilities) but four or five was normal.  Incidentally, if you add too
much tubing to the basic horn, then the proportion of bell diameter to
tubing, and the degree of 'conicity' (ie: rate at which the bore
increases) get all messed up, and the harmonics go out of tune.  (I once
played a REALLY bad trombone where the open notes were Bb, F, C! This was
because it was all banged up and poorly designed to begin with.)

>    By the way, Karl Haas once said that (Robert) Schumann was the first
> composer to specifically call for a valved horn.

Wrong.  Berlioz used valved horns in the symphony fantastique.
Interestingly enough, he did not value them for their ability to play
chromatically, but rather for their ability to produce all three horn
timbres (open, muted and stopped) on any pitch.

Schumann had notorious troubles writing for horns (and other orchestral
instruments.)  For a hilarious story, read in the 3rd edition of Groves
encylopaedia about the first rehearsal of the Eb major symphony.  His
fanfare originally was on Eb horns the (written) notes C C C C C A B C.
Of course, the A is muted on the horn, and the B is completely stopped.
The fanfare was greeted by loud laughs (Schumann's included.) He, on the
spot, revised the fanfare up a diatonic third to: E E E E E C D E - all
open notes, and that is how it remains to this day! (Even though the
principal theme begins C C C C C A B C)  You can imagine his joy when the
valved horn made it possible to play all notes with the same timbre.  This
is the instrument he wanted to play the Konzertstuck for four horns.
(Although, he still had no idea of endurance!  The piece is incredibly
difficult and HIGH!)


Joe Downing,
in Syracuse



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