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Re: Notation of french horn


From: Josiah Boothby
Subject: Re: Notation of french horn
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:08:08 -0700

On Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 11:50, Tim Reeves <address@hidden> wrote:
> Holst First Suite for Military Band (in E flat) (1909) - written for four
> horns in E flat - those were common in early twentieth century bands - horn
> parts have no sharps or flats in key signature - nowadays the player would
> get a part that said Horn in E flat and she would transpose down a whole
> step as she plays, or a part for horn in F (written out a whole step lower)
> would be provided and this would have two flats and not require thought by
> the player about transposing.
>
> Holst's Jupiter from The Planets (c. 1916) C major, but six horns in F still
> with no key signature (should be one sharp). As a comparison, the clarinet
> parts have two sharps, and the English horn part has one sharp.

This outlines yet another complication, and that is the difference
between the band and orchestral traditions. The brass instruments of
the brass band are to the orchestral brass instruments as the
saxophones are to orchestral woodwinds: they were designed to have a
consistent sound and playing technique for all instruments in their
family, so in the case of the brass, they were all given piston valves
and it seems that most of them were given a cylindrical bore (like the
trumpet and trombone, but different than the horn and tuba). Those
instruments did not draw upon the traditions of the orchestral brass,
and observed modern conventions for transposition (pick one (e-flat)
or two (...and f?) no more!) and key signatures (use them!), and even
in the modern wind ensemble tradition, it seems that brass parts owe
such conventions to this rather than to the orchestral tradition.

In the orchestral literature, Ravel and Shostakovich eschewed key
signatures for the horns, even when they used them for other
instruments. Vaughn Williams's Sea Symphony (finished in 1909) gives
the horns no key signature.

It is not necessary to continue this tradition, but if you are writing
for an orchestral horn player, you might want to check in with them.
Fortunately, you can just comment a line of code if you don't want a
key signature. (Or use \tag...)



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