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Re: F Horn in brass bands

Very well done.

brassman@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Kees...........
>
> You should listen to the band from in front then.  Kees,  with all due
> respect, you couldn't be more wrong. French horns don't blend well
> except in certain pieces of music... for instance... Erik Leidzen's
> "Pressing On" which begins with a fanfare for horns.  That would be
> great. Tell me what is wrong with the brass band sound as it is?  You
> mean we have been doing it all wrong for 150 years?  I love the french
> horn.  When you arrange or compose,  you do it with certain instruments
> in mind.  You can't just change the concept of scoring by playing the
> parts on different instruments.
>
> As a solo instrument with brass band  the french horn works well.  I
> arranged the Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 for River City Brass Band (who
> use only french horns by the way).  Another wonderful piece I would like
> to hear with brass band,  and a piece I began arranging, is Concertpiece
> (Conzertstuck in F major, op.86) by Robert Schumann for 4 french horns.
> The reason I stopped, was that I couldn't make up my mind if I should
> use 4 french horns in addition to 3 tenor horns in the band.  It limits
> the amount of performaces significantly but would be my preference. I
> would rather hear Mozart's Rondo with french horn rather than euphonium
> any day.  Vinter's Hunter's Moon is another good example... much better
> on french horn then tenor horn.  I would like to hear especially written
> music with a section of french horns either in addition to or in place
> of tenor horns.... but why destroy the tradidition brass band sound
> which is what we were all attracted to in the first place.. and I might
> add that it was also the (most,  if not all) composer's and arrangers
> intent when they wrote it.  Can you really picture starting "Journey
> Into Freedom" with french horns?  How clumsy !!!
> Stop trying to fix something that isn't broken. You know there are
> french horn lists among others.... do you think they are discussing
> using tenor horns instead of french horns?  Not a chance..... I know
> there are other composers and arrangers on this list.  It would be
> interesting to hear from them about this as well.
> Brian?  Bill?  You too Adrian........
> ****************************************************************
>
> On 30 April Adrian Drover <saxhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > On 28 Apr, Cameron Mabon <cmabon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > French horns simply  could not fit into such a sound.
> >
> > That's true ;-)
> >
> > Adrian
> >
>
> I've been following this discussion for some time now and I have to say
> that I played in several Brass bands during my formative years.
>
> As a professional educator and Hornist I feel that my sound did not
> detract
> from the brass band sound - it blended in well and at times added a new
> tonal quality which was very useful in developing the Organ-like timbre
> of
> ( especially ) hymns and slow pieces. This was especially true when I
> was
> playing 1st or 2nd horn parts, where the parts are not usually played
> with
> strong conviction or tone. The French Horn sound really filled these
> parts
> out.
>
> I also found it a nice effect to double the Eupho parts to round off the
>
> Eupho sound in similar tunes.
>
> If the Horn is played correctly it will fit into any combination of
> instruments ( Horn players are very sensitive to intonation and timbre
> problems ) and will only add to the band's tonal colour.
>
> As this was a long time ago and my participation in brass bands was
> rewarded by being banned from contesting, etc ( rules, rules ...) I
> ceased
> to play Horn in them and went on to almost all the other instruments,
> which
> I approach with the same style as my Horn playing.
>
> I hope this adds to the general discussion.
>
> Kees Dogger, Conductor Biarnsdale Citizen's Band.
> Dogger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Kees & Michelle Dogger
>
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