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The Early Valved Horn

"It is an obvious--but often unheeded--truth that the instrumentation of bygone composers must be judged in the perspective gained from a knowledge not merely of contemporary instruments, but (what is harder) of the technique, style, and aims of contemporary players." W. F. H. Blandford.

Introduction
This section of Horn Articles Online was the heart of the original design of the site. "The Early Valved Horn" is a compilation of extended excerpts from my published writings on the history of the horn, many of which are based on sections of my DM dissertation, "The Development of Valved Horn Technique in Early Nineteenth-Century Germany: A Survey of Performers and Works Before 1850 With Respect to the Use of Crooks, Right Hand Technique, Transposition, and Valves" (Indiana University, 1995). While I was then and still am primarily a horn player and teacher, the history of the horn in the 19th century was and remains a significant interest for me.

It should be noted that the online versions of several articles in this section have undergone significant updates compared to their published versions. However, it must also be clearly noted that the online versions of many articles have only partial footnotes, and for this reason it is very strongly recommend that the interested reader to search out the original versions of every published article of interest, especially if you are planning to use these articles as a reference in your own writings. Each article is noted as to the location of its published version. A complete list is given in my Bibliography of Publications, and back issues of most of these periodicals are still available. My dissertation can be obtained either through interlibrary loan or from the International Horn Society Thesis Lending Library maintained by Kristin Thelander at the University of Iowa (yet another good reason to belong to the IHS). Contact her for details at the School of Music, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, or refer to the most recent guide to this resource in The IHS Online, the website of the International Horn Society.

As introductory materials to this topic I strongly recommend reading the historical articles on the natural horn found in Horn Articles Online first. For these I have maintained a common header with the articles in this "book" so that readers may easily browse from article to article. I welcome your questions or comments; thank you for your interest in these writings. 

Periodically I also post items related to the early valved horn in Horn Matters, a great resource on all things horn. Search in the "Horn history" category.

Finally, a note about period instruments. I had one made for me by natural horn maker Richard Seraphinoff. It is convertable--the valve section may be removed to use the instrument as a natural horn. In the photo at right I am holding the instrument crooked in B-flat alto, but normally I play this horn crooked in F, which is how it is set up in the photo above (sitting on a piano bench).

Thank you again for your interest in these writings and the topic of the early valved horn.

All writings copyright John Q. Ericson. All rights reserved; please read the copyright information.

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