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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.
Bonus Article:
Trashing the Valved Horn?
Comments on Valved and Natural Horns from Turn of the Century England,
as posted in The IHS Online. Great quotations!
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Thank you again for your interest in these writings and the topic of the early valved horn.
If you would like to hear more, check out the CD by Dr. Ericson,
Rescued, on the Summit label.
All writings copyright John Q. Ericson. All rights reserved;
please read the copyright
information.
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