Last night I went to a rehearsal of a community orchestra that I belong to. I play 3rd (French) horn.* I had missed the last concert because I was out of town, and missed the first rehearsal for the next concert cycle, being slightly sick. So I was the only horn player who hadn't had a chance to look at the music.
The 2 1/2 hour rehearsal was devoted to the Te Deum by Hector Berlioz, a French composer of the 19th century. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Berlioz) He was a little crazy; his most famous piece is the Symphonie Fantastique, which tells the story of a doomed romance, including references to a real woman and a drug-related fantasy. We're not playing that, sadly. We are playing his Te Deum (translation: God, We Praise You), a less well-known piece.
I had never played the Te Deum or seen the music, though I have heard it, rarely, in concerts. Unlike the other 4 horn players in the orchestra, I hadn't seen the music in advance, being sick the previous week. Now, because of way the horn evolved, we often have to transpose when playing pre-20th century music. That means we look at a note, but play a different note. It's not that hard most of the time once you have learned how, though some keys are harder than others. An example: the part is written in E flat, the horn is pitched in F, so you must play one step lower than written. It's actually a good brain workout.
Monsieur Berlioz chose to write each section of the Te Deum in a different key for the horns. This is quite a workout for the brain, let me tell you. Especially since several of the keys he picked are very unusual. And five different transpositions. Ugh. I told my colleague playing 2nd horn I was going to write out the most difficult section. He basically told me to buck up, it wasn't that hard. Right, his part didn't have any Horn in B natural - the absolute most difficult transposition.
I know what I'll be practicing this week.
*The International Horn Society (https://www.hornsociety.org) decreed years ago that the name of instrument is the horn, as it is called in European countries (cor in France, horn in German-speaking countries, etc.) But in the U.S. horn is also used to mean almost any kind of wind instrument, so it's still confusing, but the "French horn" is not French.
WOW! That does sound like a mental workout. I have a hard enough time playing the notes as written when I am playing the piano. You've really captured this challenge!
ReplyDeletePiano is a different kind of challenge, I've found -- reading left to right at the same time as up and down!
DeleteOh, I can barely sight read the music I'm handed in church choir, much less transpose something on the spot. My daughter played horn in high school. I have a close friend who plays and teaches horn. We knew two horn players at Rice University when we lived in Houston and I've stayed in touch with them for almost three decades. They both play horn professionally. One of them is now a grandma. And now you know all my horn connections! Good luck with the piece.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is a professional horn player in Houston! She didn't attend Rice, but did take some lessons from the horn teacher there. Rice is a great school for serious horn players.
DeleteDefinitely a small world. One of the students we knew is still in Houston. Ask her if she knows Kim Penrod Minson.
DeleteTransposing notes while playing is not something I would enjoy. I sometimes wonder if composers ever played the instruments they compose for.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I certainly wonder that about Berlioz! The parts we have to transpose were actually written for the horn before valves were invented, so players had to change crooks (pieces of tubing of different lengths) to play in different keys. Nowadays we transpose. Why don't they just put all the parts into non-transposing keys? Tradition.
DeleteI definitely understand not getting a chance to practice prior to rehearsal. That happened to me plenty of times when I was in band and pit orchestra. I remember there was that awkward moment where I kept playing but apparently it was supposed to be a violin solo...so that was awkward!
ReplyDelete