November 2022 Edition
Compiled by Gina Gillie, OMS Editor
New Releases Since February 2022
Shorter lists of new releases from the IHS Online Music Sales catalogue will be published as they become available throughout a calendar year. Since this is the first such list offered in Horn and More—and ahead of the holiday shopping season—all 2022 releases are included for your consideration. Click here to go to the online shop. MH
Angels We Have Heard arranged by Douglas Hill
This traditional French carol was arranged to be performed by a large group of alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, all of whom were guest artists, presenters, teachers, and professionals attending the 50th International Horn Symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana in 2018. When the players were students, the UW Horn Choir was often referred to as “Hill’s Angels.” The name stuck and, thus, to celebrate the reunion of so many, Angels We Have Heard was arranged with a joyful character, some mixed meter, and a brief reference to On Wisconsin.
6/4 Trend (for horn and jazz ensemble) by John Jacob Graas, Jr. (ed. Jeffrey Snedeker)
6/4 Trend was originally released on a 10-inch test record entitled John Graas—French Horn Jazz in 1954. French Horn Jazz was Graas’s first solo release, and featured works by Graas and many of the people with whom he frequently worked, including Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, and Nelson Riddle. 6/4 Trend has several innovative aspects, including its meter, tonal ambiguity, a solo section that is harmonically static, and a rather thick wind section.
I.D. (for horn and jazz ensemble) by John Jacob Graas, Jr. (ed. Jeffrey Snedeker)
Graas registered I.D. with the US Copyright office in 1955. It was recorded on August 13, 1957, for Graas’s album Jazzmantics. In the original liner notes, Graas writes:
There are a couple of classical touches in I.D. After a classical-type intro, we play the main theme set in a very normal form, leading to Pepper’s solo. As you can tell by now, I like a lot of blowing in my albums and I consciously try to balance the amount of blowing with the content and/or complexity of the written sections. I solo after Pepper, and then we have an interlude based on a scale against a pedal point, first soft with Buddy Clark soloing, and then loud, an octave higher. Conte Candoli solos next followed by Cooper, Paul Moer, Buddy Clark, and Shelly Manne. I don’t usually like drum solos, but Shelly can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. We go back to the bridge, the last eight, and a coda—this time built on the previously mentioned interlude—and end in A♭ major.
This piece is a wonderful example of a Third Stream composition, mixing counterpoint, dissonance, and improvisation in a West Coast “cool” style.
Land of Broken Toys (for horn and jazz ensemble) by John Jacob Graas, Jr. (ed. Jeffrey Snedeker)
Land of Broken Toys, from the album Coup de Graas, was recorded in August 1957 and released in 1958. The original liner notes say: “Land of Broken Toys evokes the image of a little boy in a nightmare, all alone in an amorphous setting surrounded by the broken playthings of the title. Buddy Collette’s flute and Bob Cooper’s oboe are heard in the opening passages.” The original version of this piece appeared as the second movement of Graas’s Symphony No. 1 in F minor. While this piece is not technically a horn feature, some hornists may be reticent to try it; but the music is definitely inspired by Third Stream influence, mixing classical and jazz elements which make this an interesting chamber work on a recital program, whether or not one wants the opportunity to improvise.
Pianto for four horns by Håkon Guttormonsen
Pianto (Italian for crying or weeping) received an Honorable Mention at the 2020 IHS Composition Contest. The title refers to the motif of a descending minor second which has been used to express grief or sighing in music since the 16th century. Melodic material for the work is derived from the harmonic series of the notes G and F#. Pianto explores the sighing of the two fundamentals, fanfares on the first few partials, winding melodies on the middle ones, and the striking dissonances made possible by extending the series further.
Guiding Light for four horns by Chase Hampton
This piece is dedicated to the memory of a horn player’s mother, and by extension, anyone who has encouraged a child to pick up a horn and keep playing. It is intended to convey a feeling of warmth and reverence, with simple themes in a chorale treatment in which each part is featured. In addition, the parts are aimed to accommodate players of different levels in a single ensemble, with an overall moderate difficulty. It may be performed as a quartet with one player per part or as a horn choir with part doublings.
Dialogues for Six Horns by Douglas Hill
Dialogues for Six Horns was Hill's first composition for horn ensemble, written while a freshman at the University of Nebraska being coached by the composer Professor Robert Beadell. This single movement is motivically oriented, weaving in and out of a frequently interrupted march while utilizing some strikingly dissonant and powerful quartal harmonies (influenced by Paul Hindemith, who had died in 1964). Multi-meters, a brief stopped passage, bass clef, upper register passages, and melodic gestures are shared among the six players.
Initial Sketches (Three Friends) solo horn version and trio version by Douglas Hill
Initial Sketches was composed for Hill’s friends Daren Robbins and James Boldin and is based entirely on the pitches included within the letters of the three names (G, A, B♭, B, D, E♭, E). The combined seven letters translate into a scale that suggests G major, G minor, and E♭ major. The piece begins with the written pitches of the names and progresses through eight character sketches made up of only those seven pitches, ending with a sweep. This work has since evolved into a trio version reflecting the instrumental ensembles that Daren and James suggested when being offered a complimentary composition. The trio can be played by clarinet, horn, and bassoon, or by trumpet, horn, and trombone. Each follows exactly the solo horn version melodically, using only the seven notated pitches.
Sonata for Horn and Piano by Douglas Hill
Sonata for Horn and Piano (2020) was composed for the talented horn soloist, Bernhard Scully. The progression of movements from “Pensive,” perhaps a bit troubled, through “Mindful,” even meditative, with an eventual arrival at “Playful,” nearly joyous, is a hopeful sequence. The work features both horn and piano throughout and, even as the three movements share thematic material, each is unique and could be performed separately.
Sonata XIII by Domenico Scarlatti (arr. Douglas Hill)
Taken from the Ralph Kirkpatrick edition of Sixty Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Sonata XIII, if it was never called the "Hunting Horn Sonata" perhaps should have been. Scarlatti wrote more than 550 harpsichord sonatas, but his manuscript collections remained largely unknown until Czerny began publishing them in 1839. The opening theme of Sonata XIII establishes the manner for this lively piece of 31/2 minutes. The original keyboard version has been revised and edited by Doug Hill for three equally active, rather advanced, horn players to enjoy and share, lip trills and all.
Trauma for 5 Horns by Douglas Hill
Trauma for 5 Horns is a unique few moments of relentless dissonance. An insistent Ab is framed by a near perpetual major seventh on Eb and D. The marcato rhythmic pounding eventually wavers, dissolving into a static, multi-timbral Ab (mutes, stopped, echo horn). The Ab wrestles its way through microtonal expansions outward to the return of the incessant rhythms within the unforgiving drone. This brief composition was originally written in 1971 during an era of social unrest. It was considered for inclusion within Clusters for 5 Horns (2014) as its third movement. However, at that time it seemed to have been from a historical past.
Quintet for Horns by Douglas Hill
Quintet for Horns was composed by Hill after a musically influential summer of listening, performing, and teaching (assisting Philip Farkas) at the Aspen Music Festival in 1970. It was largely inspired by the abilities of the many talented horn students in attendance. This single movement is melodic and motivically oriented with a blend of dissonant, consonant, and quartal harmonies weaving in and out of frequent meter changes. All five parts share equally in the fun.
Solitaire for Woodwind Quintet by Roger Jones
Solitaire began as a single-movement work for wind quintet in 1982. Now, 40 years later, this revision is a four-movement suite with much new material. The music is written for an ensemble of experienced players although the ranges are not extreme and extended techniques are not required.
Encore to Radek by Naama Tamir Kaplan
Composed in 2017 and dedicated to the renowned Czech horn player, Radek Baborák, Encore to Radek was premiered as an encore piece for Radek’s performance in Tel Aviv’s Opus Festival. Exploring the entire tonal and dynamic range of the instrument and interlacing challenging techniques with expressive lyrical ideas, the piece calls for the highest level of artistic and technical performance skills.
Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns (arr. Wesley Gore)
Danse Macabre is arranged here for 8 horns by Wesley Gore. This arrangement was created for the UMKC Horn Choir and the Fall 2013 Kansas City Horn Day.
