Hunting horn

What it means

The hunting horn (German Jagdhorn) is a valveless brass instrument that produces only the notes of its harmonic series. It is built in various sizes and shapes, from small, tightly coiled signal horns to large, widely coiled instruments carried over the shoulder. The sound is open and sustaining and was designed to be intelligible outdoors over great distances. From this family of instruments the orchestral horn (Waldhorn) emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; the development was gradual, forms of construction and names overlap.

Musical use

Because only natural notes are available, the traditional signals consist of broken triads and note repetitions in a limited section of the series. These sound figures have imprinted themselves deeply in the language of music: when horns appear in orchestral works in parallel triads and dotted rhythms, this calls up the idea of hunt, forest, and expanse, quite independently of whether a natural instrument is meant. Composers of the Classical and Romantic periods regularly take up this tone. Alongside, the actual signal tradition with fixed, transmitted calls continues to this day.

Performance practice

All pitches arise from embouchure and air alone; practise therefore slurs across neighbouring partials until you hear the series inwardly. Expect that individual partials deviate from equal temperament — they are either avoided or adjusted with the embouchure. Keep the embouchure loose and let the air work; force worsens accuracy. Outdoors the instrument carries differently than in a room, which is why tempo and articulation are adapted. Warm the horn up before playing and empty the condensation that collects in the bends.

Bear in mind that the transmitted signals have fixed meanings and are exactly determined in the respective tradition: they are not shaped freely, and deviations count as mistakes. Learn them from experienced players and not from notes alone. In ensemble playing of several horns, the agreement of the natural notes decides the sound; deviations stand out as beats. Outdoors, expect a more sluggish response in the cold and warm the instrument up before the entry under your clothing.