Horn Concerto

Description

The Horn Concerto is a sort of uncontrolled explosion of ‘the heroic’, a trope with longstanding connections to both horn and concerto, and historical entanglements with various forms of domination and violence.

The first movement starts as a musical knot made from strands of military musics at different registers and speeds. I imagine it as an inescapable, exhausting, endless parade that carries the soloist along before trampling them.

The second movement is a reimagining of the forest scene in Siegfried, in which the hero encounters a little wood-bird. In this version, Siegfried is devoured by a flock of wood-birds, his horn calls overwhelmed in a flurry of beaks and wings.

The third movement paints the horn as another mononymous hero, Elvis, as he records the soundtrack to Blue Hawaii in the early sixties while high-altitude nuclear tests are detonated over the Pacific ocean.

The final movement has no programme, only a vague compositional aim, which is to sound like a lie.

Full scoring

Solo French Horn in F

2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in B flat
2 Bassoons

2 French Horns in F
2 Trumpets in B flat
2 Trombones (one Alto, one Bass)

Percussion (2 Players)
Player 1: Miniature Drum Kit 1 (China Cymbal [20”], Sizzle Cymbal, Hi-hat, Cowbell [Prepared]*, Snare Drum, Kick Drum), 3 Congas, Glockenspiel, Tubular Bell* (shared with Player 2)
Player 2: Miniature Drum Kit 2 (China Cymbal [18”], Trash Stack, Hi-hat, Snare Drum, Floor Tom), Timpani*, Log Drum, 2 Tuned Gongs*, Tubular Bell* (shared with Player 1)

Strings (min. 6, 5, 4, 4, 2)