>
> Message: 5
> Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:07:42 +0200
> From: Jonas Olson <address@hidden>
> To: address@hidden
> Subject: Re: Notation of french horn
> Message-ID: <address@hidden>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Even though I do understand the nature of the valveless horn, I do
not
> see why one omits the key signature today. Just tradition doesn't
really
> explain it. Could someone clarify this? Here's how I understand it
so
> far:
>
> On the valveless horn you change crooks to give the instrument a
> transposition that matches the music. That way, the music is always
> notated in C major (assuming major mode), just like how music sounding
> in B? major, played on a B? clarinet, is written as C major. Rather
than
> calling this "no key signature", I'd say we have the key
signature of C
> major.
>
> When we switch over to valves, we no longer match the transposition
of
> the instrument to the key of the music, so it's only natural for other
> key signatures to appear. To continue the tradition of valveless horns,
> one would rather have to consider every valve press to be a change
of
> crooks that alters the transposition of the instrument, and then write
> for this transposition until it's time for the next valve press.
>
> In summary, having no key signature (rather, the key signature of
C
> major) appears natural to me when dealing with valveless horns (whose
> transposition match the key of the music) but not when it comes to
horns
> with valves. I'm looking forward to getting this explained to me!
>
> Regards,
> Jonas
>
Basically, I'd say the "norm"
is to write out/typeset the horn part the way the composer originally wrote
it, the exception being when the player is not [expected to be] skilled
in transposition.
Transposition on-the-fly is typically
expected of today's horn players due to the history of the instrument and
historical practice.
I'll give some examples to try to illustrate
the possibilities.
Mozart horn concerto in D major (1791)
- originally played on a natural horn with a D crook, so written with no
key signature - the modern player playing on an F horn simply (!) transposes
the part down a minor third as he plays it. Exception is to transpose the
part for him, so write it out for horn in F. Then the key signature is
two sharps (for the horn - one sharp for everyone else!)
Tchaikovsky piano concerto in B flat
minor (1875) - horn part originally written for valved horn, but *still*
written with no key signature and accidentals instead of four flats key
signature.
(Nineteenth century composers were slow
to change the practice of writing as if they were writing for natural horn,
maybe with pressure from horn players who were unused to seeing a key signature
in all their Beethoven symphonies etc.)
Holst First Suite for Military Band
(in E flat) (1909) - written for four horns in E flat - those were common
in early twentieth century bands - horn parts have no sharps or flats in
key signature - nowadays the player would get a part that said Horn in
E flat and she would transpose down a whole step as she plays, or a part
for horn in F (written out a whole step lower) would be provided and this
would have two flats and not require thought by the player about transposing.
Holst's Jupiter from The Planets (c.
1916) C major, but six horns in F still with no key signature (should be
one sharp). As a comparison, the clarinet parts have two sharps, and the
English horn part has one sharp.
Gliere - Concerto for Horn in B flat
major (1951) - horn in F, one flat in the key signature and this piece
has lots of accidentals (mostly sharps and even double sharps!)
Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello
*transcribed* for horn in F - each piece has a key signature, either
one more sharp or one fewer flats than the original, as needed.
I'd say almost everything written after
the early-mid twentieth century is going to have key signatures, but as
much of what we play was written earlier, it is very common for horn players
to have parts without key signatures in front of them.