New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-09-29
HORNS AND HORN BLOWERS
THE FRENCH HORN IL THE MODERN
ORCHESTRA AND Sane
TITY OF INSTRUMENTS OF THE
TRUMPET KIND.
TRUMPET KIND.


freshins and inyisorating pictures in the fancy
IS ! flourish the French horn. 1t is a sadly
named instrum mt n English. but in the mu-
steal nomenclatures of other peoples its name is +
characteristic and fitting It is the Valid /
horn"-forest horn-of the Germans; and. YER
lily. it speaks most eloquentIy of the deep green
wood and its ant!ered denizens Of the merry
chase. and in its tender. dreamy moods of ham
adryads and the dainty folk who hide in hol-
lows aud Iurk in knotted boushs and under
gnarlei roots. The French have never been /
fatter-i by the tribute which we have paid |
them in assigning TO them the most poetical
instrument in all the harmonious company.
though they have returned the compliment 10y
calling an instrument which is neither a horn
nor English cor auzlais." To the French COM
poser 50 hen he speaks the prosaic speech of the /
orchestral class it IS simply the horn" but
when he thinks back to the instrument Of which
il is the latest evolution and remembers its
characteristic language il is the Cor d Chase
the hunting horn So, too, the Italian. who.
when H. says "corno." thinks "corno di caccia."
The orchestral instrument IS. indeed. nothing
more than the horn which once rang jocund
through the woods and gades and over the mills
OF medieval Europe.
Since music began the horn has been 1ssoci-
ated with the hunt. n Us more recent form it
has led the hunt FOR game but as . bu@ie Or
trumpet It stiU leads the hunt for Il did
before IT became the coiled brass tube with its
gracefully faring bill which it is now. n those
earlier 1avs its hoarse voice was emitte! -
c11ehas the bones Of Wild animals and "Niar
men, The horns Il oxen. huffaIoes. rams or ante
lo1t-s the tuSks II the elephant. There aye q
multitude If horns If a multitude IF varieties in
tie Crosby Brown collection Of musical irstFl-
rrauts in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art
horns = gareh shells. horns f horn, horns of
bone horns OF ivory. horns u wood. horns ot
metal + would he sratitl ing 20 one love oil
study Il he could believe that 10y looking at them
in The order here set down he might observe 50
many progressive steps IN musical culture. But
this VIII not do. Nature provided a rude IN
ztr1rnert all but ready made in TIL conch shell,
which need d only the drilling u a mouth hole
IAN enbouchure) near the apex to fl it for the
production of sounds. but she did in the horns
OF animals like the ram. OK, buffalo and ante
lore and the dweIIers on the coast and Islands
Of ou- own Gulf Of Mexico may dance to the
music II vioins, flutes, clarinets and all their
fellows in New-Oreans, then go back 10 their
plantations and be summoned 70 dinner by the
h0arS- b-llowIngs Of = conch shell \ tribe OF
n ..ans dwelling on the banks Of the Rio
Haupes IN South America may look with su-
I.rstit51us fear and awe at their wooden trum-
pet uhch is SO sacred that il must never be
seen by me profane eye Of woman, but your
Swiss herdsman viii wake the Alpine echoes
with his wooden trumpet fashioned by nIIIlSelL-
ana regarded perhaps. with affection. but never
with y-n--ation. Largely the distribution IS a
matter # geogra phical locate Coast peoples
VIII Use conches: inland Peep. in a stage Of
savasery horn. bone and wood ,by which We do
not mean TO st down the gentle Swiss saw
ages however, and metal workers, metal The
degrs- % musical culture attained by each people
VIII determine the degree of artistic perfection
reached by its Instruments. But here the OBJ
server must bear another highly important Gle
rnels in mind, namely. the conservative power
Of religious custom.
Already At the time IF Moses the Jews had
f51,as lx-res Instruments Of rhythm ana rum-
lets II silver but you may 80 into any ortho-
dox synagogue. and many reformed temples,
too TOR that matter, on the feast Of the New
Year ~ the Day Of Atonement and hear the
voice II d trumpet OF unspeakable antiquity.
/. is the "Shofar" which is nothing else than
a -arl's horn with the apex cut off. 50 as to
gam an opening and possibly tipped WITH sill
Yer The feast Of the New ear has assImIlated
This feature from the memorial OF blowing OF
t-l--,r.rsf instituted by Israel's great la~giver
ar5 DR. Levin Saalschutz who wrote a little
foa4 OF the history OF Hebrew music in the
carly r1-t of the nineteenth century ana big
book On tie rhytnmicaI and metrical forms OF
Hebrew poetry was inclined 10 the belief u'at
tha three calls blown on the days in question