Junior Recital Program Notes

Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major, K.447………………………………..W.A.
Mozart
I. Allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756, and almost
immediately showed extraordinary talent in music. Already skilled in both piano and violin,
Mozart started composing at the mere age of five, where he also began to perform for European
royalty. As he grew older, Mozart began to travel all over Europe and continue to grow as a
musician. He composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas during his
final years of life in Vienna. He died at the age of 35 in the year 1791. Within his short lifespan,
however, he composed over 600 works. Mozart is arguably one of the most popular composers
of all time, and even influenced Ludwig van Beethoven and Joseph Haydn’s compositions.
Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major, K.447 is a three-movement work written for Eb
solo horn, and was completed between 1784 and 1787 while Mozart was in Vienna. This piece
was written for one of Mozart’s friends, Jospeh Leutgeb, who played the horn. At this point in
history, the composition would have been performed on a natural horn, an instrument similar to
the modern day horn, but it did not have valves and was pitched in Eb. Therefore, if it were to be
performed today on a horn in F, the performer would need to transpose the music down a whole
step.
The first movement of the piece, Allegro, was originally scored for two clarinets, two
bassoons, and orchestral strings. The opening of the piece introduces the two main themes of the
piece very quickly, and sets up the mood and quality of the work. After a series of anticipatory
gestures from the original string part, the solo horn is introduced and expands on the two themes
from before. The development shifts the key around briefly, then goes back to the home key in
the recapitulation. The recap leads into a cadenza for the solo horn to play alone, which then
moves to the coda of the piece and therefore ending the movement.
Blues and Variations for Monk…………………………………….......…..David Amram

David Anram was born in 1930, and is an American composer, conductor, and author. He
is better known for being a jazz hornist, incorporating jazz into his classical works. He is
considered to be a pioneer of jazz horn, which isn’t necessarily characterized as a jazz
instrument. Blues and Variations for Monk was written for Douglas Hill to be premiered in 1982.
It was also written in memory of Amram’s friend Thelonious Monk, who was best known for his
contributions to bebop, as well as being a very influential jazz pianist and composer.
This unaccompanied piece for solo horn is based off of a 12 bar blues structure. The
beginning starts with an 8 bar introduction before diving into the main theme of the piece. With
each new variation, the theme is expanded upon through various melodies and extended
techniques. These extended techniques are used to mimic various sounds and instruments:
tapping on the bell to sound like a cymbal, scatting to sound like the brush of a cymbal, hand
stopping to mimic a trombone rag, etc. There are subtle quotes of Monk’s compositions in this
piece as well as an added homage to Amram’s close friend. Overall the piece is an interesting
mixture of classical and jazz styles, and allows the performer to have some personal
interpretation. The performer should have fun with this piece and just let music be music, as
originally intended by Amram.
Folk Songs for Horn and Piano: The Drunken Sailor…………………….…Paul Basler
Paul Basler was born in 1963 in Milwaukee, and is currently Professor of Music at the
University of Florida. There he teaches horn and undergraduate composition courses, and has
been a faculty member since 1993. Basler is one of the most performed composers of his
generation, and his music has been performed all over the world in places such as Carnegie Hall,
the Disney Concert Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and by the Shanghai Philharmonic.
Folk Songs for Horn and Piano is a seven-piece work written for and in dedication to
Basler’s students, as well as Michelle Stebleton. The pieces range in difficulty level from easy to
advanced, and is meant to offer some quality arrangements of various folk songs for horn
literature. Each piece is a folk song from a different part of the world, and can be played in any
order or as a stand-alone piece: Alegría (Puerto Rico), Funiculì, Funiculà (Italy), Round Dance
(Native American – Kiowa), Hills of Arirang (Korea), Nihavend Şarki (Turkey), The Drunken
Sailor (British Sea Shanty), and Shenandoah (United States of America).
The Drunken Sailor is a British Sea Shanty, also known as What Shall We Do with a/the
Drunken Sailor? The shanty was sung to accompany various work tasks for sailors on sailing
ships – particularly tasks that required some sort of bright and brisk pace. Each verse of the
shanty generally suggests sobering or punishing the drunken sailor, and the lyrics may vary
depending on the performance. In this performance done on the horn, you will hear various
motifs to represent a drunken sailor and their sailing antics. One that you will hear, for example,
is a “woo-ah” sound created by quickly closing and opening the bell with the hand, which is an
extended technique of the horn. This sound occurs three times in a row, and is meant to represent
a drunken sailor trying to walk on a rocking ship. Another motif would be later in the piece
where the horn glisses between octaves three times, which represents the sailors heaving the
giant rows to move the boat forward. This is a very quick piece and is meant to be fun and a little
chaotic, rather than polished and pristine.
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?

Junior Recital Program Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Junior Recital Program Notes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Junior Recital Program Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major, K.447………………………………..W.A.

Blues and Variations for Monk…………………………………….......…..David Amram

You might also like