Late Call
My older scottish friends may be able to work out how my very late post last night could lead me to today's music choice - but for everyone else I think that perhaps you may need just a wee bit of help to work it out.
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A long time ago, back when I was much younger, radio and TV did not continue throughout the night (and there were only two channels - but that's another story). Before the close on STV there was a five minute religious programme called Late Call. The theme music to this was the music I have chosen today. Late Call was brilliantly parodied by the late Rikki Fulton on his Scotch and Wry programme and one of the annual highlights of the hogmanay TV was the appearance of the Rev I M Jolly. (I think most of his 'sermons' can be found on YouTube - his final Last Call was at the end of the millenium) Last Call retained this as its theme music - so millions of Scots know this tune (although I suspect only a relative few know what it is).
The music is also one of the most well known horn solos in the orchestral repertoire and I was privileged to play it a number of times. I had to go through a lot of recordings on YouTube to find one that was 'right' for this - interestingly it is almost universally taken at a speed much slower than the metronome mark.
It is unusual for the horn to get such a lengthy, exposed, solo line. As any musician will tell you, it is also tremendously more difficult to play something really well when it is slow and controlled rather than fast and flashy. Those two factors are added to by the fact that the 1st movement has already been a "bit of a blow" for the horn player - so getting relaxed and ready is very much part of this solo.
I found online a score of the symphony (when I was looking for the metronome markings) which has been marked up by Leonard Bernstein - that was interesting. Above the opening string chords he had written "like a Russian choir humming".
