Continuing the theme…. we return from New Orleans to Europe – but very different from Monday’s Bruckner. I am aware that my music choices are sometimes aimed at quite a small audience and I suspect that this is one of those 🤔 Anyway, its been a while since we had some horn music.
The horn does, of course, have a very clear connection with hunting and St Hubert is the appropriate patron saint. When I went to the Wiener Waldhornverein’s centenary celebrations one of the evening entertainments was at a hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods – there was a lot of horn music, of course, and it included some similar in style to today’s choice.
I say – similar in style – because there are a number of ‘versions’ of the St Hubert Mass as most of the music used is drawn from horn calls and melodies which are composed by the prolific anon. These are pulled together – as in this recording – to form a larger whole – this one actually comprises 22 separate ‘sections’ – the shortest just 12 seconds long and the longest – the Gloria which is in the centre – about four and a half minutes long.
This is played on natural horns – this sounds ‘different’ to those who have not heard it before (one review of this recording that I saw suggested that there were some “sour” notes 😃) – I have to say the playing here is very good.
As I mentioned, I suspect that there will be many who can’t take much of this – that’s fine – I hope some persevere through to the ‘church bells’ at the end.