French horn (from German waldhorn - "forest horn") is a brass instrument of the bass-tenor register. Its timbre stands out among its orchestral neighbors. Possessing a melodious, velvety and warm timbre, it becomes the adornment of a concert.
Instrument history
The French horn originated from a hunting signal horn, which was blown during a hunt, gathering of troops, and a celebration. Perhaps that is why the sound of the French horn is colored not only with pensive lyrical colors, symbolizing nature, forests, fields, but also courageous and dramatic knightly tournaments associated with hunting.
Over time, the signal horn changed. To amplify the sound, the horn was lengthened, and for the convenience of playing on it, it was twisted coil by coil. So the French horn acquired its present form. Now the French horn is a metal tube more than 3 m long, rolled into a circle and having many curls.
But the path of the instrument was long. With the help of a hunting horn, it was possible to reproduce only 14-15 sounds by pointing the bell up. Created in the middle of the 17th century in France, the French horn became a larger version of a hunting horn, shaped like a crescent. The elongated shape and specially selected size made it possible to regulate the reproduced sounds. The French horn could reproduce a harmonious series of musical sounds - all twelve tones and semitones.
The French composer Lully included the French horn in the opera orchestra in 1664, and after a while it took its rightful place in the symphony orchestra. In 1750, the musician A. J. Hampel lowered the bell of the instrument down and began to insert his hand into it while playing. Thanks to this, he raised or lowered the pitch of natural sounds. In 1830, the instrument acquired a valve mechanism that allows the entire scale to be played on the French horn.
Instrument device
The French horn is one of the most beautiful instruments in the orchestra. The valve mechanism, whose function is to adjust the length of the air column and lower the pitch of natural sounds, is located in the center of the instrument's circle. When playing the French horn, the performer holds his left hand on the three keys of the valve mechanism. The instrument contains additional 4th and 5th valves to make it easier to play the part. Air is blown into the instrument through the mouthpiece, making the horn come alive.
Closed sounds, complementing the missing sounds of the diatonic octave, are obtained by placing the hand in the lower part of the instrument (mouth). The tuning of the French horn depends on the length of the tube: with a high tuning, the pipe is shorter, and with a low tuning, it is longer. When playing the French horn, the F, E, Es tunings are most often used. To change the tuning of the French horn, additional curved tubes are used that extend the pipe of the instrument. As the French horn decreases, the number of notes available for playing increases.
French horn in the works of composers
The first composers to use the solo French horn in their concerts were J. Haydn and V. A. Mozart. In their works, they emphasized the melodiousness of the instrument, the ability to create images filled with humor and enthusiasm.
The heroic sound of the instrument was revealed in L. Beethoven's sonata for French horn and piano. Later he began to include this instrument in his symphonic works. The singing of the French horn, as well as the closeness to the human voice, were also used in Russian classical music.
