Brass Clinic
The Horn Ensemble Tradition
T
he Viennese tradition of rehears-
ing and performing horn ensem-
ble literature started in 1860, and
much of the literature as well as contem-
porary Austrian literature is available
today. In the late 1950s German hornists
Max Pottag and Wendell Hoss brought
the rich traditions of horn ensembles to
the United States.
Pottag was the second hornist of the
Chicago Symphony and taught at
Northwestern University, where he
formed an ensemble of student and
community hornists. Pottag con-
ducted a horn choir of 90 members in
the late 1950s at The Midwest Band
and Orchestra Clinic, when the only
available literature consisted of arran-
gements of male quartets, Wagner
Max Pottag conducted Midwest Clinic performances and arranged works for the hom ensemble.
by Eldon Matlick
transcriptions, and orchestral pot-
pourris. The ensemble also performed
arrangements of symphonic and vocal
repertoire written by Pottag.
The performances at the Midwest
Clinic were a revelation of the expres-
sive qualities of the horn ensemble,
and horn clubs began to develop in
various regions of the country. Their
educational and musical value became
evident with the formation of groups
in Buffalo and Los Angeles in the
1960s.
In 1956 Lowell Shaw became second
hornist of the Buffalo Symphony and
began teaching at the University of
Buffalo a year later. Shaw had studied
with Pottag and shared his idea about
the hom choir as a training group. Shaw
organized groups of college students
area professionals, and high school stu-
dents, that soon grew into the Buffalo
Horn Club. The club was primarily a
recreational organization that shared
information, read ensemble literature,
and gave occasional performances.
Shaw often arranged music for the
University of Buffalo Jazz Band, which
requested that he include horn parts.
To teach horn students the commer-
cial style, he wrote a body of works
known as Fripperies, which are light-
hearted introductions to the various
musical styles found in jazz and com-
mercial music. In the mid-1960s Shaw
started The Hornist's Nest to publish
his horn ensemble arrangements. To
date, over 5,000 copies of his first vol-
ume of Fripperies have been sold.
In 1951 36 of the finest performers in
Los Angeles organized a horn choir
concert similar to those given by
Pottag in Chicago. Led by James
Decker and Wendell Hoss, the group
performed for the Music Educators
National Conference at the Musician's
Union Concert Hall in Hollywood
with guest conductor Max Pottag. The
audience responded enthusiastically,
and executive officers Alfred Brain,
Wendell Hoss, Arthur Franz, and James
Decker organized regular meetings.
At this time, studio and free-lance
hornists under contract to various
motion picture, radio, and recording
studios could not perform in other stu-
dios. The Los Angeles Hom Club gave
these performers an opportunity to
play with other hornists and give regu-
lar concerts. The organization was a
boon to film composers as well. Many
times a film composer experimented
with different sounds and textures on
original music for the ensemble. The
Horn Club agreed to copy the music
and guaranteed at least one perfor-
mance of each work.
During the 1950s the first solo
recordings of horn music became
available. The marketing success of
these novel recordings led Capitol
Records producer Robert Meyers to
contact the Los Angeles group about
 an album of horn ensemble music.
Through the efforts of Wendell Hoss,
several leading studio and film com-
posers wrote original music arrange-
ments. The project was completed in
1960, and another recording followed
in 1970. Both recordings have since
been re-released on compact disc
under the EMI label.
In the mid-1950s Leigh Martinet
organized a horn club in Baltimore
and since the 1970s has written many
transcriptions for multiple horns. The
group consisted of musicians from the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and
free-lance players. Martinet studied
with Charles Lenuty, hornist with the
Philadelphia Orchestra, and Jerry
Knop of the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra. He enlisted in the Air
Force and was a member of the Air
Force Band along with Arthur Berv,
John Barrows, and Harry Shapiro.
At the time that the Baltimore Horn
Club was formed, publications for horn
choirs were scarce, and available works
included the quartets of Grumpert,
Tcherepnine, and arrangements by
Pottag. Martinet began producing new
material for the group, and the club
met every other Friday for recreational
playing and socializing. Martinet had
some of his arrangements published by
Lowell Shaw, and eventually started his
own publishing house called The
Baltimore Horn Club.
A solid horn section within a musical Homist James Decker organized and performed many concerts with the Los Angeles Horn Club.
ensemble has a cohesive blend of tone, .Melodic
. . . . tuning This unison melody 1 1
develops a
intonation, and style. The horn's nat- homogenous sound; whenever one
ural sound is warm and expressive, simi- player cannot hear anyone else, his
lar to that of a vocalist. Horn ensemble volume is too loud. A simple unison
music will help players develop a unified exercise is to start on C or G and
tone with good intonation, articulation, descend by half-steps, returning to the
balance, and blend. As students work on T- initial note before the next descent.
ensemble blend, the intonation will also (C-B, C-A», C-A, C-Gl, etc.) The
Melodic tuning - add an octave + 6th
improve. Groups should warm-up on lower note should predominate when
,| 0 | 1 Ij-t-T
octave scales, lip slurs, and interval playing octaves, as if the upper note
practice. Verne Reynold's Intonation V \ •» ' -» U U '' J IT I ' J '"U were an overtone. Intonation and bal-
Exercises far Two Horns is a good choice ance will improve if players listen to
for intervallic work on ensemble intona- frf the entire ensemble. Another exercise
tion. The following examples are based , Kffl
«>~
is to play scalar passages in octaves.
on Reynold's studies. go chromatically Chord exercises will develop good
upwards to F and
Intervallic Tuning
downwards toG intonation, especially the common prob-
un son, 4th ,5th. xitave
lems of slightly flat fifths, sharp major
rf
^SJ o— Tuning chord members against bass (do also in minor) thirds, and flat minor thirds. Persistent
tl -e -& •O
work will accustom players to hearing
these intervals in tune. Two-part exer-
=#= cises can be used for tuning perfect
ft r -o- •» -» -€> -» fourths, fifths, thirds, and sixths. Another
W TT
exercise uses three or more voices
Finally, short chorales can be u^ _- as
«) -o •0 rJ 1 1 ft. 1 1 a warm-up or for intonation practice.
•&
TT TF
-»
^
«j ° ^nfr Have students sustain a chord until its
etc.
intonation and balance are correct,
LV— •» -&
O— -e—
4+
*P^
J J|J J and then identify the chord root.
When unisons and octaves of the root
match, add the fifth and third. Players lower range. When playing in octaves, sound (toil) will result, or there will]
should always be able to hear the root the lower octave notes will have to be more silence rather than tone on
of the chord. more punctuated and detached to pitch.
match the higher pitches. Recom- Prep study for backend tongue
Harmonic Chord Tuning (do also in minor)
mended articulation studies include
numbers 2, 3, and 4, which can be
played with optional slurs. Other rec-
ommended exercises include 6, 8, 9,
and 10.
Fast, crisp staccatos are properly 1. Steady, wide air
2. With metronome, time the
articulated by using backend tonguing. reposition of the tongue to the click
3. Air must remain constant - one note
Have students slur the passage to work ends as another begins
on air flow and finger rhythms. Once
1. Go slowly the flow has been established, the Slurring exercises will improve fast,
2. Hear interval before
playing backend tongue can be used. The technical passages because fast fingers!
3. Use pitch memory to
keep root constant
release of the tongue is deliberate and will help the tonguing technique.
4. Up &. down in half- makes the note pop out of the instru- The following exercises can be used
step increments
ment as the air is momentarily blocked as a prelude to scale work. The firstf
The phantom interval is a matter of by the repositioning of the tongue. For scale sequence should be legato with;
acoustics and consists of summation a more legato sound, the release of the large, sonorous tone. After a quic
and difference tones. Summation tongue should be quicker. breath and a normal articulation, the!
tones occur when the frequency levels The difficulty with backend tongu- soft passage is played with backend;
of both resonant tones combine to ing is that the tongue should stay down tonguing, creating a clean articulation!
produce a soft phantom note. For until the last second when it is reposi- This study can be done in ascending <
example, if one pitch has a frequency tioned for the next release. The result descending half-step increments toj
of 220 cycles per second (cps) and is a full sound. facilitate key development.
another has 330 cps, a summation tone Articulation exercise
of 550 cps may result. Likewise, if a Fat Chunks of Tone legato
perfect fifth (or twelfth) is played, a
TO TO TO TO TO
phantom major third will sound; if a
major sixth is in tune, a phantom root I Air tube
will sound.
Quick reposition and delib-
Phantom Intervals:
0 550 cps erate tongue release
Because balance problems may occur!
<& ' f t p '
«> 330 cps For this technique to work, the tip of from poor ensemble seating, set a small |
the tongue should barely feel the bot- group in a straight line or a slight arci
0 0 220cps
tom edge of the top of the teeth. If the and avoid set-ups with bells facing!
tongue rises too soon either a scooping both to and away from the audience.!
Summation tone Difference tone
Wendell Hoss helped found a Los Angeles horn ensemble that recorded original works in the 1950s-60s.|
Here the ghost note represents a differ-
ence tone because the difference
between the lower (330cps) and the
upper notes (550cps) is a lower note of
220 cps. These additional sympathetic
overtones add resonance and volume
to smaller ensembles. The Treasury of
Scales published by Belwin in four
parts is an excellent source for working
on intonation and ensemble blend.
Used together, all four horn books
make up complete four-part chorales
in all major and minor tonalities.
Consistent articulation only devel-
ops with practice. To develop a clear
and cutting articulation, a horn player
should slow the release of the tongue
slightly to get a better sound at the
beginning of a note. Special articula-
tion techniques such as backend
tonguing in fast staccato passages help
in regard to clarity and projection. The
first book of Kopprasch's 60 etudes is
good for practicing articulations.
Advanced players can perform the
studies down an octave to work on the
 In a block seating, arrange the
ble to face the audience with the fi
chair in a position to lead and hear
other horns clearly.
If working with eight or more horr
a dual line format is best for unifc
timbre and bell projection. In
antiphonal format, have the choirs sen!
arated and seated in a mirror irnagj,
such that the high horns face the centej
and the low horns play on the outside
Possible seating arrangements and
antiphonal seating for horn octets

8765 8743 43 68
4321 6521 21 57
Horn ensemble music, though edu-1
cational and fun, expands the range!
New Editions - Hot Off the Press! demands of players to demonstrate the!
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Brass Anthology: The new 1999 edition of The Brass ity of the instrument's sound.
Anthology arrived in June and updates this collection of
Horn Quartets
articles by leading brass players and teachers. Students and
teachers will find the last word on warm-ups, articulation, Grade 2
Quarto for Horns by Acton Ostling is ?
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Woodwind Anthology: Back in print, the Woodwind horn 4 down to C). The first horn has
Anthology in two volumes is the definitive source of infor- the lead, but all parts have important
moments. The A section includes
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drawn from the pages of Flute Talk. Volume 2 covers clar- tion is a march featuring an accompa^
inet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon. These hardbound vol- niment of staccato quarters. This is a
suitable first piece for any ensemble.
umes are the heart of woodwind reference libraries and a (Belwin-Mills)
source of ideas and solutions for teachers and students. The Pottag Quartet Album by Max Pottag
two-volume set is $84, or each volume is available sepa- consists of 24 short arrangements of
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songs, and American patriotic tunes.
All parts are written in score format,
Also Available: and the selections are well within the
capabilities of second- and third-year
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String Anthology, one volume, 750 pages, $55. featured in most of the pieces. (Range
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Three Short Pieces by A.O. Lively
These arrangements use the familiar
Order a combination set of all seven volumes tunes "Aura Lee," "Greensleeves," and
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Grade 3
Canzona by Fiorenzo Maschera
transcribed by Ronald Dishinger. The
16th-century work is written in treble
clef with a modest range for all parts.
The parts are equal in difficulty, but
their independence may pose a prob-
lem for insecure players. This selection
would work well with doubled parts.
(Range demands: horn T up to G2,
horn 4 down to E; Medici Music)
Comocopia by Earl Hoffman is a
three-movement work in a moderate
tempo and distinctly different styles.
The first movement features eighth
notes passed from one horn to another
and short solo passages for every part.
The second movement, in triple
meter, uses a homophonic texture and
changes to a trio in the middle. The
last movement is a syncopated chasse
with accents and rests. The piece has
variety and interest, and all parts are
written in treble clef. (Range
demands: horn 1, Gl; horn 4 down to
Bh Southern)
Folk Song Suite arranged by Louis
Stout, edited by Christopher Leuba,
consists of four short movements of
moderate technical difficulty. The sec-
ond and fourth horn parts use both tre-
ble and bass clefs and alternate parts
are written entirely in treble clef.
Suitable for contest, the movements
are "The Cuckoo," "Oh! Pretty Maid,"
"Rule Britannia," and "Gum Tree
Canoe." The rhythmic interest will
satisfy both, audiences and performers.
(Range demands: horn 1 up to A2,
horn 4 down to Bl>; Southern)
Four Little Pieces by Rudolph Mayer
is a delightful quartet in four con-
trasting, short movements. All parts
are written in treble clef with mini-
mal range and scoring that includes
dialogues for contrasting groups of
horns. Although written for a grade 3
level, the solid work is suitable for
hornists of all ages and is highly rec-
ommended. (Range demands: horn 1
up to G l , horn 4 down to F;
Southern)
Quartet for Horns by Max Pottag is
based on opera leitmotifs by Richard
Wagner. As one of the earliest quartet
transcriptions available in the U.S.,
its difficulty lies in the sudden
changes of mood and tempo. A con-
ductor is useful for rehearsing, and the
work is suitable for an octet. All parts
are written in treble clef and familiar-
ity with music from Der Ring Des
Niebelungen is helpful. (Range
demands: horn 1 up to Gl, horn 4
down to C; Belwin-Mills)
1'
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AT Quartet Repertoire by various com-
posers. This collection features a vari-
ety of original quartet literature and
transcriptions of vocal works try well-
known composers. The pieces vary i
difficulty, and are suitable for both the
middle school and high school levels. 1
The first horn leads each quartet, but
all parts show imagination in texture
and counterpoint. (Range demands:
horn 1 up to Gl, horn 4 down to D;
Rubank)
Hunter's Delight by Reid Poole is in {j
ABA form and features the first horn.
There is some independence in the
treble clef fourth horn part. (Range
demands: horn 1 up to Fl, horn 4
down to F; Belwin Mills)
Suite for Four Horns by Frances H.
McKay has five movements and will
challenge younger players with part
independence. The scoring stays full
throughout each movement. All parts
are written in treble clef, and the
tempo changes may call for coaching.
The first horn dominates the texture
in each movement. (Range demands:
horn 1 up to Gl, horn 4 down to D\>;
Barnhouse)

Eldon Matlick is professor of horn at tl

University of Oklahoma and principal
homist with the Oklahoma City Phil-
harmonic Orchestra. He holds a doctorate
in brass pedagogy and a master's degree
from Indiana University where he studied
with Philip Parkas. He received a bache-
lor's degree in music education from
Eastern Kentucky University. Matlick is
James Shaw, April Travers and Molly Nielsen of the Lamonl Chamber Music program. a former finalist at the Heldenleben Inter-
national Solo Horn Competition. Active
as a recitalist and clinician, he appeared in

Express yourself, a solo capacity at five international horn

symposia, performed with the Nashville
Symphony, Louisville, and Tulsa
Philharmonic Orchestras, and has held
associate or principal horn positions in the
Otfensboro Symphony, Evansville
Opportunities to perform abound at Lament. Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic,
Professors and students alike share ttie pass-ion of developing musical talent and Paducah Symphony Orchestras. In
and bringing out the performance magic. Just ask anyone inside. addition he has been the principal homist
with the Classical Music Festival in
Call (303) 871-6973, or visit our web site at www.du.edu/lamont Eisenstaadt, Austria. Prior to his tenure
for complete information about our Conservatory, University at the University of Oklahoma, Matlick
and Jazz & Commercial Music programs. taught at Murray State University and
developed a successful band program in
the Crittenden Community School
System in Marion, Kentucky.
Lainonl School of Music The majority of material for the body of
UNIVERSITY of DENVER
this article came from conversations with
Where One Can Aspire To Be. Lowell Shaw, Leigh Martinet, and James
Decker. Other material came from the
Los Angeles Horn Club website and the
Vienna WaWhorn Verein Newsletter.
S4 TUP lM9TRt 1MFNTA1 l^T / WOVPURFR 1 OQQ