french horn recital paper

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Kevin Fisher

May 6, 2012

Brass Methods

French Horn Recital Paper

For the pedagogical observation assignment, I attended the French Horn

Studio Recital held on Sunday, May 5th at the Bratton Recital Hall at 5pm. The recital

featured the majority of students taking lessons from Mr. Kendall Betts of the

University of New Hampshire horn faculty. Mr. Betts is currently a dedicated

educator and French horn adjudicator at many universities and music schools. He is

also the founder and director of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp in Lyman, NH. For the

purpose of this assignment, I will focus on two specific pieces and two different

performers from the recital.

The first performer at the recital was Laura Chicarello, playing a piece

entitled “Etude”. Laura was using a double horn during this performance. The piece

was unaccompanied and seemed atonal. The entire piece sounded like an entire

cadenza that lasted too long. There was no forward motion or tonal center. This type

of music is difficult to perform, but Laura was extremely comfortable with the piece

and it appeared as though she had spent a great deal of time practicing beforehand.

“Etude” called for sounds that were reminiscent of a large ship. Laura made these

sounds by executing extremely low bell tones, while her cheeks puffed only slightly.

Sometimes, it seemed as though Laura was playing two pitches at once – one lower

pitch, and another that sounded a perfect fifth above the lower pitch. I am not

entirely sure if this was the intention of the composer, but it made a cool effect for

the audience. Laura played with great dynamic contrast between registers. There

was no tempo or consistent meter, but with the contrasting flares and glisaandi, the



audience members were constantly on the edge of their chairs. This goes to show

how familiar Laura was with her piece. Laura also was using stopped horn at certain

points to execute the “buzzy” sound of the French horn. At some points during the

performance, there was such an echo in the sound that it was like Laura was

“stopping” the notes too much – perhaps this was an effect called for in the piece, or

perhaps this was the featured technique, hence the title “Etude”. Laura had great

control in her upper register and there were barely any pitch problems as she

switched between the F and B-flat sides of the horn. As a brass teacher, I believe

this is an excellent piece for a player with similar technical abilities to Laura. Her

posture was excellent as she was standing during the performance. She brought the

horn to her natural upright position, and even moved slightly for expressive

purposes. The mouthpiece of the horn was taken off at certain points of rest in the

performance to remove condensation and clear the sound. Laura’s breath was

excellent in that it was even audible from the back of the recital hall. She did not

breath from her throat, but instead, from her diaphragm. This was quite clear

because she was able to sustain extremely long notes without having to stop for

more air. The front end of the pitch, especially in the middle register, was in the

direct center of the pitch, and the decay of the pitch did not drop or change in

timbre. Laura’s pitch colors were consistent throughout to piece to emphasize the

character and themes of the piece, which sounded like a ship during an eerie

evening. Laura did an excellent job with this piece as she played with great

technique and poise throughout the entire eight-minute duration.



The second piece I would like to discuss is Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-

flat major, K. 417, which was completed in 1783. The first performer was Abby Levy,

who played the Allegro movement. Abby played sitting down as she held the horn

against her right thigh. Abby could have been much louder during the opening

exposition, and then again in the recapitulation. Due to an illness, Abby was

coughing and stopping for air very often. The quick sixteenth notes were

rhythmically accurate. Accompanist Paul Merrill and Miss Levy did not have any

communication problems as they seemed together; however, when it came to

expressiveness and phrasing, Abby’s battle with her coughing seemed to wound the

overall performance. The sound was not extremely clear and a large breath was not

visibly or audibly clear. The half-step intervals were not clear either as Abby shifted

between harmonics. The leaps were more accurate in regards to pitch than the half-

step intervals. As a brass teacher, I would not have allowed Abby to perform the first

movement of the piece because she was so sick. Many of the core aspects to playing

the French horn were jeopardized due to her illness, and this was visibly apparent

because Abby did not play the role of the piece. She looked unhappy and sickly on

stage, which made it difficult for the audience to capture the essence of the Allegro

movement.

french horn recital paper

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