James Boldin's Horn World

Thoughts on Teaching and Playing the Horn

Posts tagged with First Solos for the Horn Player Mason Jones

First Solos for the Horn Player: Brazilian Set, by Louis Gordon

April 27, 2020

Continuing with the First Solos for the Horn Player project, here are two brief pieces by Louis B. Gordon, arranged by Mason Jones. There is very little information online about the composer, but here is a brief excerpt from his obituary:

Louis graduated from Beaumont Texas High School. He attended Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1946 and his Master of Music degree in 1947. He went on to earn his Doctor of Musical Arts in 1962.

Louis was a Professor of Music at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, where he taught for 30 years until his retirement in 1993. He was a member of the American Federation of Musicians and a member of Temple B’nai Or, Morristown, NJ. He proudly served his country during World War II as an Army Air Corps cadet.

While I’m fairly certain that this is the same composer whose music appears in First Solos for the Horn Player, I am less certain about the original instrumentation for this “Brazilian Set.” Gordon has a number of other solo and chamber music compositions for winds and piano (though none for horn that I can find), and it’s possible that these two movements came from one of those works. It’s an interesting choice for this collection, and is a nice contrast to the primarily 18th and 19th century compositions found in the rest of the book. If anyone out there has more information about Louis Gordon or this piece in particular I would love to hear it.

First Solos for the Horn Player: I Hear as in a Dream, Bizet

April 15, 2020

The eighth installment in this series of recordings from Mason Jones’s First Solos for the Horn Player is a transcription of the  aria “I Hear as in a Dream” (Je crois entendre encore) from Act I of George Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers. The first image after the titles is a public domain illustration for the final scene of  Act I as produced at La Scala in 1886, designed by Giovanni Zuccarelli (1846–1897) and illustrated by Antonio Bonamore (1845–1907).

This brief vocal transcription would pair nicely with the other Bizet work in the collection, Song of April. As with most of the material in First Solos for the Horn Player, the range and technical requirements in this piece are suitable for intermediate players. It makes for a great study in playing soft, sustained melodies.

First Solos for the Horn Player: German Dance, Beethoven

April 11, 2020

Up next in the First Solos for the Horn Player series we have one of several arranged works by Beethoven found in this collection, a German Dance based on No. 6 in the 12 German Dances, WoO 8. It’s a fun little tune, suitable for a high school player.

First Solos for the Horn Player: Andante from Horn Quintet, K. 407, by Mozart

April 6, 2020

Up next in the First Solos for the Horn Player series is the second movement from Mozart’s Quintet for Horn and Strings, K. 407. It’s a fantastic piece, easily the equal of any of Mozart’s horn concertos . For more information on this work, check out John Ericson’s article at Horn Matters.

The slow movement is the most difficult selection in First Solos for the Horn Player. At first I thought the book was organized chronologically, which would explain the Mozart’s inclusion near the beginning. However, that’s not quite the case, so perhaps it’s included early so that anyone casually thumbing through would see something they recognize in the first few pages.

This one took me a while to work up, and though it’s not perfect by any means, I’m satisfied with this recording with SmartMusic accompaniment. On the technology front, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be better at this point not to stress over the video/audio syncing issues, and instead to focus on making good recordings and including some public domain images to accompany the audio. The syncing issue was never a problem before I started using a Blue Yeti USB microphone, so I presume it will resolve itself when I go back to using my normal audio interface and XLR microphones. For now, though, my current setup will suffice. For the especially curious, here are the technical fixes I’ve tried (unsuccessfully):

  • Set Logic Pro X sample rate to 48 kHz (default is 44.1), and the Blue Yeti specs list its sample rate at 48 kHz.
  • Set Q2n-4K audio sample rate to 48 kHz

Neither of the above resolved the problem, although I have noticed upon further inspection that the camera records at 25 frames per second, and Final Cut Pro adjusts it to 23.9 fps. This may be the problem, but it will take me some time to work out a solution. If anyone has other possible fixes, I would be grateful!

First Solos for the Horn Player: Song of April, by Georges Bizet

April 1, 2020

For the fifth selection in this series from First Solos for the Horn Player by Mason Jones, I chose Bizet’s “Song of April.” I wasn’t familiar with the work prior to this project, but it’s a lovely tune that lays well on the horn. Technology update: I’m still working on the sampling rate issues I mentioned in my previous post, but have so far not found a resolution. I have a couple more ideas to try…hopefully I’ll have it fixed for the next video.

In the meantime, I have posted two videos for this selection: an audio-only version with some reverb and equalization added, and a version with video that has not been edited. It’s interesting to compare the two, and in the video I get to support one of my alma maters, the University of Wisconsin. Enjoy!

First Solos for the Horn Player: “No More, I Have Heard Everything,” by W.A. Mozart, arr. Jones

March 22, 2020

The next video in the First Solos for the Horn Player project is “No More, I Have Heard Everything” (Non Più, Tutto Ascoltai), by W.A. Mozart. Paraphrasing some of the information provided by SmartMusic, this short work was originally for soprano and tenor with chamber orchestra, and was later included in Act II of the opera seria Idomeneo. It’s a lovely tune, and offers ample opportunities for the horn player to work on expressive playing.

For those who might be interested, here’s the equipment I’m using on this project.

  • Horn: Yamaha 667V
  • Mouthpiece: Houser, San Francisco 14-0-2 with 17.5mm Houser E Rim
  • Camera/Microphones: Zoom Q2n-4K
  • Video Editing: Apple Final Cut Pro

I might add that this was the last video recorded in my teaching studio at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Shortly following this session, we were advised that further precautions were being enacted to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The rest of the videos will be recorded from my home, and I might need to adjust camera placement, microphones, etc. to fit the new space. Stay tuned!

New Video Project: First Solos for the Horn Player, by Mason Jones

March 20, 2020

Like many colleagues around the world, I am now working exclusively online, and all upcoming performances have been cancelled or postponed until further notice. In lieu of live chamber and solo performances, I thought it would be useful and fun to start another video project, similar to my Kopprasch Project from several years ago.

My repertoire choice this time is a book of horn and piano arrangements by Mason Jones, First Solos for the Horn Player. It’s a great collection, but not nearly as well known as his “yellow book,” Solos for the Horn Player, the contents of which can be found on a really great recording  by Gregory Miller. The works in First Solos for the Horn Player are generally shorter and less complex, but are very tuneful and lay quite well on the horn. Any of them would make a fine addition to a recital program in need of lighter, accessible pieces.

I plan to post a few of these each week, recorded with SmartMusic accompaniment. It is my hope that teachers and students find these videos useful during this difficult time. If you like these pieces, be sure to order the book!

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