French Horn

A Brief History of the French Horn 

The Horn is unique among orchestral instruments, not only in that the keys are operated with the left hand, but because it is also played backwards, with  the bell facing towards the rear of the orchestra. It is the most expressive brass instrument in the orchestra, and also the most difficult to play. The normal position for the right hand is with all fingers close together against the far side of the bell and with the thumb close against them. The hand is cupped and can be straightened to sharpen vaious harmonics, while increased cupping of the hand flattens the harmonics.

Although still popularly referred to as the French horn, most horns played in orchestras today are in reality the wider bore German horn. Both, however evolved from the long, coiled cor de chasse of the French hunt, and by 1900 had come to resemble the modern instrument closely. F had become the standard pitch and rotary valves were the norm.

The horn has been a part of European hunting life since Saxon times. By the 17th century there were two types: in Germany the perference was for a curved shape, while the English hunt preferred a straight horn, which could give a more penetrating call.

One of the perennial problems for horn players is hitting the wrong note in the high harmonics, where they lie close together. To address this problem in 1898 Fritz Krupse of Erfurt designed a double horn. As its name implies, this is two horns in one, each with its own set of valves but sharing the same mouthpiece and bell. It is pitched in F and B flat, the player choosing his pitch by depressing an extra valve. The advantage of the double horn was that the twelfth harmonic in F became the ninth in B flat and was, therefore, much safer to play.