8/13/2019 Music for Horns - Prelude No.1 From Three Preludes &Amp; Fugues Op.37

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Prelude no.1 from Three preludes & fugues op.37Composer: Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, FelixYear Composed: 1837Arranger: Lynsdale-Nock, JohnYear Arranged: 2004Original Instrumentation: Organ

Type of Arrangement: TranscriptionAvailability: Commercial

ublisher: CorniworldYear Published: 2004Catalogue Number:CPH009

heet Music Format:A4, Score (17) & parts (6x2=12)

layersNumber of Players:Additional Players:

Approximate Duration:

Technical Difficulty:

Difficult

tructure/Movements:One movement.Vivace

Clefs:Treble, bassKey signatures:b

Meters:/4

Range:

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8/13/2019 Music for Horns - Prelude No.1 From Three Preludes &Amp; Fugues Op.37

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Horn 1: b - c3Horn 2: g - bb2Horn 3: eb - a2Horn 4: B - f2Horn 5: G - f2Horn 6: C - gb1

erformance Notes:The mid 1830's were of great importance in Mendelssohn's life, with an appointment to the LeipzigGewandhaus in 1935, and the premiere of his oratorio Paulus (see arrangement of the overture ) in 1936.During these years, starting from as early as 1833, the Three preludes and fugues op.37 were devised,nd remained, together with the Six sonatas op.65 , the primary organ works of his entire output.

The whole of op.37 is dedicated to Thomas Attwood, an organist, friend of Mendelssohn's from England.The inspiration, as would be expected, came from Bach's works, and this can be heard throughout in theirst prelude. The chords are far apart, with the beginning motif unfolding on top, first in a single line, buthen developing more contrapuntal lines as the voices start interacting.

As is quite usual for Lynsdale-Nock, the key of the original has been transposed into horn pitch, so C minorecomes C minor in horn pitch (F minor sounding pitch). The resulting range is very convenient, evenhough slightly high on occasion (especially when the fast passages are traded between two players).

The division of parts is interesting, with a straight forward top to bottom (high to low) distribution. Sonstead of, say, Adam Walters' 1-3-5-2-4-6, Lynsdale-Nock uses 1-2-3-4-5-6. At the beginning this resultsn melody in the first two horns and chords in the rest, which is somewhat re-ordered in the middle section,

owever remains the basis for the whole prelude.

rom a technical point of view there are several challenges. First and foremost the fast tempo, which inombination with the continuous semiquaver (eighth note) motif creates some awkward moment. Thenhere are frequent octave (and seventh) leaps, both tongued and slurred, a fair number of accidentals (were in a minor key after all), broken chord figures, largely independent voices, and quite high passages: nooubt ideal for an advanced ensemble.

On the down side, sometimes the voice distribution is a bit inconsistent, with varying numbers of beats /ars in each voice, resulting in a slightly uneven feeling in performance. It may also be necessary to haveconductor on hand, as this is one of those works where losing count generally equals no chance to findack in. And while the oarts are in excellent presentaiton, the score has too large staffs, so only abouthree bars fit in one line.

As far as music for six horns goes though, this is a very welcome addition to the repertoire requiringirtuoso playing, solid intonation, counting skills, flexibility, legato technique, stylistic awareness and andvanced ability to play in the ensemble.

External Links:Corniworldublications

Credits:

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8/13/2019 Music for Horns - Prelude No.1 From Three Preludes &Amp; Fugues Op.37

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rovision of review score: John Lynsdale-Nock (Corniworld)

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