What's the Matter with Extended Techniques? Getting Beyond the Stigma in the Horn and Percussion Repertoire

Abstract

For this project I prepared a series of recitals featuring music for horn and percussion, in which the horn part featured extended horn techniques. For this project, I considered anything beyond the open or muted horn an extended technique. These techniques range from the common hand-stopped note passages to complex new techniques involving half-valves, multi-phonics, and more, for new sounds desired by the composer. There are several pieces written for solo horn and percussion, with ensembles ranging from simple duets to solo horn with a full percussion ensemble. However, few include extended techniques for the horn. All of these select pieces are lesser known because of their difficulty, primarily because of the challenge of the extended techniques requested by the composer.

In the introduction to this paper I give a brief background to the project, where the current repertoire stands, and my experiences with commissioning works for this genre. I then give a brief history and how-to on the more common extended techniques, which were found in almost every piece. I separated these techniques so that they could be referenced in the performance notes without being extremely repetitive in their description. Then follows the main performance notes of the repertoire chosen, which includes a brief description of the piece itself and a longer discussion for performers and composers who wish to learn more about these techniques. In this section my primary focus is the extended techniques used and I provide score samples with permission to further the education of the next musicians to tackle this genre. All works performed for this project were recorded and accompany this paper in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

The following works were included in this project:

o Howard J. Buss, Dreams from the Shadows (2015)

o Howard J. Buss, Night Tide (1995)

o George Crumb, An Idyll for the Misbegotten, trans. Robert Patterson (1986/1997)

o Charles Fernandez, Metamorphosis: A Horn’s Life, “Prenatal and Toddler” (2016, unfinished)

o Helen Gifford, Of Old Angkor (1995)

o Douglas Hill, Thoughtful Wanderings… (1990)

o Pierre-Yves Level, Duetto pour Cor en Fa et Percussion (1999)

o David Macbride, Elegy for Horn and Timpani (2009)

o Brian Prechtl, A Song of David (1995)

o Verne Reynolds, HornVibes (1986)

o Pablo Salazar, Cincontar (2016)

o Mark Schultz, Dragons in the Sky (1989)

o Faye-Ellen Silverman, Protected Sleep (2007)

o Charles Taylor, Sonata for Horn and Marimba (1991)

o Robert Wolk, Tessellations (2016)

With this project, I intend to promote these pieces and the techniques used to encourage more works written in this style, and reveal to fellow horn players that the techniques should not prevent these great works from being performed. Due to the lack of repertoire, I successfully commissioned new pieces featuring extended techniques, which were featured in the final recital.