Circular Flugelhorn or Corno da Caccia
In its bore profile this unusual instrument is a flugelhorn or
Saxhorn in Bb but its form and intended use is for the highest
horn parts. In the last 30 years or so there have been similar
instruments made with similar intentions and variously called
"clarin horn" "piccolo horn" or the historically confusing: "corno
da caccia". The latter has become the accepted name by both
makers and players because of its use in performing those parts
indicated thusly by J.S. Bach and other composers. During
Bach's early career, the horn was only just being introduced as a
standard member of the orchestra. We know that the
instruments being used had been developed as signal/fanfare
instruments, but we don't know the exact design of the
instruments used in early performances. It seems likely that
musicians used whatever was available that worked best and
was acceptable to the composer or patron. I hesitate to write
more on this subject where my knowledge is weak but
encourage you to read more authoritative sources such as
"Bach's Orchestra" by C.S. Terry, "The Horn" by Kurt
Janetzky and Berhard Bruchle as well as more recent sources.
In our time, with the great advantage of valve instruments, the
high horn and trumpet parts are easier to play on smaller
instruments such as this.
Tom Meacham, a serious brass hobbyist and collector had been
talking to me in recent years about making an instrument similar
to modern corni di caccia. One idea was to use double piston
valves, which are considered obsolete today other than in the
modern Vienna horns. I looked into buying a valve assembly
from several German makers that specialize in these. They
were willing to supply them but they weren't an ideal bore size
for this project as well as being expensive. Tom's idea was to
have fourth rotary valve, so I asked him why not have all four
valves be double pistons. Since he wanted as much nickel silver
parts as possible and a gold brass bell, making the valve section
myself seemed the best idea. This way, all of the parts are
nickel silver other than the gold brass bell and optional copper
flare. After some experimentation and talks with makers that
know more than I do, I decided that the bore should be .415"
through the first three valves and .438" though the fourth. The
gold brass bell and copper flare were made for me by Kanstul as
were the small nickel crooks and tubing. The gold brass flare
with engraved nickel silver garland is 6 3/4" diameter and the
copper flare with nickel silver rim is 8 1/4". I had never made a
complete double piston valve assembly before but the
technology is fairly simple as long as all the parts are made
carefully. The results are very successful and this instrument
can certainly used for the high horn parts as discussed above or
for anything that might call for a flugelhorn, German hunting
horn or even post horn parts by Mozart, Mahler and others.
The timbre can be varied somewhat by the mouthpiece choice.
It can be played with any flugelhorn or French horn mouthpiece
using the appropriate mouthpipe shank as seen in the last photo.
Not surprisingly, large horn mouthpieces cause the pitch to go
flat in the high register and I suspect that a little experimentation
would find an ideal compromise between the two.
Click on images for larger views.
Saxhorn in Bb but its form and intended use is for the highest
horn parts. In the last 30 years or so there have been similar
instruments made with similar intentions and variously called
"clarin horn" "piccolo horn" or the historically confusing: "corno
da caccia". The latter has become the accepted name by both
makers and players because of its use in performing those parts
indicated thusly by J.S. Bach and other composers. During
Bach's early career, the horn was only just being introduced as a
standard member of the orchestra. We know that the
instruments being used had been developed as signal/fanfare
instruments, but we don't know the exact design of the
instruments used in early performances. It seems likely that
musicians used whatever was available that worked best and
was acceptable to the composer or patron. I hesitate to write
more on this subject where my knowledge is weak but
encourage you to read more authoritative sources such as
"Bach's Orchestra" by C.S. Terry, "The Horn" by Kurt
Janetzky and Berhard Bruchle as well as more recent sources.
In our time, with the great advantage of valve instruments, the
high horn and trumpet parts are easier to play on smaller
instruments such as this.
Tom Meacham, a serious brass hobbyist and collector had been
talking to me in recent years about making an instrument similar
to modern corni di caccia. One idea was to use double piston
valves, which are considered obsolete today other than in the
modern Vienna horns. I looked into buying a valve assembly
from several German makers that specialize in these. They
were willing to supply them but they weren't an ideal bore size
for this project as well as being expensive. Tom's idea was to
have fourth rotary valve, so I asked him why not have all four
valves be double pistons. Since he wanted as much nickel silver
parts as possible and a gold brass bell, making the valve section
myself seemed the best idea. This way, all of the parts are
nickel silver other than the gold brass bell and optional copper
flare. After some experimentation and talks with makers that
know more than I do, I decided that the bore should be .415"
through the first three valves and .438" though the fourth. The
gold brass bell and copper flare were made for me by Kanstul as
were the small nickel crooks and tubing. The gold brass flare
with engraved nickel silver garland is 6 3/4" diameter and the
copper flare with nickel silver rim is 8 1/4". I had never made a
complete double piston valve assembly before but the
technology is fairly simple as long as all the parts are made
carefully. The results are very successful and this instrument
can certainly used for the high horn parts as discussed above or
for anything that might call for a flugelhorn, German hunting
horn or even post horn parts by Mozart, Mahler and others.
The timbre can be varied somewhat by the mouthpiece choice.
It can be played with any flugelhorn or French horn mouthpiece
using the appropriate mouthpipe shank as seen in the last photo.
Not surprisingly, large horn mouthpieces cause the pitch to go
flat in the high register and I suspect that a little experimentation
would find an ideal compromise between the two.
Click on images for larger views.
