PAUL HINDEMITH | SONATA FOR FOUR HORNS | Horn Quartet

Paul Hindemith's Sonate for four horns:
Mvt. 1, Fugato - 0:00
Mvt. 2, Lebhaft - 1:58
Mvt. 3, Variationen - 6:32

Performers:
Horn 1- Rebekah Daley
Horn 2- Ian Mayton
Horn 3- John Turman
Horn 4- Nicholas Hartman

Recorded in 2014, Raleigh NC
Special thanks to John Q Walker
-----------Composition Notes-----------
Paul Hindemith (1895 – 1963) – Sonata für vier Hörner

In 1951, composer/conductor Paul Hindemith was traveling to his next performance. As his late-night sleeper train came to a stop in Salzburg, a local horn quartet began to play four-part Germanic folk songs in hopes of catching the composer’s ear. Hindemith was stirred from his sleep and rushed to the window to better hear the performers. He was intrigued by the sounds of this unique brass ensemble, and began sketching the beginnings of his own work for the horn quartet. In 1952, Hindemith completed his Sonata for Four Horns.

The Sonata begins with a short Fugato movement. Although similar to the style and structure of a true fugue, a fugato typically only contains the exposition of the complete fugue form. This movement establishes a somber and meditative mood, which permeates the rest of the work.

The second movement, Lebhaft, begins with a light and bouncy interaction of a few motives, which alternate between duple and triple meter. The momentum is interrupted by a short cadenza from the first horn. A “poco lento” section precedes a brief 8-bar codetta resolving brusquely on a major sonority.

The third movement is a theme and variations on the German folk song “Ich Schnell Mein Horn ins Jammertal” (I Sound my Horn in the Vale of Tears), published in the early 16th century by Arnt von Aich. The song tells the story of an unsuccessful hunter who has failed yet another pursuit. The movement opens with a Getragen (sustained) statement of the theme, which suddenly bursts into an energetic exchange between the first and second horns, accompanied by a driving, muted ostinato figure in the third and fourth horns. The machine finally comes grinding to a halt, and a slow lamenting melody returns the surge of the movement to its initially reserved pace. The final Schnell section begins after a brief pause. The theme of the movement is almost indistinguishable as it floats above the chattering texture. A final acceleration is interrupted by tiered harmonies, and these sustained clusters are punctuated by gradually slackening interjections from the fourth horn. A definitive yet unsettlingly dissonant chorale dissipates into a final F-major resolution.
-------Gear Used-------
Music: https://imslp.org/wiki/Sonata_for_4_H...)
Mics: http://www.rode.com/microphones/nt5
XLR cables: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=xlr+cables...
Interface: https://apogeedigital.com/products/duet
Imac: https://www.apple.com/imac-pro/
Logic X: https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/
Final Cut Pro: https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/

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