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Gavin Higgins: Horn Concerto for horn & orchestra - Study Score [Printed Music]
£80.00
In stock
Catalogue Number
NMP1301
For Solo Horn & Orchestra
112-page A4 wire-bound Score
c. 29½ mins
ISMN No: 979-0-708219-51-4
Winner of The Ivor Novello Award for
Best Orchestral Composition 2024
Having been a horn player my whole life, it's perhaps surprising it has taken me so long to write a piece for my instrument. But in my 40th year I felt finally ready to write a horn concerto. When thinking about this piece I went back to my roots. I grew up surrounded by trees in the Forest of Dean, at the borderland between England and Wales, and have been fascinated by woodlands ever since. Though abstract, this piece – in three movements – is an exploration of forests and trees and the undergrowth. The first movement entitled Understorey (pertaining to life on the forest floor) begins slowly in the key of E♭ – a nod to the opening of the Ring Cycle's evocation of nature; but also a reference to some of the most famous horn concertos by Strauss and Mozart. The second movement Overstorey (life in the canopy) begins ‘like falling leaves’ and features expressive horn solos against sparse orchestration. The third and final movement is entitled Mycelium Rondo (the network of fungal hyphae – affectionately known as the Wood Wide Web – that connects all forest plant life). Like all good horn concertos – and as the title suggests – this movement takes the form of a rondo. © Gavin Higgins
FULL SCORE AND PARTS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR HIRE [NMP1300]
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A PDF Version of this score is available upon request.
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Manufacturer: Wyastone Estate Limited, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, NP25 3SR
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Reviews:
"I think Higgins has composed a concerto of rare imagination. ‘Understorey’ begins in dark mystery – surely a debt to the opening of Das Rheingold; there are fascinating colours and textures in the orchestral score, not least through the discerning use of percussion. The solo part is evocatively imagined – I love the occasions when the solo part combines with the quartet of orchestral horns. In the middle of the movement there’s a quicker section which is full of wit and invention – at times the writing for the woodwinds is highly suggestive of laughter. At the close of the movement Higgins takes us back to the mysterious soundworld of the opening but this time with the solo horn as an active participant or commentator." John Quinn, MusicWeb International