“Rescued!” celebrates the forgotten works of a group of 19th-century hornists and composers. The music included in this recording was composed between roughly 1860 and 1910 and are quality works aimed primarily at low horn players of the late 19th century who still used single F horns. In looking at the history and repertoire of the French horn at the time, it is clear that there was a split in writing style between works intended for low horn players who used the single F horn and those for high horn players who used shorter single Bb horns (the modern double horn in F/Bb not having been invented until 1897). The works most commonly played today from that time are idiomatic for the high horn player, but the works recorded here are all idiomatic for a low horn player on a single F horn, as they hardly go to the top of the staff and venture more freely into the low range. This recording is the product of months of dedicated preparation. The valved horn used, seen on the cover of the recording, was constructed specifically for this project by Richard Seraphinoff; the mouthpiece is a copy of a period mouthpiece by Moosewood. The difficulty level rises considerably on the single F horn compared to a modern double horn, and the tone of the F horn has a more raw quality in the upper range very much related to that of the natural horn. In fact it is, in many respects, more difficult to play than the natural horn as it is so prone to rough attacks in the upper register.

Featured Artists
Mike Forbes: tuba, euphonium/The Sotto Voce Quartet/Demondrae Thurman, Mark Carlson: euphonium/Nat McIntosh, John Stevens: bass tubas/Stephanie Frye, Blaine Cunningham: contrabass tubas/The University of Alabama Wind Ensemble/Dr. Kenneth Ozzello, Randall Coleman: conductors

”The music of George Enescu continues to be a source of discovery for me. As the Fates would have it, though, his Chamber Symphony for 12 Instruments was already familiar to me from a recent Ondine recording by Hannu Lintu conducting the Tampere Philharmonic, which I reviewed only as recently as 36:2. In that review, I stated that the work was new to me and that I had no other versions against which to compare it. Well, that situation didn’t last long, for here is another performance of the piece, which, on my first hearing of it under Lintu, didn’t make a very favorable impression.

Brian Trainor passed away unexpectedly on 07/08/06, two months prior to the release of this recording. He expressed an ‘catchy’ exuberance over the creation of this project and highly anticipated its release. This is dedicated to Brian and his incredible ‘spirit’ that is still upon us through his music.

Singer B.J.Ward loves to break musical rules and that’s what she has done yet again with her new recording, Syrinx – Voice of the Songbird – an amazing collection of classical favorites performed with a 21st century sensibility.

One of the world’s leading horn soloists displays his incredible versatility in a ‘big band’ and jazz combo album.

”The music of George Enescu continues to be a source of discovery for me. As the Fates would have it, though, his Chamber Symphony for 12 Instruments was already familiar to me from a recent Ondine recording by Hannu Lintu conducting the Tampere Philharmonic, which I reviewed only as recently as 36:2. In that review, I stated that the work was new to me and that I had no other versions against which to compare it. Well, that situation didn’t last long, for here is another performance of the piece, which, on my first hearing of it under Lintu, didn’t make a very favorable impression.

“Rescued!” celebrates the forgotten works of a group of 19th-century hornists and composers. The music included in this recording was composed between roughly 1860 and 1910 and are quality works aimed primarily at low horn players of the late 19th century who still used single F horns. In looking at the history and repertoire of the French horn at the time, it is clear that there was a split in writing style between works intended for low horn players who used the single F horn and those for high horn players who used shorter single Bb horns (the modern double horn in F/Bb not having been invented until 1897). The works most commonly played today from that time are idiomatic for the high horn player, but the works recorded here are all idiomatic for a low horn player on a single F horn, as they hardly go to the top of the staff and venture more freely into the low range. This recording is the product of months of dedicated preparation. The valved horn used, seen on the cover of the recording, was constructed specifically for this project by Richard Seraphinoff; the mouthpiece is a copy of a period mouthpiece by Moosewood. The difficulty level rises considerably on the single F horn compared to a modern double horn, and the tone of the F horn has a more raw quality in the upper range very much related to that of the natural horn. In fact it is, in many respects, more difficult to play than the natural horn as it is so prone to rough attacks in the upper register.

“Rescued!” celebrates the forgotten works of a group of 19th-century hornists and composers. The music included in this recording was composed between roughly 1860 and 1910 and are quality works aimed primarily at low horn players of the late 19th century who still used single F horns. In looking at the history and repertoire of the French horn at the time, it is clear that there was a split in writing style between works intended for low horn players who used the single F horn and those for high horn players who used shorter single Bb horns (the modern double horn in F/Bb not having been invented until 1897). The works most commonly played today from that time are idiomatic for the high horn player, but the works recorded here are all idiomatic for a low horn player on a single F horn, as they hardly go to the top of the staff and venture more freely into the low range. This recording is the product of months of dedicated preparation. The valved horn used, seen on the cover of the recording, was constructed specifically for this project by Richard Seraphinoff; the mouthpiece is a copy of a period mouthpiece by Moosewood. The difficulty level rises considerably on the single F horn compared to a modern double horn, and the tone of the F horn has a more raw quality in the upper range very much related to that of the natural horn. In fact it is, in many respects, more difficult to play than the natural horn as it is so prone to rough attacks in the upper register.

Singer B.J.Ward loves to break musical rules and that’s what she has done yet again with her new recording, Syrinx – Voice of the Songbird – an amazing collection of classical favorites performed with a 21st century sensibility.

”The music of George Enescu continues to be a source of discovery for me. As the Fates would have it, though, his Chamber Symphony for 12 Instruments was already familiar to me from a recent Ondine recording by Hannu Lintu conducting the Tampere Philharmonic, which I reviewed only as recently as 36:2. In that review, I stated that the work was new to me and that I had no other versions against which to compare it. Well, that situation didn’t last long, for here is another performance of the piece, which, on my first hearing of it under Lintu, didn’t make a very favorable impression.