TALLY HORN! ECHOES OF HOOFBEATS AND HAUNTS: RECORDED SELECTIONS FOR HORN AND PIANO

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the European hunting horn was an instrument associated with the thrill of the chase, rustic scenes, and the pageantry of royal hunts. The sound of this horn and the music that evolved from its heritage would inspire composers writing for the modern horn. TALLY HOrn! Echoes of Hoofbeats and Haunts: Recorded Selections for Horn and Piano are two compact discs of works for horn and piano as well as solo horn reflecting this association with the hunt and include additional works of expressive contrast – lyrical pieces and nocturnes. Nine of the pieces reflect the modern horn’s beginnings and they are Abbot’s Alla Caccia, Berge’s Horn-Lokk, Boutry’s Chassacor, Bozza’s En Fôret, Büsser’s La Chasse de St. Hubert, Pessard’s In the Forest, Piantoni’s Air de Chasse, Schmid’s Im Tiefsten Walde, and Vinter’s Hunter’s Moon. By contrast, three of the selections, Gliére’s Nocturne, Strauss’ Nocturno, and Van Ecchaute’s Nachtpoëma are nocturnes that showcase the expressive quality of the horn. In addition, Bush’s Autumn Poem, Bacon’s Song After the Rain, and Webber’s Summer Pastures are included for their lyric qualities and evocations of nature. The largest work of the project is John Williams’s Concerto for Horn. Its five movements feature both hunting horn traits and expressive qualities. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Grace Cho were the two pianists engaged for the recording. The recording engineer was Edward Kelly. The producer was Carlos Rodriquez. The pieces were recorded at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church sanctuary in Spencerville, Maryland between November 2010 and February 2011.

WORKS FOR HORN BY AMERICAN WOMEN COMPOSERS

This performance dissertation consists of three recitals featuring the music of American women composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. My purpose in presenting these recitals is to expose and explore the lesser known compositions of these composers through live public performances. I selected a cross section of composers whose compositions employed a wide range of musical styles, techniques and instrumentation. The instrumentation included not only the "standard" works for solo horn and horn and piano, but various chamber compositions as well. Of these chamber works, there exists a duet for horn and harp, a trio for violin, cello and horn, and a quartet for viola, horn, piano, and percussion. In addition to the published works chosen, it was my intent to further heighten the awareness of American women composers through the commissioning of a work specifically for this dissertation. The resulting piece was Arbor for horn and harp by Elisabeth Mehl Greene, which received its premiere on April 18, 2009. Through this project, it is my hope to have not only increased the public's awareness of these lesser known works but to have contributed to the performances of these ever growing number of works by American women composers.