Music For Horns

With quite a few arrangements (and many of them posted on youtube), Deep River is one of best known African American spirituals. The song was used in a number of ways, including the 1929 film Show Boat and Michael Tippett’s oratorio A child of out time. For an unusually good and extensive description head over to Answers.com.

As with many other spirituals, there is a certain freedom to the rhythm (especially in the lead voice) and even the lyrics are not set in stone (as can be seen from the many differing versions available online). Lynsdale-Nock goes for the straight forward version, with only the occasional triplet or dotted quaver (eight-note). In combination with the tempo marking Andante, and a range from pedal F (the very last note) to high F, this arrangement is a work that gains its strength from good intonation and individual, inspired performance.

As usual in horn quartets, the odd parts are high, and the even ones low. The range of each individual part is nicely limited (a bit more than an octave), making this an excellent piece for an advanced beginner’s ensemble (except for the 4th horn perhaps). Due to the very competitive price, and the beautifully arranged harmonies though, this piece also comes highly recommended for quartets of a more advanced level. Want a chance to show off the full beauty of the horn sound? Here is the piece for it.