Villanelle for Horn and Piano-Paul Dukas wrote his Villanelle as a demanding exam piece for the horn class of the Paris Conservatoire in 1906. The title referencing a cheerful traditional vocal genre that originated in 16th century Italy already shows that it is by no means a dry etude.Alongside the technical challenges (stopped notes fast scales playing without valves using natural horn techniques) the piece is successful because of its refreshingmelodies for which reason the Villanelle is still one of the most popular performance pieces for the horn. For our Urtext edition we consulted the autograph as well as the first edition that was originally for horn andpiano: the later version with orchestral accompaniment does not stem from the composer.

French composer, Henri Büsser entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1889. He won the 1893 Prix de Rome and led a highly successful career as a composer, conductor, teacher and organist. His compositions for a variety of instruments are exceptional, Piece In D for French Horn and Piano being no exception. As reflected in Piece In D, Büsser's compositional style was sophisticated, yet true to the 19th century French tradition. Elements of the work include include, chromaticism, use of a wide tessitura, complex rhythms, scalic passages and wide intervals. For all advanced Horn players, Büsser's Piece In D is essential to a varied repertoire.

Timeless Cornish Melodies-As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road in Bristol) I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy and likewise speaking as a lapsed brass player there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again one gets a different yetentirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence with a little gamesmanship on my part I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat) trombone and tuba (bass clef) horn in F flute clarinet and bassoon.While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart which are quite simply sublime melodies perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past while skilfully paying homage to the

Canto serioso for Horn and Piano-Carl Nielsen's Canto Serioso for Horn in F and Piano. Urtext edition score.The Danish composer Carl Nielsen was one of the most original composers at the turn of the 20th century. Basedon the German Romantic tradition he developed his own musical language especially in his symphonies that are still played very frequently. He also however often turned to chamber music settings.CantoSerioso was originally written as an audition piece for the Copenhagen Opera Orchestra where the position of low Horn player was to be filled. This fairly short work makes the most of the low register and theinstrument’s sonorous mid-range making it a welcome addition to the late Romantic repertoire for Horn.

Standard: IntermediateA languid melody for solo horn and a rich-coloured piano accompaniment evoke a mood not so far from the landscape tradition of The Lark Ascending but with an out-of-doors quality entirely its own. Summer Pastures is set for the Guildhall School and London College examinations.