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.

Paul Dukas
Villanelle pour cor et piano
Dominik Rahmer (Editeur)
Klaus Schilde (Doigtés)
Edition Urtext, reliure paperback
Exigeant morceau de concours, la Villanelle de Paul Dukas fut composée en 1906 à l?attention de la classe de cor du Conservatoire de Paris. Évoquant ces joyeux chants populaires d?Italie au XVIe siècle, le titre indique que nous n?avons pas ici affaire à une simple étude. Parallèlement aux exigences techniques (sons bouchés, gammes rapides, jeu sans pistons faisant appel à la technique du cor naturel), cette oeuvre convainc par l?entrain mélodique, de sorte que la Villanelle reste aujourd?hui un des morceaux de concert les plus appréciés des cornistes. Notre édition Urtext se base sur l?autographe et la première édition, tous deux dans leur version originale pour cor et piano; l?orchestration plus tardive de l?accompagnement n?est pas du compositeur. / Partitions classique / Cuivres et percussions / Cor / HENLE VERLAG

Having won many prizes at the Paris Conservatoire during the 1920s and 1930s Eugène Bozza went on to conduct the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique and to become Head of the Conservatoire in Valenciennes. As a major figure on the classical music frontline Bozza's compositions were well-received by audiences En Foret being no exception. This Bozza piece for French Horn and Piano masterfully combines a virtuosic Horn solo with impressionistic Piano accompaniment. The composer includes reminders of the Horn's hunting roots with frequent uses of call and response throughout. As a music educator PaulGriffiths has written of Bozza's compositions saying how 'his works reveal melodic fluency elegance of structure and a consistently sensitive concern of instrumental capabilities.'