Hello Klaus, even the middle part of the Long Call (the A-minor section) is quite easy on the hand horn, but not written for the hand horn. Wagner had a good mentor for this solo: first class horn player & conductor Hans Richter, former best student of Wilhelm Kleinecke at the Vienna Conservatory & first horn of the State Opera in Vienna & the Vienna Philharmonic for three years, later the first real travelling great maestro, who conducted over 4700 performances in his life of 73 years. His father was a horn player also, his cousin & his nephew were also horn players with the Vienna Philharmonic.
Hans Richter played the Long Call near to the window of Wagners working studio in Triebschen/Switzerland, early morning of Wagners 50th birthday. As his personal secretary & assistant, he knew that Wagner was working on this particular scene that morning. So when his horn sounded, Wagner had a day dream that his Waldweben scene become a live event that moment. As Richter was a typical F-horn-player, the solo is right written for the F-horn, even it is performed today on the Bb-side with a possible exception in the middle part & the up & down passage before the last climb, which can be played on the F-side, even to have a bit of relax & changing the timbre also, as Siegfried tries out several moods to "blow-up" something really different from the Waldvoegelein (bird). And he is not talking with the bird anymore as before when trying the reed flute unsuccessfully. He is really bored about the missing success then. So he takes up the horn & really blows out something new to him finally, the Fafner dragon, which he did not expect: "Ich kam hierher um das Fuerchten zu lerned !"("I came here to learn about fright !") Mime had warned him about the terrible dragon. And Siegfried sings: "Nun lasst mich sehn, wen jetzt sie mir lockt, ob das mir ein lieber Gesell ?" (Let me see, whom it could lure this time, if a lovely fellow ?) Quite ironically question as the heroe is quite sure about himself & his strength. And he continues: "Ha, ha ! Da haette mein Lied mir was Liebes erblasen. Du waerst mir ein sauberer Gesell !" (ha, ha ! Thus my lied had blown up something Lovely. You were me a neat fellow !). Hey, to wake up a dragon from his deep sleep, yes, this requires something exciting & no whispering. And if the middle part is written in piano, it is a piano solistico & must be much carrying (not loud, but from the character & musical pressure - if you understand what I like to express with this). The end, the climax must sound over all the orchestra which is engaged in the wurms (dragons) uproar at that place. Gratulation to Anamia Eriksson to the excellent & super clean performance. To answer Klaus again: most players have the music of the Long Call before them, when they play the call from memory. It is some kind of "fetish" or "talisman" only, but it is good for the concentration as so many things might happen on stage. I remember playing it at the Berlin State Opera, where I arrived very late as the plane was delayed. So I had to find my place quickly. And it was just one leg high & the other down, right between the beam lights, a small monitor to my left, very bad sight to the Siegfried. You have to be ready to play every signal when Siegfried brings the horn to his lips. There was no time to see the Siegfried Singer before (it was Siegfried Jerusalem), to just talk the action through. Well you have to follow the conductor after he enters with the wagnertubas for the wurm-motif & nothing should stop you them. The conductor has to follow you. If you follow the conductor, you are lost definitely. You need all concentration for your playing. So it is quite good having the music there with the mark, where the tuben come in etc. Or Sawallisch´s last Siegfried here in Munich. My colleague Siegfried Machata was on stage ready to play the call, - no, he was below stage with a monitor, it was the old production. Sawallisch gave the cue right after a little pause after the clarinet climb. Nothing, nothing again, so he gave the desperate last cue to me, unexpected. Had not breathed, because shocked for what had happen. Nobody knew what ? And why ? So I played the first signal. Audience laughted, because Siegfried had put the horn down and put it right on his lips, when I should make the pause after the first fermata. So I continued with the second signal. Laughter again, as Siegfried had put down the horn again. Sawallisch completely desperate. So the third signal came in from stage & I could stop myself within a tenth of a second, otherwise we would have played in "stereo". Siegfried Machata continued with a flawless Long Call as usual. What had happen ? Siegfried ran out of the range of the camera so the other Siegfried could not see, if the singer Siegfried put his horn at his lips. The conductor was not visible on the TV monitor thuis to help clearing the situation. I tell you, that was dangerous exciting. You cannot imagine our both laughter at the next intermission. When we TV recorded the whole ring, I made an exception from my Siegfried routine inspecting the site during the intermission after act one. I had better done it. When I arrived to play the Long Call, the whole place was surrounded by thick blankets, changing the acoustical environment dramatically. Now you go ! You have no idea how it will sound, no chance to test it in any way. You just have the one single chance, to adjust your playing after the very first "shot". It worked. That´s the fate of every travelling orchestra, when they arrive in the new hall, doing a last short rehearsal, are pleased or disappointed with the acoustics, but get the surprise when the hall is filled with the audience. And then you start the concert with R.Strauss Don Juan. The last production by David Alden & Zubin Mehta here in Munich, had me stand infront of a big battery of beam lights really burning my ass. And I could barely see Siegfried on stage as the opposite side had a battery of about 20.000 W beam lights. I had to adjust the intonation from solo to solo as the horn not only got hot by my exhaust throughthe horn but also from the beamers in the back & from the front & I had to watch Zubins activity too. I remember one performance, when I held the last echo La (written e2) much longer than usual with a never ending diminuendo, so Zubin made a very questioning grimass (may-be he thought I got stuck !?) followed by a broad smile when I finally ended after twenty or so seconds. Yes, and he managed to come in in time that particular performance & we reached the climax together without all the usual waging. Do you know, what one of the three greatest Bayreuth primadonnas said about von Karajan ? "When he got lost due to conducting from memory, he just gripped to the clouds & waited for a single high not to synchronize himself with the orchestra again ...." ============================================================ ============================================================ ========== -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Klaus Bjerre Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 10:50 AM To: The Horn List Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Video - Siegfried Horn Call --- Graham Jarvis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi listers > I just came across this video on the Swedish Royal Opera House > homepage and thought it might be of interest. The text gives some > background to the Long Call in its context. The hornplayer is Annamia > Eriksson. I heard her give a recital of music for Horn and harp during the summer and was very impressed. > http://www.hovkapellet.com/sv/artiklar/visa_artikel.do?origi nal_id=34 Very well played! For my taste it is a bit on the fast side, tempowise. And it clearly has been played from memory-only a lot of times since the music last was on the stand. The interpretation is quite free. But then the sound is very alive, bright and projecting. And the intonation is earpleasingly good. Interesting, that the F side slides are so meticulously emptied. I dont think they are used at all in this performance. Also interesting, that the main lobby (not the entry hall) of the Stockholm opera is so similar in its period expression to its equivalent in the old opera of Copenhagen (still in function mainly as a ballet stage). Is the horn used for this performance an Alexander 103? I did not get a good look at the change valve, but the very well carrying sound pointed my ears in that direction. Speaking in F-notation: With a very long stretch of virtuous hand horn technique this piece might be played on a natural horn, but I do not think, that Wagner intended that. Still it sounds very much like a piece for hand horn except for the repeated A-minor to F-major section. I can hear, what is possible on a hand horn, and that section sounds a bit strange to me, if I put on my hand horn ears. Ranting, but I enjoyed the link. And I have heard the performance 5 or 6 times. Comparing it to the manuscript available from Hanss site. Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans%40pizka. de _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org