Leonard, There is also a cylinder recording of this piece. I have done some research on it and wrote the following about it as part of the project: Die Post or The Post in the Forest. This is unquestionably the oldest item with significant horn content that I have ever run across. It was recorded for Edison Phonograph and released as Blue Amberol 478 and 2444 (different recordings) in August 1910. The cylinder featured players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which was then a predominantly German ensemble. This was the case until the advent of the First World War. This event and the later coming of Pierre Monteux and Charles Munch resulted in a significant shift towards the French, both in personnel and in playing style. The cornet soloist on this recording was Gustave F. Heim and the accompanying Waldhorn Quartett was made up of George Wendler, Franz Hain, Wilhelm Gebhardt and Heinrich Lorbeer.
I have had some correspondence with Norm Schweikert about this recording and he pointed me in the direction of an article published in Horn Call that called into question some of the personnel information that was included in the original Edison release announcement. I was left somewhat confused, but it appears that the publicity pictures in the announcement were altered (way before PhotoShop) and at least one of the players was a different B.S.O. hornist than the caption indicates. I don't have the correspondence, release announcement or article at hand at the moment, but the recording date and location is not in question. Anyone interested can hear these cylinders by way of the University of California, Santa Barbara at: http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/[EMAIL PROTECTED]&query=post&num=1&start=5&sortBy=&sortOrder=ia http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.php?query=post&num=1&[EMAIL PROTECTED]&sortBy=&sortOrder=ia&start=6 These URLs might be difficult to copy and paste into your browser, so an easier method might be to search "ucsb cylinder" which ought to bring you to the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project homepage and you can search on "post" which turns these recordings up number 5 and 6 on the list. The files can be streamed or downloaded as WAV or MP3. This is all public domain material, trust me. I notice that one version has the date 1914 and I am pretty sure that this cannot be an accurate date of recording; possibly it refers to issue date. The Edison release announcement date is beyond question and I don't see much likelihood that these five players went back to the recording horn a second time to record the same piece 4 years after the first session. I also have a Columbia 12" 78 disc of the NY Liederkranz with Waldhornquartett doing the Mendelssohn Jaeger's Abscheid, but this dates from March 1926, or thereabouts. The playing on these recordings is amazing to hear, despite the sonic restrictions of recording and playback. A real time machine experience. I'd love to hear the recordings that Hans talks of in his message. Peter Hirsch >date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:57:57 +0100 >from: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >subject: Re: [Hornlist] 100 year old recording > >Hello all, I own a recording of "Die Post im Walde" (The Postman in the forest) with the Stiegler Quartett & Adolf >Stiegler playing cornet, recorded around 1900, "Farewell to the forest" by Mendelssohn, also with the Stiegler >quartet. They are on one-sided recordings, also marked 555 + xxx (copies) evidence copy. Bruno Hoyer & Gustav Kaleve >playing the Serenade for Flute & Horn by Emil Titl and Schumanns "Traeumerei" on the same record, played by Bruno >Hoyer - with a big "nerve" vibrato. This record is recorded a bit later (around 1910-15: still royal chamber >musicians) > >How do they sound: scratchy but lovely. > >But their sound cannot be compared with todays sound, as the microphones (very simple devices) were very poor that >time. > >Greetings > >Hans _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
