Dear Howard, Many, many thanks for the info on Handel. Does 'Va tacito' from Giulio Cesare' also count as an example of horn writing? The trouble is, that when I was doing post-grad work at Oxford with Egon Wellesz, they never told you that kind of thing, what a horn sounds like, etc. So even after all these years I am never sure what's what, whether it's a flute, a double bass, or a horn. I have always assumed that in the above-mentioned song the obligato part was a sort of ancient saxophone. And in another musical play by Handel, there's a bit which, in the light of what you say, must also have at least one horn in it. It's the one where this chap dresses up as a woman and goes to rescue his wife from prison, something like that, thought I forget the details. But the hero/heoine also has a big song-like thing, sadly sung in what I take to be German, goodness knows why. I think it's called 'Fidelio', though I do wonder about that, as the name sounds like Fido, which is a pet name for a dog over here in the UK. But then perhaps I'm thinking of those sweet dog films again and muddling them up. Anyway, thanks very much for the Handel information, though he doesn't actually seem to have written any horn concerti as such does he? Perhaps he simply wasn't up to it. Few people are, and certainly not those who spend about 50 years of their life in the UK. Cheers, and a happy new year
Tom --
