<Music: Performance by Quintigre from the sixth movement.>
Hello, my name is Jason Ayoub, and I am the horn professor at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Today’s video will be on one of the great pieces in the woodwind quintet repertoire. The Chimney of King Rene was an adaptation of music composed by Darius Milhaud for the 1939 film Cavalcade d’amour. This piece is one of his best-known works, and one of the most popular twentieth century pieces for the woodwind quintet.
The piece is a collection of medieval miniatures. The movements are very short, with an alternation between "nonchalant" and very rapid tempi. The shortest movement is under a minute in length, with the longest being just three minutes. This gives the impression of an entire piece, in just one breath, even more so because the musical atmosphere changes little between different movements. In all the suite is just around thirteen minutes.
In this video we will be looking at the third and fifth movements, and in particular the approach and techniques we horn players use to play in the woodwind quintet.
Now I know for me, the single most frustrating thing as a young horn player was being told to play softer in a woodwind quintet. Over the years I have developed a very simple technique that helps me to play a little softer. This technique is a simple as putting more hand in the bell.
As you can see, here is my normal hand position. I use a little bit of a cupped hand, and my finger tips are right about where the ring for the bell is.
In order to have a softer sound, I will take my hand and straighten it out a little bit and cup the thumb in. I will take the hand all the way up to the knuckles in the bell. Now my knuckles are at the ring of the bell. There is quite a bit of hand inside of the bell.
Now there is a two –fold reason I do this. The first is that by adding more hand in the bell, it creates more resistance. This helps us to center the notes particularly in the upper register with more ease. Also because the sound becomes softer it allows me to use a little bit more air, which we know is very important. This adds more security as well. Now, this is not a magic cure for soft playing. We do have to develop soft playing in our embouchure.
One of the great exercises I was given as a student is to practice just air attacks. So I have my students start with a G in the staff and starting the note with the most efficient buzz possible. Now we horn players must remember that our notes always begin with the “P” sound. This is the beginning of “puh.”
(Demonstration)
From there the buzz continues.
(Demonstration)
This is a great exercise to practice just on your own to make sure that you are getting a very efficient starting buzz.
So we take that to the horn and practice a beautiful relaxed air flow and the beginning of the buzz.
(Demonstration)
This is a great exercise to learn control. Play it on every note and learn to control and have the muscle memory for all entrances.
This is a great exercise to use for the beginning of the third movement. The beginning of the third movement is marked mezzo forte. It starts with a C in the staff. You want to come in beautifully and delicately to follow what the oboe player has just given you. You are in an excellent duet with the oboe player with the bassoon in underlying ostinato. You want to be beautifully balanced with the other two players.
Also at the beginning of the third movement you want to make sure you take a large enough breath so that you can make all eight bars without a break.
(Performance by Quintigre)
Now let’s move ahead to measure 17. This is another great example of having super control starting your notes. Let’s take the same exercise we just did and practice starting that D so that you know exactly where to come in for that passage. Also this is a great place to use one of my other favorite techniques which is alternate fingerings. I know that many horn players have a problem slurring from that high E to high F sharp . So instead of playing that F sharp with the second valve, why not play it 1 and 2 on the B flat side? It really helps me to facilitate a much smoother slur. For example:
(Demonstration)
Just by that simple changing of the valves it really helps make the notes smooth.
If we look ahead a few bars you will notice that Milhaud has dropped us into the lower register and makes us play staccato. Many young players do not spend enough time in the lower register. I would spend quality time making sure I know exactly where low F sharp and low E are. I would also practice eighth notes on those two notes very much like pizzicato for string players.
(Demonstration)
Once I have those notes with security then I will practice the F sharp to G sharp interval. I start by slurring that and then adding the staccato.
(Demonstration)
Then I would practice that F sharp to the low E.
(Demonstration)
Then I would put it together.
(Demonstration)
(Performance by Quintigre)
The last thing I would like to look at in this movement are the last four bars. Milhaud has given us a great little line we need to make sure we have impeccable time throughout. The biggest problem with this is the turn on the “and of” one (last half of beat one, measure 36). Make sure that all four notes fit on the “and of” one. Let me play that turn for you slowly, and then up to tempo.
(Demonstration)
(Performance by Quintigre)
<Music: Performance by Quintigre from the sixth movement.>