Bicinia for two horns (Neuheit Horn)

Bicinia for two horns (Neuheit Horn) The German music theorist Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721-1783) is primarily renowned for his role as the collector and publisher of numerous organ works by his teacher Johann Sebastian Bach. His own collection, Vermischte Musikalien (Berlin, 1768), includes three Bicinia for two trumpets and six for two horns. Bicinia are didactical duets in a contrapuntal style. While Kirnberger’s style is strongly indebted to Bach and was considered old-fashioned in his day, his knowledge and extensive use of the then new hand horn technique, on the other hand, was ultramodern for his time. In terms of range, the Bicinia can be compared to Mozart’s horn duets KV 487. Kirnberger prescribes two horns in E-flat, but due to the extremely high tones in the first horn part, the Bicinia could be played in lower transpositions as well. In the world of horn and brass ensemble music from the 18th and 19th centuries, original high-quality ensemble repertoire appears to be scarce. Additionally, students and advanced amateurs are rarely given the opportunity to perform important Romantic symphonic works by Bruckner, Mahler etc. and Wagners great operas in their original versions. Orchestral part studies with only the original parts, and above all, a lot of rest are not always inspiring. For this reason, throughout his extensive career as a horn pedagogue, Herman Jeurissen wrote a considerable number of arrangements. These include shorter compositions by the great masters, allowing for an accessible introduction to their style and writing.