Ad99998 06 101a/eng
Die Russische Horn-Musik
Beschreibungstext eng
Misc. Subj. CXXXr. Vol. FL No. 99., RUSSIAN HORN-MUSIK., This Musick, invented in Russia in 1750, by a native Bohemian, called Maresch, has such a dignity, grandour, sweetness and plenitude of sounds, as are not to be found in any Musick whatever, even not in the organs, to which, however, it bears the greatest resemblance. This Musick being the more extraordinary because every horn has but one tone, a brief description of it will prove much interesting both to connoisseurs of Musick and to those, who are strangers to it., The annexed table gives an intuitive representation of it. The region exhibits a forest where one sees the imperial corps of russian hunters, divided in four files, and placed on an eminence, with their hunting-horns. In the first file stands the treble, in the second the counter-tenor, in the third the tenor, and in the h most the bass., Every one holds in his hand a little musick-book, upon which he is to fix his eyes steadfastly, in order to give the tone in the very nick of time. He therefore is obliged to count exactly all the other sounds, till it comes to his turn to wind the horn. His whole art, which surely is not easy in allegros and trills, contists in making just stops. In the other hand he has the brazen or copper-horn. In the front, before the treble, or in the first file, stands the Master of the musical chapel, who has placed the partition before him, on a desk. He keeps in his hand a little staff, with which he not only beats the time, but also every fourth., The basses, on account of their bigness, rest on little pedestals, constructed for that purpose., The Horn-Musick is composed of about forty persons, every one of whom has one horn or two. Those horns, that give the lowest bass-tones, have 5 in 7 feet in length. This measure diminishes proportionally so that the least ones arrive only to the length of one foot., There is nothing more touching than to hear a choral-song, or adagio, performed on this instrument; there is nothing more merry than to behold an allegro blown there-upon, when a Musician, with two horns is often changing them, in a swift time., Though the instruction of such a Virtuoso requires an extraordinary patience yet the Russians, who generally have great talents for Musick, very soon become accustomed to observe the time.
