Tenor horn

For the German "Tenorhorn", see Baritone horn.

"Althorn" redirects here. For the village in Essex, see Althorne.

The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, sometimes E♭ horn; Althorn in Germany) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E♭. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flugelhorn and euphonium, and normally uses a deep, cornet-like mouthpiece.

Tenor horn

Yamaha tenor horn in E♭
Brass instrument
Other names	alto horn, peck horn (American English); German: Althorn; French: saxhorn alto, saxhorn ténor, pichote; Italian: flicorno contralto, genis; Spanish: trompa alto, onnoven; saxor, charcheta (Mexico)
Classification	Wind Brass Saxhorn
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	423.232 (Valved lip-reed aerophone with moderately conical bore)
Playing range
The tessitura for E♭ tenor horn is A2 to E♭5. Notated in treble clef sounding a major sixth lower than written.[1]
Related instruments
Saxhorn Flugelhorn Baritone horn French horn Mellophone Cornet

It is most commonly used in British brass bands and Mexican banda music, whereas the French horn tends to take the corresponding parts in concert bands and orchestras. It is occasionally used as an alternative to the French horn in concert bands.

History

Tenor saxhorn by Adolphe Sax, 1855, top; Althorn by Wahl, c. 1850–1870; Althorn in oval form, c. 1900 by Glier (University of Edinburgh; Scenkonstmuseet, Stockholm; Musikinstrumentenmuseum, Berlin)

The instrument known today as the tenor or alto horn was derived from members of the saxhorn and saxotromba families of instruments, developed in the 1840s by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. In Prussia, early valved instruments derived from bugles called Althorns, with similar pitch and bore profile, were already in use by the late 1820s.^[2]

Surviving E♭ alto instruments by Sax all have inner diameters described in the saxotromba patent, which describes a family of instruments, although only the E♭ alto (sometimes designated ténor) and B♭ baryton were ever built.^[3] The modern instrument has a larger diameter bore, resembling Sax's specification of the saxhorn more closely than the saxotromba.

In central and eastern Europe, the instrument derived from the Althorn, which was built like a large flugelhorn, with the bell pointing forward. Later, rotary valves were adopted, and an oval upright form was developed by the Austro-Hungarian maker Václav František Červený in the late 19th century, based on his Kaiser family of instruments.^[4]

During the American Civil War in the 1860s, "over-the-shoulder" (OTS) saxhorns, including an E♭ tenor horn size, were built in large numbers in the United States. These were made for military bands, with the bell pointing backwards over the player's shoulder, so that soldiers marching behind the band could more easily hear the music.^[5] In New Orleans in the early 20th century, the tenor horn was used in Dixieland jazz bands, including those of Papa Jack Laine.^[6]

In mid-19th century Mexico, small brass and wind bands known as bandas became popular in rural and urban areas. Different regions adopted instruments from the military bands of European colonists, and music from German immigrants, particularly along the Pacific coast. By the time of the Mexican Revolution (1910–20), Sinaloan bandas populares (popular bands) had standardized on using the tenor horn in the ensemble, along with trumpets, trombones, and tubas or sousaphones.^[7]

The alto horn became colloquially known as the "peck horn" in America, as the player "pecks away at" the off-beats that were often assigned to the instrument in marches and band arrangements.^[8][6] This name is mentioned in the 1957 Broadway musical, The Music Man.^[9] In the 1970s, King produced an instrument called the "altonium", keyed in F with a French horn mouthpiece.^[10] In their 1971 catalog, King produced two models: the 1147 upright model, and 1148 with the bell facing forward.^[11] Soon after, the tenor horn was entirely replaced with bell-forward forms of the mellophone in American marching bands and drum and bugle corps.^[8]

Construction

The modern tenor horn, found in British brass bands, is pitched in E♭ and changed little from the original saxhorn ténor. It has an upward-pointing bell and three Périnet piston valves. The bore is moderately conical, like that of the cornet or baritone horn, but not as wide as that of the flugelhorn or euphonium. It uses a small mouthpiece with a diameter slightly larger than a cornet or flugelhorn mouthpiece, and usually with a deeper, more funnel-shaped cup. This combination of bore and mouthpiece dampen the higher frequency partials to produce a mellow, rounded timbre compared to cylindrical bore instruments at the same pitch.^[12][13] There are two variants, one with the beginning of the bell looping over the top of the valves, and the other looping below the valves.

Modern manufacturers, tracking the late 20th century trend of increased bore sizes in band and orchestra brass instruments,^[14] build tenor horns with more power and projection than earlier instruments, whilst preserving their characteristic mellow tone, built mainly by Besson, Yamaha, and Geneva.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the instrument is called the Althorn and has rotary valves and usually an oval upright form, similar to the larger B♭ Tenorhorn.^[15] These are made by Miraphone, Amati, Červený, B&S, and others.

Performance

The standard instrumentation of the British brass band has three tenor horn parts: solo, first, and second. The section usually plays as part of the alto and tenor lines in the middle of the band, with the solo horn part having occasional solo passages. Historically, the tenor horn has gained little recognition as a solo instrument in its own right. This has been gradually improving since the late 20th century.^[6] The instrument's timbre, with a relatively soft attack and mellow sound, aids it in its ability to blend into the overall band sound.^[8]

Range

Range of a three-valve E♭ tenor horn

The nominal range of the tenor horn (expressed in concert pitch) is from A₂ an octave and a minor third below middle C to E♭₅ an octave and a minor third above middle C, although experienced players can reach higher than this. Since the tenor horn is a whole-bore brass instrument, the fundamental pitches, or pedal tones, are available from E♭₂ to as low as A₁ but are seldom called for in band parts or solo repertoire.

Notation

Tenor horn parts are written in treble clef as a transposing instrument in E♭ a major sixth above concert pitch. The tenor horn's written middle C (C₄) sounds the E♭₃ below middle C.^[16]

Players

Kate Westbrook playing the tenor horn

The tenor horn as a serious solo instrument was first entertained in the 1970s by Gordon Higginbottom, a horn player with Black Dyke Mills. Brass band composers began writing pieces for him, culminating in his 1978 performance of Eric Ball's September Fantasy in the Royal Albert Hall. In 1996 Sheona White, horn player in the Yorkshire Building Society Band, won the BBC Radio 2 Young Musician Award.^[6] She has since made recordings of most of the band solo repertoire, including the tenor horn concerto by Derek Bourgeois, and newly commissioned works in 2023 for tenor horn and string orchestra.^[17]

Welsh tenor horn soloist Owen Farr, professor of tenor horn at the Royal Northern College of Music, has tutored several young musicians, including the German hornist Anabel Voigt, who has recorded arrangements (including the Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2) and new works for tenor horn with piano, strings, and brass band.^[18][19] Flemish tenor horn virtuoso Tim De Maeseneer has commissioned and recorded concertos for tenor horn by Jan van der Roost, Thierry Deleruyelle, and Edward Gregson.^[20]

In jazz, tenor horn is sometimes used by trumpeters as a doubling instrument, and was played by Humphrey Lyttelton and Mercer Ellington. British jazz musician and composer Django Bates performs mainly on tenor horn.^[6] The English singer and painter Kate Westbrook also plays tenor horn, collaborating and recording with her husband Mike Westbrook's various ensembles including The Orckestra (1977–78) and The Village Band since the early 2000s.^[21]

Repertoire

The tenor horn has not appeared in the symphony orchestra, where its place is taken by the French horn. It is a fixture of brass bands in Britain and the Commonwealth, and sometimes used in concert bands as a replacement for the French horn. Publishers of concert band music often provide the French horn parts transposed into E♭ for the tenor horn.

The tenor horn is also used in banda music in Mexico and Latin America, where it is called the saxor or charcheta.^[7] The Althorn in central and eastern Europe is used mainly in Blasmusik and Alpine folk music.

In chamber music, the standard quartet in brass bands is two cornets, tenor horn, and euphonium. In Russia the brass quartet in the late 19th century was two cornets, althorn, and tenorhorn (baritone), although Russian and Soviet composers after 1890 often substituted a trombone for the lowest part.^[6]

Notable pieces of solo repertoire:

• Sonata for Altorn and Piano (1943)—Paul Hindemith.
• Sonata for E♭ Horn and Piano, op. 75—John Golland
• September Fantasy (1977)—Eric Ball
• Masquerade for Tenor Horn and Brass Band (1985)—Philip Sparke
• Concertino for Tenor Horn (1989)—Gareth Wood
• A Hornting We Will Go for Tenor Horn and Piano, op. 151 (1997)—Derek Bourgeois
• Concerto for E♭ Tenor Horn and Brass Band, op. 194 (2003)—Derek Bourgeois
• Aria for Tenor Horn and Brass Band (2003)—Philip Sparke
• Concerto for E♭ Tenor Horn (2004)—Elgar Howarth
• Fantasie Concertante (2004)—Philip Wilby
• Rhapsody for E♭ Tenor Horn and Piano, op. 76 (2007)—Geert Callaert, dedicated to Tim De Maeseneer
• Capricorno for Tenor Horn and Brass Band (2009)—Philip Sparke
• Sonata for Tenor Horn and Piano, op. 304 (2011)—Derek Bourgeois
• Rajaz, Concerto for Tenor Horn and Chamber Ensemble (2013)—Idin Samimi Mofakham
• Sunday in the Park for Tenor Horn and Brass Band (2016)—Philip Sparke
• Birth of Time Echoes for Tenor Horn and Brass Band (2019)—Jan De Maeseneer
• Essay, Concerto for E♭ Horn and Strings (2023)—Jeffrey Kaufman
• Tenor Horn Concerto (2024)—Jan Van der Roost
• Three Gods, Tenor Horn Concerto (2024)—Edward Gregson