New Wine in an Old Bottle

New Wine in an Old Bottle

Mark Papworth (natural horn) Amanda Millar (piano, cello)

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Mark Papworth, natural horn, and Amanda Millar, piano and cello, present New Wine in an Old Bottle, a CD of new works for natural horn by Australian composer Thomas McConochie. These sonatas are written in a neo-classical style that harks back to the golden era of the pre-valve natural horn during the time of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

The natural horn descended from the hunting horn and was the direct predecessor to the modern day French Horn. The hunting horn found its way into the orchestra during the baroque period, and around the 1740s horn players began to experiment with using their hand in the bell to obtain all the notes of the scale. This led to a codified system during the classical period and was the instrument Mozart wrote all his horn concerti for.

After valves were invented in the 1820s, the natural horn gradually faded out over the next 60 years. With the renewed interest in historical performance practice techniques, the natural horn has been “rediscovered” and more and more horn players are beginning to learn the old techniques.

Modern day composers have also begun to appreciate the possibilities associated with writing for the natural horn, and there is a growing interest in writing new works for it. Thomas McConochie is one such composer that has a strong interest in composing for the natural horn. This is a CD of new works that have been specifically written for the natural horn.

Track Listing

Move Records 1CD
MCD632