Elegia for Solo Horn by Herman Baumann.
Publisher - Edition Bote Et Bock (Boosey and Hawkes)
The unaccompanied natural horn moves through various stages of grief: sadness, increasing frustration, anger, resignation, and acceptance of loss. The performer is allowed to choose the crook that suits them for the piece, and I find E-flat makes the best compromise between darkness of tone and stuffiness of longer tubing. The range is chromatic from B-flat to C'', with extensions down to C, and there are no apologies for the color changes, in fact, they heighten the progression of emotions as a mix of open and stopped sounds give way to loud, open notes as the anger peaks. The mix of colors gives the piece a vocal, wordless quality, that has made it one of the more popular natural horn pieces on recitals.
