Beethoven, L. - Seven Bagatelles for Two Alphorns

after the "Sieben Bagatellen" for piano op.33

From now on
robbed of her orchestral routine by a little virus and forced to make music at a distance and in the open air,
Lauren Whitehead, horn player in the symphonic orchestra of the
Landestheater Detmold, has used the isolation to herself
to be inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven and used his seven bagatelles for
piano, op. 33 as a template for seven small alphorn duos.
The different characters and the shape of the originals have
been preserved - even if the length of the pieces
has been shortened significantly in favor of playability. Some motifs of the bagatelles left
transferred directly to the alphorn, others had to be slightly changed
and adapted to the natural tone series.
While the bagatelles No. 5 and No. 7 represent a real
sporting challenge for alphorn players , for the bagatelles No.
3 and No. 6 an
alternation of the voices in the repetitions is advisable to distribute the effort more evenly . All pieces are of
course also suitable for performance on parforce or natural horns.
Playable in pairs and outdoors, the duos offer the
opportunity to give the master
a special reference in his jubilee year for his 250th birthday in times of low concerts like these .
Preface
Ulrike Strothmann Detmold, April 30th, 2020