24 Horn Trios, Op. 82 is a collection of horn

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

 trio

Trio (music)

Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...

s composed by Anton Reicha

Anton Reicha

Anton Reicha was a Czech-born, later naturalized French composer. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, Reicha is now best remembered for his substantial early contribution to the wind quintet literature and his role as a teacher – his pupils included Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz...

. The trios are scored for 3 horns

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

 or 2 horns and a bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

. The work was published in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 before 1815 (the exact date of publication is unknown) and is well established in the horn repertoire today.

Reicha was a flautist

Flautist

A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...

 in his youth and composed a large number of works for wind instrument

Wind instrument

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...

s, among which were duos, trios and quartets for wind ensembles. Compositions for several identical instruments were apparently a particular favorite, as witnessed by, for example, flute quartets Op. 12 and Op. 27, or Variations for two flutes Op. 20. The trios of Op. 82 are part of this trend, and also reflect Reicha's interest in pedagogy

Pedagogy

Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....

, as well as his affinity for counterpoint

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

. The collection is divided into four parts, six trios each. Numerous genres and forms are represented: there are canon

Canon (music)

In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...

ic trios and a full-fledged fugue

Fugue

In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....

, a set of variations

Variation (music)

In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...

, dances such as minuet

Minuet

A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...

 and musette

Bal-musette

Bal-musette is a style of French music and dance that first became popular in Paris in the 1880s.Auvergnats settled in large numbers in the 5th, 11th, and 12th districts of Paris during the 19th century, opening cafés and bars where patrons danced the bourrée to the accompaniment of musette de...

, character piece

Character piece

Character piece is a literal translation of the German Charakterstück, a term, not very precisely defined, used for a broad range of 19th century piano music based on a single idea or program...

s and short technical exercises or jokes such as Trio No. 15, subtitled Tritonus, in which the upper voice is restricted to using only the three tones.

List of trios

• 1er Livraison:
  • Trio No. 1, Tempo di Minuet
    Minuet
    A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
    
    to
  • Trio No. 2, Musétte
    Bal-musette
    Bal-musette is a style of French music and dance that first became popular in Paris in the 1880s.Auvergnats settled in large numbers in the 5th, 11th, and 12th districts of Paris during the 19th century, opening cafés and bars where patrons danced the bourrée to the accompaniment of musette de...
    
    . Allegro
  • Trio No. 3, Adagio
  • Trio No. 4, Menuetto. Trio
  • Trio No. 5, Introduction. Adagio. Allegro
  • Trio No. 6, Canon
    Canon (music)
    In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
    
     à 3. Tempo di minuetto
• 2ème Livraison:
  • Trio No. 7, Variations on the air Charmante Gabrielle. Andante. Variations 1-4
  • Trio No. 8, Canon à 2. Andante
  • Trio No. 9, Rondeau
    Rondo
    Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
    
    . Allegro
  • Trio No. 10, Allegro
  • Trio No. 11, Allegro
  • Trio No. 12, Menuetto. Moderato assai. Trio
• 3ème Livraison:
  • Trio No. 13, Allegro
  • Trio No. 14, Menuetto. Allegro assai. Trio
  • Trio No. 15, Tritonus. Allegretto
  • Trio No. 16, Mouvement de March
    March (music)
    A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
    
    e
  • Trio No. 17, Lento. Allegro
  • Trio No. 18, Fugue
    Fugue
    In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
    
    . Allegro
• 4ème Livraison:
  • Trio No. 19, Lento
  • Trio No. 20, Contrepoint double à l'Octave. Allegretto
  • Trio No. 21, Allegro
  • Trio No. 22, Lento sostenuto. Allegro spiritoso
  • Trio No. 23, Menuetto grazioso. Trio
  • Trio No. 24, Finale. Allegro scherzando

Recordings

• Antonín Reicha: Trios for French Horns, Op. 82 (recorded 1988, released 1991). Zdeněk Tylšar, Bedřich Tylšar, Zdeněk Divoký (horns). Supraphon 11 1446-2
• Anton Reicha: 24 Trios pour trois cors, Op. 82 (1999). Deutsche Naturhorn Solisten (horns). DG, catalogue number MDG 605 0864-2

External links

- features sheet music for the complete Op. 82, with parts