French horn: The musical instrument that was originally a communication tool
Are you familiar with the French horn? Yes, we are referring to the coiled musical instrument made of brass that has quite a daunting yet melodious sound and is often used in classical orchestra, opera and of course street bands. But did you know that the French horn began as just horn and was a tool used for communication and other purposes? Keep reading to know more about its fascinating backstory.
Hebrew shofar: The precursor to French horn
In the ancient Europe, using real animal horns (product of extensive hunting) that were hollowed out of the marrow of horned animals as a communication tool was pretty common. Why? Because these horns were capable of making loud sounds and were perfect to make announcements, before the start of wars, feasts and celebrations. They were also used as a way of warning against potential enemies and threats. One of the best examples of a horn would be the Hebrew shofar, that was made out of a ram’s (male sheep) horn and resembled a present-day trumpet. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, two related Jewish New Year celebrations often begun with the sound of the Hebrew shofar.
Transition to a musical instrument
Okay, so when did a communication tool become a musical instrument? Well, that would be in the 16th century in high society operas. However, crediting it to one person would be unfair. Several opera musicians in Italy realised that a musical instrument can be made in the shape of an animal horn using brass. But the challenge was adjusting the notes and tones. To resolve this, brass horns of different sizes with different sounds were introduced at first and players were asked to switch between them during a performance. Although it did offer variant notes, it was tedious for the ones playing.
The first ever French ‘hunting’ horn
In the 17th century, two inventors, one of Polish origin and another, a German, modified the brass horn. Heinrich Stoelzel, who was a band member in a Polish town, customised rotary valves for the horn to help change notes. On the other hand, Friedrich Bluhmel, a miner by profession who often played trumpet during his free time in Waldenburg, a German town, chanced upon a horn and gave it an enhanced bell end that could lower or enhance the volume. Together, this became the first ever French ‘hunting’ horn.
Okay, but why French? Because something similar called “cor de chasse” (horn for hunting) was extensively used by the French during hunting for signals. But it was more of a bugle and had no valves, no curves (only spirals) and only un-harmonic pitches.
The modern-day double French horn
What’s interesting is that, the first French horn was a monotone instrument that was only upgraded into multi-tones when in 1753, a German musician called Hampel included movable slides (crooks) of various lengths into it that allowed various keynotes to be played. Later, in the early 1800s, two other Germans named Edmund Gumpert and Fritz Kruspe joined hands to invent modern-day double French horns.