Louis-François Dauprat : Musique pour cor - Fliri, Brunner

Description

Louis-François Dauprat (1781-1868) was a French hornist, horn teacher and composer active in Paris. As a child, he was a chorister at Notre-Dame Cathedral and, from 1794, studied the bass horn with Philip Kenn, first at the National Institute of Music, then in the Conservatory's first horn class. After a tour of Italy and Egypt with various musical ensembles between 1799 and 1801, he played at the Théâtre Montansier from 1801 to 1806. Dauprat then decided to resume his studies at the Conservatory, this time in harmony and composition. He also studied with Anton Reicha, who composed the horn parts of his wind quintets especially for him. Dauprat can be considered the pioneer of the Parisian horn tradition. His compositions oscillate stylistically between the Classical and Romantic periods. Besides his operas and symphonies, he composed a whole series of works for solo horn: duos, trios, quartets, sextets, horn and string quartet, and many others. These works, now almost completely forgotten, constitute precious treasures of early Romantic chamber music, not only for their immense virtuosity, but also for the exceptional singing qualities of the horn parts. Dauprat brought the virtuosity of horn playing to an unprecedented level. This is particularly evident in the works for horn and piano (Solo de Cor op. 11 no. 3, Sonata op. 2), as well as in the Duo (op. 13 no. 6). Besides the sonata form, the key of F major and the powerful initial motif, Dauprat's sonata shares another similarity with Beethoven's famous horn sonata (1800, op. 17): the piano part is also highly virtuosic, acting as a perfect partner.