In an orchestra, the clarinet subdivision before the horn entrance at the opening of the Pastoral's 5th movement makes it easy to lock into the tempo; however, in an audition you need to establish the tempo on your own. Unlike the 3rd movement, this passage benefits from a slightly forward-flowing character, and given the horn's inherent difficulty with accuracy, creating music within a natural flow is more convincing than being overly rigid. The key points are: how you handle the length of slurred staccato notes, how you apply sforzando, and how you insert a small "space" at barline crossings to convey the feeling of strings waiting. Keep the tempo framework intact while using your breathing to create "musical timing."
- In an audition, without the clarinet's rhythmic subdivision, the horn must create the tempo independently. However, a naturally flowing tempo sense is preferable to being overly rigid -- it helps stabilize pitch accuracy and sounds more musical. Start by aiming to maintain a steady pulse without the rhythm falling apart while preserving the sense of "flow."
- Slurred staccato should not be mechanically uniform; there is room to vary the note lengths slightly for expressive range. Where slurs are written, add a slight swing feel; where there are no slurs, articulate clearly and distinctly. Creating this contrast brings the phrase to life.
- Sforzando is not just about volume -- project presence through the speed of the attack and the "core" of the sound. Rather than blasting, change the quality of the attack while maintaining the horn's resonance, and the musical intent becomes clear within an orchestral context.
- Creating a subtle "pause" at barline crossings conveys the feeling of the strings waiting and the conductor's breath. Rather than playing straight through as written, creating space at the barline gives the impression of someone who "knows the orchestra." Exaggerate this within reason.
Create an "Orchestral Quality" Through Articulation Contrast
The difficulty of this excerpt lies in the fact that simply hitting the notes correctly looks like "someone who practiced" but conveys insufficient musical information. The contrast between slurred staccato and non-slurred passages, the quality of the sforzando, and how you handle barline crossings -- these three elements show where each note is "heading." In particular, the moment you move from the last note into the next phrase benefits from creating a small space within the flow, conveying the orchestra's collective breathing. If you can create "space" without losing the pulse, that sense of musical ease becomes a powerful statement. In practice, keep counting internally so the pulse continues even when you insert pauses. When expression is added while maintaining tempo, it instantly becomes the "language of the orchestra."
Practice Steps
- 1. First, play through the passage at a steady tempo exactly as written to establish a baseline where the pulse does not break down.
- 2. Differentiate between slurred staccato and non-slurred passages, practicing until the differences in length and attack are audible.
- 3. Apply sforzando through "core" rather than volume, finding a balance that does not crush the resonance.
- 4. Introduce small pauses at barline crossings, refining the passage so that breathing is visible without losing the pulse.
Summary
The opening of the Pastoral's 5th movement is an excerpt where the horn can demonstrate "orchestral awareness." Allow the tempo to flow within a natural range while shaping the music through slurred staccato contrast, sforzando quality, and barline pauses. If you can handle "space" without losing the pulse, a persuasiveness emerges that accuracy alone cannot achieve. Finally, check your recording to confirm that the difference between slurred and non-slurred passages and the sforzando are audible. As a finishing touch, verify that the space at barline crossings sounds like "breathing" rather than "dragging." In an audition, this "quality of breathing" communicates as experience.
Video Information
- Title: Orchestral Excerpts for Horn (Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, 5th Movement): Shaping Music with Slurred Staccato and "Space"
- Instrument: horn
- Level: Beginner
