Program Note
I’ve always appreciated the intricacies and possibilities of the natural horn, and jumped at the chance to compose a short work for the extraordinary natural horn specialist Isaac Shieh. Loud Ciphers is structured as a series of canonic builds and decays, in combination with their rhythmic analogues, diminutions and augmentations. These dichotomies are applied to two types of material: a chattering, insistent stream of repeated notes interrupted by unpredictable accents, and a freer, layered chorale of arch-shaped horn calls.
Performance Note
Loud Ciphers was written specifically for valveless natural horns, pitched in G, E, D, and C. The shifts in tone color resulting from shifting hand positions inside the horn’s bell are an important part of the piece, and should be taken into account when performing it on modern valved horns.
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Loud Ciphers score & parts, print edition
Loud Ciphers score & parts, PDF edition
36 pages, 9×12 format. Includes full scores and parts for natural horns and horns in F.
