DOUGLAS HEDWIG

THE ART OF THE POSTHORN

THE ART OF THE POSTHORN

From Countryside to Concert Hall

DOUGLAS HEDWIG, posthorn
Jorge Parodi Piano

[MS1184]

$14.95

LISTEN
REVIEWS
"...a wonderful recording...Not only is the performance and recording quality excellent, but the CD also includes a very useful booklet discussing the posthorn, its history, and its repertoire...Hedwig is equally comfortable and skilled performing with and without the venting hole [posthorns]...Hedwig's performance radiates music, even through the most challenging registers and passages...he is an excellent posthorn player in every sense...and Jorge Parodi performs his piano reductions masterfully...this CD is a must-own."
International Trumpet Guild Journal - June 2007
“Doug Hedwig's performances are lively and very musical...[the] solos
are played with a grace and lilt that complements the idioms...What
[he] has presented in this CD in not only his work as a performer and
researcher, but a sort of auditory museum exhibit on the practical and
musical uses of the posthorn in the 1800s, presented with the social
context in which it thrived.”
Flora Newberry, Historic Brass Society, Online CD Review, 2008
"...of historic interest...this CD is well-recorded both in the performances and the sound quality...."
The Horn Call - February 2008
"The Art of the Posthorn qualifies primarily as...documentation of a significant European musical tradition that has virtually vanished, and considered as such, it succeeds very well...Trumpeter Douglas Hedwig performs on a variety of original instruments with panache, with a broader expressive range than might have been thought possible on instruments of such limited technical possibilities. Pianist Jorge Parodi capably accompanies him in pieces by Mozart, Michael Haydn and Louis Spohr, among others...an intriguing and attractively produced document of a nearly forgotten musical tradition."
Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide - October 2007
"Albert Hiller’s Das grosse Buch vom Posthorn successfully occupies the posthorn niche on the brasswind bookshelf. This is possibly why Hedwig, who is himself an acknowledged scholar of signalling instruments and their repertoire, has issued this stand-alone CD: it makes a perfect companion to Hiller‘s book. Even without the book, however, Hedwig’s extensive sleeve notes give ample context to the recordings. Hedwig is clearly a master of extracting real music from the rather limited resources of the posthorn family."
  Arnold Myers, Director
Edinburgh University Collection of Musical Instruments
PROGRAM NOTES
Douglas Hedwig was the first trumpeter to be awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Juilliard School, and is presently Professor of Trumpet and Director of Brass Instrument Studies at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York (CUNY). Prior to accepting his appointment at CUNY, he was a faculty member at The Juilliard School, where he lectured on music history. He was Stage-Trumpeter and an Associate Member of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1973-2000, and as a member of the Mexico City Philharmonic, performed in virtually every major concert hall in North America. He has recorded more than 50 LPs and CDs on major labels in virtually all musical idioms, including the Grammy Award-Winning recording of Gershwin’s "Porgy & Bess." As Music Director of the Metropolitan Brass Quartet, he recorded the album, "Discoveries; Five Centuries for Four Brass," toured extensively, and oversaw the commissioning and premiere of many new works by prominent American composers. He co-created and served as Executive Director of Orvieto Musica, an international chamber music workshop in Italy, and was recipient of a Telly Award for his work as Executive Producer and Music Director of the TV documentary, "Fanfare." From 1976 to 2004, he was a member and soloist with the world-renowned Goldman Band in New York City, and is currently a member of the Federal City Brass Band, a touring and recording ensemble specializing in the performance of 19th century American music on original instruments. Dr. Hedwig serves on the Board of Advisors of The Historic Brass Society, and was Civilian Bugler for the New York City Fire Department.

Jorge Parodi, pianist, has been a faculty member at The Juilliard School since 1998, and is an adjunct professor at New York University. As a soloist and chamber musician, Jorge Parodi has performed throughout the United States, Argentina, Canada, Italy, Israel and Japan, and is featured in recordings on Albany Records and Aurophon (Germany). He is Vocal Coach of the Brooklyn College Opera Theater, and serves on the faculties of The International Vocal Arts Institute (Tel Aviv, Nagano and Beijing), IIVA (Chiari, Italy), and V.O.I.C.Experience (directed by Sherrill Milnes).

Throughout much of the western world in the 18th and 19th centuries, the sounds of posthorns, bugles, and signal-trumpets were a regular and meaningful part of people’s everyday lives. Indeed, it is unlikely that the average person could have gone a single day without hearing a horn or trumpet call of some kind, as these instruments were used in horse-drawn coach and steamship travel, in religious services and civic ceremonies, for hunting and horse racing, by firefighters, athletic and bicycle clubs, and in military settings.

However, the most familiar and often-heard calls and tunes were those associated with the postal system and the delivery of the mail, and it was here that signal instruments found their fullest musical development and growth. The importance and prevalence of these "post" horns and the music they produced was such that many composers of art music were inspired to incorporate their signals and songs, or adaptations of them, into their compositions.

PROGRAM