Auf dem Strom and the Natural Horn

People by nature try to categorize things and find notable “firsts.” One “first” often given to Schubert, incorrectly, is that Auf dem Strom (1828) is for valved horn and the first such work by a major composer. Actually, it is quite playable on natural horn.

I have had a longer article on this topic posted over at Horn Articles Online for years and years. It is in the section on the early valved horn as actually about two works. The other work is the one for which the good case can be made that it was written with valved horn in mind for one part, Nachtgesang im Walde, D. 913, which is for a quartet of men’s voices (TTBB) and four horns. As I note in the longer article, It was composed in 1827 for an April 22nd benefit concert organized by the Lewy brothers. Performing on the premiere were vocalists Eichberger, Ruprecht, Preisinger and Borschitzky, along with hornists Janatka, Leeser and the Lewy brothers. I find contemporary sources very interesting when available and the performance received the following review in the Theaterzeitung on May first, 1827:

Besides, much pleasure was given by a new composition by our ingenious vocal poet Franz Schubert. He set to music a poem by Johann Gabriel Seidl, ‘Night Song in the Forest’ ['Nachtgesang im Walde'], for four male voices, which he had accompanied by four obbligato horns. The difficulty of this, no doubt, lay in the distribution of effects and in the danger of either letting the vocal parts be drowned or degrading the accompaniment to a superfluous extra. The richly imaginative tone-poet successfully avoided both, and his tone-picture, performed in more suitable surroundings, at a serenade in the open air, should be enchantingly effective.

In short the Lewy brothers were early advocates of the valved horn and the fourth horn part on this work would not be very playable on natural horn. Musical examples may be found in the longer article.

Auf dem Strom is among the best chamber works we have for horn, and as I note in the longer article,

Schubert composed his famous song with horn obbligato, Auf dem Strom, D. 943 (1828) specifically for performance by the young J. R. Lewy [Deutsch, Thematic, 461]. In this work Schubert placed much greater demands upon the instrument. Not only was a much wider individual range called for (although never outside the range of the Cor basse), but the horn writing was also much more melodic. Was Auf dem Strom actually written specifically for the valved horn? This work has been cited as the first work by a major composer for the valved horn (for example, Morley-Pegge, 2nd ed., 106), but no contemporary source indicates that this work was composed specifically for the valved horn.

From there I examine the work further but in short it is actually quite playable on natural horn. Hearing Richard Seraphinoff perform this work on natural horn also drove that point home even further for me. The Lewy brothers may have been advocates and J. R. Lewy may have performed it on valved horn at some point but actually Auf dem Strom is written in such a way that it can be performed effectively on natural horn.