5 songs:
I Zur hohen Jagd (To the high hunt): Sehr lebhaft (Very lively)
II Habet acht! (Be careful): Nicht schnell (not fast)
III Jagdmorgen (Morning of the hunt): Frisch (Brisk)
IV Fruhe (Early morning): Langsam (Slow)
V Bei der Flasche (Drinking song): Frisch (Brisk, vigorous)
Clefs
Treble, bass
Meters
6/8, 3/4, C
Key signatures
3#, 1#, 4#, None
Range
Horn 1: b - a2 (opt. c#3)
Horn 2: e - e2
Horn 3: g# - c#2
Horn 4: d - a1
Horn 5: g# - a2
Horn 6: g# - d2
Horn 7: e - b1
Horn 8: E - a1
Creator's Comments
Performance Notes
Schumann’s Five hunting songs op.137 were written in 1849, and are among a considerable number of vocal works Schumann wrote at that time. They consist of three fast and two slow songs, each one originally asking for a different transposition in the ad. lib. horns (except for the first and last, both are horn in D).
Martinet’s arrangement is in the same key as the original, all his parts however are in F. As the choral and horn parts in the original overlap quite a bit, eight horns are more than to preserve the complete harmonies and voices. They are divided into two sections of four each, usually one for the choir and the other for the quartet, and they alternate on theme and accompaniment. This also necessitates the independence of each section, which Martinet does in a, for him, unusual fashion by making each section a traditional style quartet (1-2-3-4). As the original horn quartet has the same distribution though, it was probably adapted.
For a couple of hunting songs, this arrangement comes highly recommended.