The "Intermezzo" from Cavalleria rusticana is Pietro Mascagni's best known individual work (and an all time classical favourite).An opera in once act to a libretto by Targioni-Tozzetti and Measci, Cavalleria rusticana is a tale of love, lust and consequences.
Hollomon's transcription is in the same key as the original (but in horn pitch), F major. This limits the range, and puts most of the work in a convenient tessitura for all players. In harmonic terms, five horns would have been enough to cover all the parts (Hollomon has the 2nd horn double the first for most of the piece), but the additional strength behind the tune again the long notes of the accompaniment are welcome.
Similar to the orchestral version, all the parts are playing non-stop (except for horn 6), which is quite hard. There are no real technical challenges though, so this is a slow, lyrical work that most horn ensembles can play.