For concerts and competitions we play horns in Eb only. At this point within our ensemble we were playing four different types of horns made by a variety of manufacturers. We decided it was time we had instruments from a single manufacturer. Top-end German horns were priced very highly and did not entirely satisfy the list of requirements we had drawn up based on our experience to date.
Since most members of Corni di Egra e.V. are active hunters and not professional musicians, we need instruments that remain easy to play throughout their register, and have clear intonation and precisely positioned notes. Closed tones should be easy to play, to create the traditional Central European sound. Our instruments should be shaped to fit into standard horn cases and have the type of bell that is compatible with this playing technique. We need valved horns in Eb/Bb, similar to the standard large parforce hunting horns used primarily in German-speaking countries. The instruments should be convenient to use and the surface finish of the horn should be low maintenance.
After seeing reproductions of invention horns by Jiracek from the 18th and 19th centuries, we decided to try to order custom-made compact parforce horns in Eb/Bb from Jiracek & Sons. We had confidence in the manufacturer’s abilities to produce instruments tailored to our requirements. Milan Jiráček responded positively to our enquiries:
“To build a good musical instrument is not easy. Your requirements are also quite specific. To our knowledge, similar instruments are not produced on a larger scale anywhere in the world. This is no coincidence; manufacturers appreciate that a whole range of issues must be resolved.
Some similar horns were produced many years ago by Lídl (Brno-based instrument maker) , and one-off instruments are made by small manufacturers from time to time. However we have no intention of copying these since we use our own designs. You are essentially commissioning a French horn, or at least by Czech standards this would not be a hunting horn (although internationally it would fall into that category).
The individual curved components will be hand-made from lead. We will make use of our experience in German horn production, especially when manufacturing the mouthpiece tubes – for now, the most suitable solution seems to be the mouthpiece tube no. 46 with a typical German sound in combination with its own mechanism and a Central European style Bohemia bell. It must be built in such a way that it can be pitched to both Eb and Bb, and each side can be tuned separately. Aesthetics are also important. The instrument needs to look good; usually then it will play well.”
We agreed with this assessment. The initial prototype of a new hunting instrument saw the light of day in mid-August 2008. After careful testing, and a few issues that were promptly resolved by the manufacturer, production began on the new Model 128 parforce horn in Eb/Bb (compact version).
