Orchestral hand horn, B-flat alto to B-flat basso

Vernacular Name

Cor Solo

Date1790 ca.

Place MadeParis, France, Europe

Serial No.none

SignedStamped on bell garland: [fleur de lis garland] FAIT A PARIS PAR RAOUX SEUL ORDINAIRE / DU ROY PLACE DU LOUVRE [fleur de lis garland]
MarkingsStamped on fixed leadpipe: [fleur de lis] 2 [fleur de lis]
Stamped on B-flat alto invention crook: B [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on A invention crook: A [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on G invention crook: G [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on F invention crook: F [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on E invention crook: E [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on E-flat invention crook: DIS [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on D invention crook: D [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on C invention crook: C [fleur de lis] 2
Stamped on B-flat invention crook: B [fleur de lis] 2
DescriptionBrass; body in two-and-a-half coils; fixed leadpipe; crossed tubing for central tuning slide (serving as receiver for invention crooks); garland with straight upper edge and stamped fleur de lis decoration; Saxon rim with iron wire insert; bell with tab seam and two gussets.

Invention crooks from B-flat alto to G bypassing fixed leadpipe, with single coil.
Invention crooks from F to B-flat basso using fixed leadpipe; invention crook for F: U-shaped; invention crooks for E, E-flat/D-sharp, and D: one coil; invention crooks for C and B-flat basso: two coils.

Original wooden box with green cloth fitting for individual compartments.

The cor solo was developed in 1781 by the Parisian maker Joseph Raoux in collaboration with the hornist Carl Türrschmidt. It is characterized by a fixed mouthpipe and circle-shaped central crooks with crossed tubing. This particular cor solo (or orchestral hand horn) by Joseph Raoux or his son Lucien-Joseph is a typical example of the new design. In addition to the conventional central crooks, it has three crooks that bypass the leadpipe for higher tunings. The invention crooks have brass tags with key stamps in German nomenclature on them, indicating that this horn was made for a German customer. All crooks have the stamp "2" on them, indicating that it was the second horn of a pair, playing the lower horn parts.
DimensionsHeight: 449 mm
Bore diameter (initial): 8.25 mm
Bell diameter: 290 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1987 from Tony Bingham, London, England.
Published ReferencesKlaus, Sabine Katharina. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 2: Ways to Expand the Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2013), pp. 142.

Larson, André P. Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848. Exhibition catalog, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 12-November 2, 2003 (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum 2003), p. 56.

Larson, André P. Beethoven: Musical Treasures from The Age of Revolution and Romance. Exhibition catalog, Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, California, January 30-March 21, 1999 (Santa Ana, CA: The Bowers Museum, 1999), p. 16.

Larson, André P. Amadeus: His Music and the Instruments of Eighteenth-century Vienna. Exhibition catalog, Dahl Fine Arts Center, Rapid City, South Dakota, February 4-March 2, 1990 (Vermillion, SD: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1990), p. 18.

Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1987

Object number04082

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