Higgins: Horn Concerto Study Score

Having been a horn player my whole life, it's perhaps surprising it has taken me so long to write a piece for my instrument. But in my 40th year I felt finally ready to write a horn concerto. When thinking about this piece I went back to my roots. I grew up surrounded by trees in the Forest of Dean, at the borderland between England and Wales, and have been fascinated by woodlands ever since. Though abstract, this piece - in three movements - is an exploration of forests and trees and the undergrowth. The first movement entitled Understorey (pertaining to life on the forest floor) begins slowly in the key of E? - a nod to the opening of the Ring Cycle's evocation of nature; but also a reference to some of the most famous horn concertos by Strauss and Mozart. The second movement Overstorey (life in the canopy) begins 'like falling leaves' and features expressive horn solos against sparse orchestration. The third and final movement is entitled Mycelium Rondo (the network of fungal hyphae - affectionately known as the Wood Wide Web - that connects all forest plant life). Like all good horn concertos - and as the title suggests - this movement takes the form of a rondo. © Gavin Higgins