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Steerhorn

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The steerhorn (German: stierhorn, also known in English as a cowhorn or bullhorn) is an extremely long medieval bugle horn. The instrument could be as much as 3 feet long.[1] It was used from "antiquity" into the middle ages.[1] The instrument has been used both orchestrally and in war.

Description

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The steerhorn is an extremely long medieval bugle horn, also known as a cowhorn or bullhorn. The steerhorn has a straight tube with an exact conical bore and no bell flare.

Use

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The steerhorn has been used both orchestrally and in war. The instrument is used in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen,[1] as the score requires one steerhorn in Die Walküre and four in Götterdämmerung. For Der Ring des Nibelungen, a modern substitution was created, using a set of three brass tubes.[1] Today, many orchestras substitute the trombone or bass trombone. For Georg Solti's 1958–1965 Ring recordings a set of the instruments was specially made, as American soldiers had carried off Bayreuth's steerhorns after the end of World War II.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Marcuse, Sibyl (1964). "Cowhorn". Musical instruments; a comprehensive dictionary. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. p. 132.
  2. ^ "The Golden Ring / Solti, Vienna Philharmonic". ArkivMusic. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2009-04-11.