Caccia, for solo horn

by Joseph D. Johnson

$10

"​When the inspiration for Caccia first arose, I knew that I wanted to create a piece that is fun to play. In Italian, the word “caccia” translates to “hunt” or “hunting,” which I felt adequately fit the mood of the piece. I originally intended for this to be a rondo, similar to Cooke’s Rondo in B-flat, but the music doesn’t necessarily fit the rondo form. It is essentially composed in free form, but loosely follows a ternary structure. There are distinct A, B, and C sections with some transitional material between B and C. This work offers some challenges in terms of technical facility, hand-stopping technique, and low horn playing, but it should be enjoyable to work through. The tempo is flexible, but it needs to have energy, so I wouldn’t slow the piece down too much. 

There are a few spots in the music where a player may take a little bit of time, whether it’s just a brief pause or taking more time to empty water. The end of m. 22 is the first such pause. This is the end of the introductory material, or A section. A brief pause at m. 23 should be appropriate before continuing to the B section. The material from mm. 24-67 comprises the largest continuous section of music. This B section contains modulations, time signature changes, and the development of different themes. A longer pause to empty may be taken at m. 68, because the next section at m. 69 is a complete change in style. Since this next section is in bass clef, one may take time to quickly empty or “reset” at m. 85. This brief pause is merely meant to separate this section from the return of the original melodic content."  -  Joseph Johnson