Földvári Books

Pioneering French Horn Method from the Paris Conservatoire, 1802–1805

Duvernoy, Frédéric

Méthode pour le Cor Suivie de Duo et de Trio pour cet Instrument. Par Frédéric Du Vernoy Membre du Conservatoire de Musique. Prix 15 ff. Gravée par M.me Le Roi. [Plate Number: 8] [Bound with:] Etudes Pour le Cor Faisant Suite à la Méthode et aux premières Etudes du Même Auteur Suivies de trois Sonates avec Accompagnement de Basse par Frederic Duvernoy, Artiste de la Musique partiquliere de Sa Majesté l’Empereur, Cor Solo de l’Academie Impérial ed Musique et Membre du Conservatoire. Oeuvre 23. Prix 12 frs. [Plate Number: 347]

A Paris: A l’Imprimerie du Conservatoire de Musique, Faubourg Poissonnieére; Au Magasin de Musique dirigé par M.rs Cherubini, Mehul, Kreutzer, Rode, Nicolo et Boieldieu, Rue de la Loi No. 268 en face de celle Menars. A Lyon, Chez Garnier, Place de la Comédie No. 18. Propriété des Editeurs - Déposé a la Bibliothèque, [1802]; [1805]. First editions. Two works bound in one volume. Contemporary green paper-covered boards; partial green paper backstrip (worn, spine largely perished, cords exposed but sound); upper cover gilt-stamped “Mr Bordé.”. [2] 63 [3]; [2] 67 [1] p. Engraved throughout. Worming to inner margins of several leaves; moderate browning and foxing; marginal stains; soft corner creases. Title-page of the Méthode with contemporary ink ownership inscription (“Thomé”), repeated on the rear endpaper. A very good copy overall.

Rare complete copy of Duvernoy’s pioneering horn tutor and even scarcer Études—among the earliest published methods for the instrument.

Frédéric Duvernoy’s Méthode pour le Cor is one of the earliest printed horn methods and the first produced under the auspices of the Paris Conservatoire. It marks a crucial institutional step toward codifying horn pedagogy in France, preceding the treatises of Domnich (1807) and Dauprat (1824). R. Morley-Pegge described it as “far in advance of anything of the kind published previously” (The French Horn, p. 156).

The Méthode is structured progressively and addresses tone production, embouchure differences between first and second horn, articulation, phrasing, cadences, and breathing. It includes one of the earliest known visual depictions of the hand-in-bell position and a table of all chromatic notes obtainable from C to c‴, with or without hand-stopping—offering one of the earliest systematic guides to chromatic technique for the natural horn. Exercises and duets with figured bass reinforce this practical approach.

The second work, Études pour le Cor, was issued in 1805 by the short-lived but influential Magasin de Musique—a publishing cooperative founded in 1802 by Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer, Rode, Isouard, and Boieldieu. It includes more advanced technical studies and three sonatas with basso continuo, extending Duvernoy’s pedagogical system and emphasizing the integration of solo repertoire into horn training.

Frédéric Duvernoy (1765–1838) served as principal horn of Napoleon’s Chapelle-Musique, soloist at the Opéra, and one of the earliest horn professors at the Conservatoire. Known for his expressive use of the genre mixte—a blend of high and low horn registers—he was a key figure in early 19th-century French horn playing. Composers including Spontini, Cherubini, and Lesueur wrote for him or referenced his style.

This copy is preserved in a contemporary green paper-covered binding, with the gilt-stamped name “Mr Bordé” on the upper cover—likely an early owner associated with the Conservatoire or Parisian musical circles. An additional ownership inscription (“Thomé”) appears on both the title-page and rear endpaper.

Bibliographical note: The Méthode is recorded in RISM under two entries (A/I D 4722 and D 4723), with holdings in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (D 4723), and six further copies in conservatory libraries across Europe—three in Italy, and one each in Austria, Switzerland, and France. Only one U.S. institutional copy is recorded, at the Newberry Library. The Études (RISM A/I DD 4726a) are even rarer, with a single copy listed at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels. Neither work is recorded in Rare Book Hub (RBH).

References: Devriès-Lesure, pp. 113–116; 116–117; Meucci, R., & Rocchetti, G. (2023). The Horn. Yale University Press; Morley-Pegge, R. (1973). The French Horn: Some Notes on the Evolution of the Instrument and of its Technique (2nd ed.). E. Benn; W. W. Norton; Passmore, C. J. (2015). Brass Pedagogy and the Natural Horn: A Comparative Study of Selected Tutors from 1794 to 1848 (Doctoral dissertation). Indiana University.

.

Price: €12,000.00