"Post Horn Serenade" Mozart (1779, from Serenade no.9)
"Post Horn Galop" (1844)
Two composers, only 65 years apart, coming from different musical traditions, wrote music for this instrument, before it developed and evolved into the cornet.
The first piece, by Mozart, is obviously very classical in style and quite calm in style. The Post horn feature is a small part of a larger collection of movements that make up the Serenade. The Piece by Koenig is much more fun! It’s a standalone, short piece – one that you might get in a concert with other shorter pieces – definitely one that you can have a bit of fun with.
The Post horn is either a straight or coiled tube made entirely of brass. It has no keys or valves and has a flare at the end, like a trumpet. It is played with a trumpet, or cornet-like mouthpiece and produces notes of the harmonic series according to the pressure of air applied to it. The Post Horn is one of the most basic forms of brass instrument.