Martin-Joseph Mengal
(1784–1851)
Solo No. 2 for Horn and Orchestra
First edition ·
For more on the life of Martin-Joseph Mengal, see french-horn.net.
Martin-Joseph Mengal composed several works for horn and orchestra. His “Premier Concerto de Cor à Grand Orchestre”, Op. 20, was printed in Paris around 1815 and was newly edited in 2020 as ROM 401.
The Concerto No. 2 survives in autograph and was published for the first time in 2023 as ROM 422. Mengal also seems to have planned a Concerto No. 3, of which sketches for the first movement survive. During Mengal’s lifetime, however, this work was printed by the Paris publisher Schonenberger as a one-movement “Solo de Cor”, dedicated to his brother Jean.
On the numbering
The numbering of these works is not entirely straightforward. The Concerto No. 3 was never completed as such but appeared as a one-movement “Solo de Cor”. This solo, printed during Mengal’s lifetime, is therefore the first solo. The present work is titled “2d Solo de Cor” in the sources and is accordingly listed as Solo No. 2. It was probably composed after the works for horn and orchestra mentioned above.
The library of the conservatoire in Ghent (Belgium) holds the autograph sketches for this work. It is published here in print for the first time.
The orchestral parts call for strings in the proportion 5/5/4/5.