He belonged to that founding generation which established the fame of French hornists and passed it on through a school of its own. Duvernoy joined the orchestra of the Comédie-Italienne as a hornist in 1788. In 1797 he moved to the Paris Opéra, where he worked as solo hornist from 1799 onwards. In 1801 he was relieved, along with other solo wind players, of normal opera duties in order to concentrate on solo work. From this time on he also played in the "Chapelle Musique", which was re-established by Napoleon Bonaparte, who is said to have been an admirer of Duvernoy's playing. From 1795 he was also a teacher (alongside, at times, eight other hornists) at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique.
Different schools of horn playing developed there. While a separation into 1st and 2nd horn had always existed, the hornist Rodolphe, for instance, favoured a comprehensive use of the whole range, while Kenn and, later especially, Dauprat favoured a clear separation into cor alto and cor basso. Duvernoy, quite literally, took the middle path: although he too distinguished, for example in his printed horn method, between high and low horn and recommended differently sized mouthpieces, in solo playing he advocated the "cor mixte". This meant giving up the particularly high and low notes — the middle register (about one and a half octaves) was rarely left, with greater emphasis placed instead on cantabile playing.
Duvernoy retired in 1816, but retained the position of solo hornist at the Chapelle Musique until 1830. He died in Paris on 19 July 1838. Duvernoy's works (12 concertos for horn and numerous chamber pieces) were printed not only in Paris but also appeared in Germany, for example with the publishers Simrock and Breitkopf.
Fantaisie No. 4 for Piano and Horn
This work was written around 1810, part of a series of at least eight fantasies. Thanks to its range, which is deliberately concentrated in the middle register, it is very well suited for students.
