Dauprat, Louis-François, born 24 May 1781 in Paris, died 16 July 1868 in Paris. He received his first musical training at the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris, which he had to leave during the Revolution (1790). From the founding of the Paris Conservatoire, he was among the first students in the horn class of Kenn, established in 1795, and in 1796 became the first to receive the Conservatoire's premier prix for horn.
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He then served in various military music ensembles (enfants de troupe, garde nationale, later garde consulaire). From 1801 to 1805 he attended composition classes at the Conservatoire with Catel and Gossec, but took up his theoretical studies again on a new footing under Reicha in 1811. From 1806 to 1808 he was principal horn in the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre in Bordeaux, and from 1808 to 1811 in the orchestra of the Paris Opéra, where he succeeded the celebrated hornists Kenn and Duvernoy. From 1816 to 1830 he was a member of the royal and imperial chapels, and from 1832 to 1842 he belonged to the music establishment of King Louis-Philippe. He was (deputy) professor at the Conservatoire from 1802 to 1817, and a formally appointed professor from 1817 to 1820. From 1828 to 1838 he held the position of soloist with the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris.
Dauprat's compositions are chiefly notable for having expanded the didactic and virtuoso repertoire of his instrument. According to his contemporary Fétis, he possessed a very beautiful tone and phrased with a rare elegance. This account, together with an examination of his teaching treatise, places him — in keeping with tradition — among the greatest names of French horn playing. He played and taught only the natural horn (without valves), yet took a keen interest in the earliest experiments with keyed horns. His name remains closely linked to Reicha's wind quintets, which he introduced to the Parisian public. His reputation among players remains so significant that his premier-prix diploma (signed by Gossec and by Sarrette, the Conservatoire's founder) and his horn are still carefully preserved and displayed in the museum of the Paris Conservatoire.
Sextet, Op. 10, for 6 Horns
Dauprat composed this work as his Opus 10 and dedicated it to his colleagues (ses camarades). Although unusually scored for its place in the early horn repertoire, the work was probably intended chiefly for his students at the Paris Conservatoire. All six horns are natural horns, each tuned differently, with crooks ranging from high C down to B-basso.
The reasons for this new edition became clear to the editor while performing the work. Besides the first edition, only a reprint and an edition of all parts in F existed — there was neither a revised version correcting the occasional misprint, nor any full score at all. This new edition aims to address that gap.
