Duvernoy belonged to that founding generation which established the fame of French horn players and passed it on through a school of its own. He 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 of normal opera duties, together with other principal wind players, in order to devote himself more fully to solo work. From that 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.
From 1795 he was also a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique (alongside, at times, eight other hornists). Several schools of horn playing developed there. While a division into 1st and 2nd horn had always existed, the hornist Rodolphe advocated a comprehensive use of the entire range, whereas Kenn — and especially, later, Dauprat — argued for a clear separation into cor alto and cor basso. Duvernoy, quite literally, took the middle path: like the others, he too distinguished between high and low horn, for instance in his printed horn method, and recommended mouthpieces of different sizes accordingly. In solo playing, however, he championed the "cor mixte". This meant largely doing without the particularly high and low notes; the middle register (roughly an octave and a half) was rarely left, with greater emphasis placed instead on cantabile, singing tone.
Duvernoy retired in 1816, but continued to hold the position of solo hornist in 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. 3 for Piano and Horn
This work was composed as part of a series of at least eight fantasies, around 1810. Thanks to its range, deliberately kept within the middle register, it is very well suited to students.
