The January Horn of the Month is a corno da caccia made by Ricco Kühn. It is made of brass and has four rotary valves. The instrument is pitched in Bb, though a crook to A is also available. The sound is not that of a flugelhorn, and as it is new to me, some experimentation with mouthpieces will change the sound produced. It does not sound like a horn, but rather like itself- at present, somewhat brighter than expected with very clear articulations, more so than my flugelhorn (Yamaha/ with Wick mouthpiece). I like it very much, but will have to decide how I can best use it – what setting and what repertoire. There are a surprising number of modern makers producing corno da caccia pitched in Bb/A and one in C. Just spending a brief time on the internet, I can see there are many opinions about the use or musical value of this instrument. That said, options for additional timbre in solos or ensembles and greater variety for sound in transcriptions alone justify having this beautifully made instrument in my collection. There are many players using the corno da caccia who perform solo work and or duos: Franz Strietwieser, Michael Tunnel and Doug Myers in America and Europeans like Ludwig Güttler, Matthias Höfs and Asensi Ortve, to mention a sampling. Some pieces to think about are Wolfgang Mozart’s Serenade in D Major K. 320; Gustav Mahler Symphony #3 posthorn solo and the Neruda Concerto in Eb. Finally, I found the Engelbert-Schmid discussion on baroque horns, corno da caccia = corno da tirarsi helpful and interesting(see link below).

Of interest:
Some makers-
Ricco Kühn
http://ricco-kuehn.de/1/instruments/trumpets/corno-da-caccia/
Stomvi
http://www.stomvi.com/en/items/instruments/trumpets/titan/titan-bb-corno-da-caccia
Thein
http://thein-blechblasinstrumente.de/05-02-corno-ba.php
Engelbert-Schmid - Baroque Horns Corno da caccia = Corno da tirarsi
http://www.engelbert-schmid-horns.com/index.php/en/french-horns/natural-horns/baroque-horns
Robb Stewart- circular flugelhorn or Corno da Caccia
http://www.robbstewart.com/OtherProjects/Corno.html

some players-
Matthias Höfs
http://matthiashoefs.de/wp/?page_id=259&lang=en
Asensi Ortve – Johann Neruda Concerto in Eb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81gxKsVfYg
Solo Posthorn - Sinfonia nº 3 G.MAHLER - Vicente Olmos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDRkcnPfSqM

Ricky O’Bannon- Baltimore Symphony Mahler Symphony #3 post horn solo- article
http://www.bsomusic.org/stories/the-history-behind-mahler-s-post-horn-solo.aspx

Mozart Serenade No. 9 K. 320 (1779)

Performed by Sir Charles Mackerras and the Prague Chamber Orchestra (Telarc: 1985). Posthorn Solo: Zdeněk Tylšar (listen to the minuets- trumpets are used in the opening)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS5YCVdPxCk

Suggested readings
(from Robb Stewart)
“Bach's Orchestra" by C.S. Terry
"The Horn" by Kurt Janetzky and Berhard Bruchle

Doug Myers – History of the Corno da Caccia
http://www.dougmyersmusic.com/Microsoft_Word_-_History_of_the_Corno_da_Caccia.pdf