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My owner seems to be worn out by this seemingly endless summer — he’s been out of sorts lately. “How soft, coming from a Shiba Inu covered head-to-toe in fur!” I think to myself, though I have to admit, even I couldn’t get through this summer without the air conditioning and a fan.

Performers and Recording: Collaborating with a Young Hartmut Haenchen (1981)

Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen Orchestra: Kammerorchester C.Ph.E.Bach der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin Recording Engineer: Heinrich Eras Recording Date: 1981 (Peter Dam, age 44) / Recording Venue: Christuskirche, Berlin

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This is an unusual recording — made not with Dam’s home ensemble, the Staatskapelle Dresden, but with an entirely different group, and recorded in Berlin of all places. The conductor is Hartmut Haenchen. Does the name ring a bell? I wasn’t familiar with him myself, so I looked him up: he turns out to be a Dresden-born conductor who specializes in the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — a decidedly niche specialty. Fittingly, the accompaniment here is provided by the C.Ph.E. Bach Chamber Orchestra. Haenchen has quite a substantial discography, but the Peter Dam album is often cited at the very top of the list. It would seem that this collaboration with Peter Dam was, in all likelihood, his very first commercial recording.

Dam’s Horn: Energy and Healing Through “Dam-katsu”

According to F-senpai — a senior colleague of my owner’s who generously supports this blog — the album title “Vorklassik” means “pre-Classical,” referring to the transitional period between the Baroque and Classical eras. This LP also includes works composed for horn by Telemann and Förster. Peter Dam has made it his mission to unearth little-known works, breathe life into them through his playing, and commit them to recording with remarkable energy. In this sense, he is something of a Mendelssohn who rediscovered Bach. The Haydn Horn Concerto featured here is well known, but fiendishly difficult to perform. My owner, who struggles with the upper register, apparently gave up on the piece quite early on.

Movement I — Allegro: A Rhythm That Dances with Elegance

After the lively string introduction, Peter Dam enters with the main theme — a D major broken chord that seems to climb rung by rung. Where many performers simply leap in with cheerful bravado, Dam enters at mezzo-forte, almost as if catching the listener off guard. His focus seems to be not on power, but on how elegantly he can sing the line. The rhythmic sense — like a dancer moving with unhurried grace — is simply wonderful.

Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Hob.VIId:3: I. Allegro

Provided to YouTube by Kontor New Media GmbHHorn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Hob.VIId:3: I. Allegro · Peter Damm · HartmuRead more...

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Movement II — Adagio: A Healing Long Tone and Gentle Vibrato

In my younger days, I rarely listened to Haydn. But perhaps as one grows into an old dog, the beauty of Haydn begins to reveal itself. The second movement of this Horn Concerto No. 1 seems to deepen in flavor with every listening. After a string introduction so long you begin to wonder if it will ever end, Peter Dam finally enters — unhurried, inevitable — opening with a single, breathtaking long tone. This entrance is something I simply must urge you to hear. He takes what is, at its core, just a sustained note, and coaxes it into song with a gently unfurling vibrato. No person — and no Shiba Inu — could fail to feel healed by that tone. It is my favorite single note in all of music.

Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Hob.VIId:3: II. Adagio

Provided to YouTube by Kontor New Media GmbHHorn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Hob.VIId:3: II. Adagio · Peter Damm · HartmuRead more...

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Movement III — Allegro: A Spirited Finale and a Welcome Cadenza

A complete change of character from the second movement — the third brims with vitality. The first movement energizes you, the second heals you, and by the third you are fully restored. This, in essence, is what “Dam-katsu” is all about. And what a joy it is that each movement carries its own cadenza written by Peter Dam himself.

Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Hob.VIId:3: III. Allegro

Provided to YouTube by Kontor New Media GmbHHorn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Hob.VIId:3: III. Allegro · Peter Damm · HartRead more...

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【The Aesthetics of Dam】Why Does Peter Dam Use Vibrato on the Horn?

I am often asked: “Why does Peter Dam use vibrato when horn players generally don’t?” It is a deeply interesting question. Only Dam himself knows the true answer, but I believe there is a clue in the opening of the second movement of the Haydn Horn Concerto introduced here. My sense is that the reason is simply this: vibrato is the most fitting means of making that first note sing beautifully. It might be equally fascinating, conversely, to consider why horn players in the Western world came to avoid vibrato altogether.