DABBAL (Neuheit Horn)

DABBAL (Neuheit Horn) In the spring of 2019, I began planning a solo piece for French horn that would be suitable for performance at the 51st International Horn Seminar in Ghent. The commissioner was Tanja Nisonen, and our initial concept was to create a solo performance that integrates music with recited poetry. The following lines by Seppo Metso served as the poetic starting point for the composition: The god of the winds by the river,Àa merganser in the shelter of the backwater. As is often the case in creative work, the piece gradually took on a life of its own, with the melodies gravitating naturally toward a mantra-like motif eliminating the need for the recited text. "Dabbal" is an ancient Sámi word meaning a backwater in a flowing river. It also inspired the opening notes of the composition (D-B-B-A): an archaic cry across calm waters toward the roaring rapids beyond. The missing letter L may refer to the Italian word lontananza "distance" or "absence" represented by the rests that follow the four-note inviting call. The name, along with its meaning, gives the piece a clear two-part structure (A-B-B-A). Dabbal is also considered the root word for the name of the city of Tampere in Finland a city between the rapids, once inhabited by the Sámi people. In Dabbal, a playful middle section framed by joiks (traditional Sámi vocal music) is colored by the bass trombones harmon mute, providing a strong contrast to the surrounding material. In retrospect, it is perhaps as if the subconscious settled around the Tammerkoski rapids, somewhere near the current location of Paappas Dixie tavern where frogs may once have held their mating rituals. Helsinki, 6 August 2025 Jukka Harju