The post horn (''also'' post-horn) is a valveless cylindrical

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

with a cupped mouthpiece. The instrument was used to signal the arrival or departure of a

post rider Post riders or postriders describes a horse and rider postal delivery system that existed at various times and various places throughout history. The term is usually reserved for instances where a network of regularly scheduled service was provid ...

mail coach A mail coach is a stagecoach that is used to deliver mail. In Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, they were built to a General Post Office-approved design operated by an independent contractor to carry long-distance mail for the Post Office. M ...

. It was used especially by

postilion A postilion or postillion is a person who guides a horse-drawn coach or post chaise while mounted on the horse or one of a pair of horses. By contrast, a coachman controls the horses from the vehicle itself. Originally the English name for a ...

s of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Use and construction

The post horn is sometimes confused with the coach horn, and even though the two types of horn served the same principal purpose, they differ in their physical appearance. The post horn has a cylindrical bore and was generally used on a coach pulled by two horses (technically referred to as "Tonga"); hence, it is sometimes also called the Tonga horn. The coach horn, on the other hand, has a conical bore and was used on a coach pulled by four horses (referred to as a "four-in-hand"). The post horn is no more than in length, whereas the coach horn can be up to long. The latter has more of a funnel-shaped bell, while the former's bell is trumpet-shaped. Post horns need not be straight but can be coiled—they have a smaller bore —– and they are made entirely of brass. A post horn will have a slide for tuning if intended for orchestral settings. The instrument is an example of a

buisine The ''buisine'' and the ''añafil'' were variations of a type of straight medieval trumpet usually made of metal, also called a herald's trumpet. While arguably the same instrument, the two names represent two separate traditions, in which a Per ...

, a precursor to the "natural" trumpet. The

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

was developed from the cone-shaped coach horn through the addition of

valves A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

, while the cylinder-shaped trumpets remained predominantly valveless for several decades.

Compositions with/for the post horn

Beer's Concerto

In the late 17th century,

Johann Beer Johann Beer (also spelled Bähr, Baer, or Behr, Latinized as Ursus or Ursinus; (28 February 1655, in Sankt Georgen – 6 August 1700, in Weissenfels) was an Austrian author, court official and composer. Biography Beer was born in Austria to Pro ...

composed a Concerto à 4 in B, which paired a post horn with a ''corne de chasse'' as the two solo instruments, accompanied by violins and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

Mozart's Posthorn Serenade

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

composed his Serenade No. 9, the "Post horn Serenade", in 1779. The second trio of the 6th movement, the Menuetto, features a solo of the posthorn.

Mahler and others

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

and others incorporated the post horn into their orchestras for certain pieces. On such occasions, the orchestra's trumpet player erforming on a post hornusually performs with the instrument. One example of post horn use in modern classical music is the famous off-stage solo in Mahler's Third Symphony. Due to the scarcity of this instrument, however, music written for it is usually played on a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

Post Horn Galop

In 1844, the German cornet player Hermann Koenig wrote ''Post Horn Galop'' as a solo for post horn with orchestral accompaniment. In the 20th century it became a popular piece for brass bands. It has been the walk-on music for the

Leicester City Football Club Leicester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home ...

since 1935.

Compositions for other instruments imitating a post horn

An imitation of the post horn's fanfare was a common device in music describing, or referring to, the post coach or travel in general. Notable examples include Bach's ''

Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother The ''Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother'' (Italian: ''Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo''), BWV 992, is an early work by Johann Sebastian Bach, possibly modeled on the Biblical Sonatas of Johann Kuhnau. The s ...

'', which includes an "''Aria di postiglione''" and a "''Fuga all'imitazione della cornetta di postiglione''", both containing the characteristic octave jump typical for the instrument. Handel's ''

Belshazzar Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning "Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might h ...

'' includes, in the second act, a "''Sinofonia''" that uses a similar motif (subtitled ''Allegro postilions'') depicting Belshazzar's messengers leaving on a mission. A very similar movement is included in the third "Production" of Telemann's ''

Tafelmusik Tafelmusik (German: literally, "table-music") is a term used since the mid-16th century for music played at feasts and banquets. Table music could be either instrumental, vocal, or both. As might be expected, it was often of a somewhat lighter c ...

''. Beethoven's '' Les adieux''

piano sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement ( Scarlatti, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with t ...

is centered on a horn-like motif, again signifying the departure of a loved-one. Schubert's ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...

'' includes the song "''Die Post''", of which the piano part prominently features a horn signal motif.

Other uses

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

wooden post horns were used as a means of collecting war donations via a method called the Nail Men. People would donate and in exchange be allowed to hammer a nail into the horn, until the horn was completely covered.

The post horn as graphical symbol

The post horn is used in the logo of national post services of many countries. The post horn is included in

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...

as .

List of postal services that include the post horn in their logos

Correo Argentino The Official Post Service of the Argentine Republic ( es, Correo Oficial de la República Argentina, mostly known as Correo Argentino since it was privatized in 1997) is the state-owned company that covers the postal service in Argentina. The comp ...

(

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

) *

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...

(

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) * Bâlgarski poshti (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

) *

Belposhta Belposhta ( be, Белпошта) or Belpochta (russian: Белпочта) is the national postal service of Belarus. It became a member of the Universal Postal Union in 1947. History The development of postal services in Belarus began in ancie ...

(

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

) *

Bpost Bpost (stylised ''bpost'') also known as the Belgian Post Group, is the Belgian company responsible for the delivery of national and international mail. The Belgian Post Group is one of the largest civilian employers in Belgium. It provides a r ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

) – features a stylistic postal horn *

Česká pošta Czech Post (Czech: ''Česká pošta'') is the state owned postal company of the Czech Republic. With its headquarters in Prague, the corporation has around 31,000 employees. Czech Post primarily serves the Czech Republic but also delivers to othe ...

(

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) *

Correos Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telégrafos, S.A., trading as Correos (literally "Mails"), is a state-owned company responsible for providing postal service in Spain and, due to bilateral agreements, it has responsibility for mail services in Ando ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) *

CTT CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. () is a Portuguese company that operates as both the national postal service of Portugal and a commercial group with subsidiaries operating in banking, e-commerce, and other postal services. It was founded in ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) – features a rider on horseback carrying a straight horn * Cyprus Postal Services (

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

) *

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. ...

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) *

Omniva Omniva is an international post and logistics company based in Tallinn, Estonia, that targets the Baltic states. The name Omniva was adopted in June 2014; the company was previously called AS Eesti Post, whose history can be traced back to the ...

(formerly ''Eesti Post'',

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

) *

Hrvatska pošta HP-Hrvatska pošta d.d., founded in 1999, is a joint stock company owned by the Republic of Croatia that performs postal and payment transactions. It is the national postal operator of the Republic of Croatia. 1,016 Croatian Post offices re ...

(

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

) * Íslandspóstur (

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

) *

Jersey Post Jersey Post is the licensed universal service provider of mail service for the Bailiwick of Jersey. History Jersey Post was established (as the Committee for Postal Administration) by the ''Post Office (Jersey) Law 1969'', in 1969 as a resul ...

(

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

) *

Lietuvos paštas Lietuvos paštas is the company responsible for postal service in Lithuania. The company was established on November 16, 1918, and this date celebrate as Post Lithuania day. In 2018, Lithuanian Post consisted of 546 fixed post offices, 85 mobile ...

(

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

) *

Magyar Posta Magyar Posta Zrt. ( Hungarian for ''Hungarian Post JSC'') or Hungarian Post is the postal administration of Hungary. Besides normal mail delivery, Magyar Posta also offers logistics, banking, and marketing services. History The origin of the Mag ...

(

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

) *

MaltaPost MaltaPost p.l.c. is the postal service company in Malta. The public limited company took over the postal services previously carried out by Posta Limited, and started operating on 1 May 1998. History MaltaPost p.l.c. was registered with the Malt ...

(

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

) – features a horn with a Maltese cross in the middle * North Macedonia Post (

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

) *

Österreichische Post Österreichische Post is the company responsible for postal service in Austria. This company was established in 1999 after its split-off from the mail corporate division of the former state-owned PTT agency Post- und Telegraphenverwaltung ( de ...

(

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) * P&T Luxembourg (

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

) *

Poczta Polska Poczta Polska ( lit. ''Polish Post'') is the state postal administration of Poland, initially founded in 1558. It is the largest mail-handling company in the country, which additionally provides courier, banking, insurance and logistics serv ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) *

Poșta Moldovei Poșta Moldovei ( en, Post of Moldova) is the company responsible for postal service in Moldova. The company was founded on April 1, 1993, as a result of the division of the postal communications sector from that of telecommunications. Since June ...

(

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

) *

Poșta Română CN Poșta Română SA is the national operator in the field of postal services in Romania. It is the sole supplier of universal service in any point on the Romanian territory. Poșta Română is active on the free market of value added postal ...

(

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

) *

Posta Shqiptare Posta Shqiptare is the national postal service of Albania. ''Posta Shqiptare sh.a.'' is a public limited company owned by the Albanian Government. As of 2017 its CEO was Laert Duraj. History Beginnings in the Ottoman Empire Albania's postal serv ...

(

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

) *

Pošta Slovenije The Post of Slovenia ( sl, Pošta Slovenije; PS) is a state-owned company responsible for postal service in Slovenia. The headquarters is located at Slomšek Square 10 (''Slomškov trg 10'') in Maribor. Boris Novak is the CEO of the Post of Sl ...

(

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

) *

Post Danmark Post Danmark A/S is the national provider of postal services in Denmark. It was established as a fully state-owned stock holder's company in 1995 following political liberalization efforts. Post Danmark had taken over the mail delivery concessi ...

(

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

) *

PostBus Switzerland PostAuto Switzerland, PostBus Ltd. (known as in Swiss Standard German (), in Swiss French (), in Swiss Italian (), and in Romansh () is a subsidiary company of the Swiss Post, which provides regional and rural bus services throughout Swit ...

(

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) *

PTT (Turkey) PTT, an abbreviation for (lit. Post and Telegraph Agency), is the national post and telegraph directorate of Turkey. Formerly, the organization was named . After the privatization of the telephone telecommunications service business, the dire ...

Slovenská pošta Slovenská pošta, a. s. (literally Slovak Post) is a state-owned company responsible for providing postal service in Slovakia established on 1 January 1993 when Slovakia became an independent state and became a public limited company owned by ...

(

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) * Tajikistan Post (

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

) *

Ukrposhta JSC Ukrainian Postal Service or Ukrposhta ( uk, Укрпошта) is the national postal service of Ukraine. It is a public company with 100% state ownership due to its strategic importance. In 1999–2015 it was a unitary enterprise of the gov ...

(

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) Until 2002, the Finnish Postal and Telegraph Administration (''Posti- ja lennätinhallitus'') and its successors also featured a postal horn in their logos. The logo from 1987 onwards had a single symbol combining the postal horn and telegraph symbols.

Post horns in road signs

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

the post horn was featured on a sign called ''Obbligo di arresto all'incrocio con autobus di linea su strade di montagna ("Stop when encountering coaches on mountain roads")''. Installed along tortuous or narrow mountain roads, this sign was meant to mandate motorists to stop and give way to incoming

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, and let them pass safely. This sign was removed from the Italian Road Code in 1992.

Examples of post horns as graphics

File:Post-horns.jpg, German sign and

postbox A post box (British English; also written postbox; also known as pillar box), also known as a collection box, mailbox, letter box or drop box (American English) is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail inten ...

with post horn logos File:Swedish Royal Posthorn.jpg, Post horn logo from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

File:MutedPosthorn.png, Muted post horn from ''

The Crying of Lot 49 ''The Crying of Lot 49'' is a 1966 novel by American author Thomas Pynchon. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, the plot follows Oedipa Maas, a young Californian woman who begins to embrace a conspiracy theory as she possibly unearths a centuries-ol ...

'' File:Emoji u1f4ef.svg, Postal Horn

Emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...

from Google Noto, U+1F4EF File:Italian traffic signs - old - dare precedenza alle corriere.svg, alt="Give way to coaches on mountain roads" road sign from Italy (deprecated in 1992), Old "''Stop when encountering coaches on mountain roads''" road sign from

(removed from the Italian Road Code in 1992)

References

External links

Video of Koenig's Post Horn Galop
performed by Steve Fletcher and Jerry Clack o
Post horn calls.
Hungarian Post Co. Links to sound files.
The Sound of Post Horns – Strains from a Past Era – Museumsposten – © Post & Tele Museum, Denmark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post Horn Brass instruments Natural horns and trumpets