Cuivré

As Printed on a Score

Printed above a horn or brass part, alone or with bouché (bouché-cuivré) or the + sign over stopped notes; it lasts for the notes or passage marked until ouvert or a new tone instruction. Cuivrez is the imperative.

Also spelled: cuivre, cuivrez

How Composers Use It

Cuivré asks for a brazen, forced tone with a metallic edge, produced by forcing the air through firm lips — on horn often combined with hand-stopping, where a stopped note played hard turns rasping. It is a colour for menace, brutality or climactic glare, and it needs a strong dynamic to speak. Use it in short bursts; sustained cuivré tires players and the ear.

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