Chapter V.
COMBINATION OF THE HUMAN VOICE WITH ORCHESTRA.
THE STAGE BAND.
Orchestral accompaniment of solo voices.
General remarks.
In accompanying the voice orchestral scoring should be light enough for the singer to make free use of all the dynamic shades of expression without hardness of tone. In overflowing lyrical moments, where full voice is required, the singer should be well supported by the orchestra.
Opera singing may be divided into two general classes, lyric singing and declamation or recitative. The full, round, legato aria affords greater facility for tone production than florid music or recitative, and the more movement and rhythmic detail contained in the vocal part, the greater freedom and liberty must there be given to the voice. In such a case the latter should not be doubled by the orchestra, neither should rhythmical figures be written for any instrument corresponding with those in the vocal part. In accompanying the voice the composer should bear these points in mind before turning his attention to the choice of orchestral colour. A confused, heavy accompaniment will overpower the singer; an accompaniment which is too simple in character will lack interest, and one which is too weak will not sustain the voice sufficiently.
In modern opera it is rare that orchestral writing is confined to accompaniment pure and simple. It frequently happens that the principal musical idea, often complex in character, is contained in the orchestra. The voice may then be said to form the accompaniment, exchanging musical for literary interest. It becomes subordinate to the orchestra, as though it were an extra part, subsequently added as an after-thought. But it is evident that great care must be taken with orchestral writing in such cases. The scoring must not be so heavy or complicated as to drown the voice and prevent the words from being heard, thereby breaking the thread of the text, and leaving the musical imagery unexplained. Certain moments may require great volume of orchestral tone, so great that a voice of even phenomenal power is incapable of being heard. Even if the singer is audible, such unequal struggles between voice and orchestra are most inartistic, and the composer should reserve his orchestral outbursts for the intervals during which the voice is silent, distributing the singer's phrases and pauses in a free and natural manner, according to the sense of the words. If a prolonged forte passage occurs in the orchestra it may be used concurrently with action on the stage. All artificial reduction of tone contrary to the true feeling of a passage, the sole object being to allow the voice to come through, should be strictly avoided, as it deprives orchestral writing of its distinctive brilliance. It must also be remembered that too great a disparity in volume of tone between purely orchestral passages and those which accompany the voice create an inartistic comparison. Therefore, when the orchestra is strengthened by the use of wood-wind in three's or four's, and brass in large numbers, the division of tone and colour must be manipulated skillfully and with the greatest care.