I have endeavored in this brief survey of orchestral music to show the reader how it began with the most rigid and logical forms, in which the laws of thematic evolution were applied with the intent to attain purely musical beauty; and how, as the technics of instrumentation became better understood, the employment of instrumental coloring led composers away from rigorous thematic development toward a species of composition in which dramatic effects were obtained by a more free method of construction and a larger use of color-effects.
From this we appear at present to be passing into a period in which these color-effects alone are to be called upon as the means of orchestral expression.
It is quite impossible for us who are contemporaneous with this new school to decide as to its value. It is enough for us to recognize its tendencies and watch their evolution. What I have attempted to do in this chapter is to point out briefly to the reader the salient traits of the orchestral music of the different periods, to the end that in listening he might endeavor to find his enjoyment where the composer intended that he should find it, and not be disappointed from an unwise attempt to find it somewhere else. The observant music-lover will find, I think, that the development of orchestration has been perfectly normal, and that the instrumentation of each period is perfectly fitted to its music. A symphony of Mozart orchestrated in the Richard Strauss style would be a tinted Venus; while a tone poem of Strauss scored à la Mozart would be like one of Cropsey’s autumn landscapes reduced to the dead level of a pen-and-ink drawing. It is largely because of this organic union between music and its orchestral garb that the amateur ought to strive to understand the nature and purpose of orchestration. The addition to his enjoyment of all orchestral music will be far more than sufficient to pay for the labor of the study.
INDEX
- Abbreviations in scores, [47]
- Aria da capo, suggestion to orchestral composers, [220]
- Bach’s orchestra, [195]
- Balance of tone, [65];
- how obtained, [115]
- Bass clarinet, compass and character, [28];
- introduction of, [209]
- Bass drum, [111]
- Bassoon, compass and character, [24]
- Baton, use of, [148] et seq.;
- need of, [154]
- “Battery,” [108] et seq.
- Beethoven’s symphonies, [226] et seq.
- Bells, [111]
- Berlioz, [67], [68];
- his orchestra, [208]
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, [50], [212]
- Bowing, [9];
- marks for, [138]
- Brass, [4];
- methods of using, [97] et seq.;
- Bach’s and Handel’s plans, [98];
- Haydn’s, [99];
- Mozart’s, [100];
- employed unsupported, [105];
- Wagner learns from Gluck and Mozart, [107]
- Carillon, [112]
- Castanets, [111]
- Clarinet, compass and character, [26];
- how to read its music, [52];
- methods of using, [86] et seq.
- Classic music, character of, [222]
- Classicists, modern, [231]
- Clefs, [55] et seq.
- Colorists, [231]
- Conductor, development of, [147] et seq.;
- interpreting, [156];
- Wagner’s influence on, [161];
- functions of, [164];
- in detail, [167];
- choice of tempo, [169];
- work besides choice of tempo, [174]
- Conductors, famous, [158] et seq.
- Contra-bass clarinet, [96]
- Contra-bassoon, [95]
- Contrast, [65];
- how obtained, [119]
- Cornet, [23]
- Cyclic forms, [220]
- Cymbals, [111]
- Directions, composers’, to be obeyed, [139]
- Double bass, compass and character, [17]
- Drum, bass, [111];
- snare, [111]
- English Horn, compass and character, [23]
- Flexibility in orchestral playing, [134]
- Flute, compass and character, [19];
- uses of, [81] et seq.;
- introduction of, [190]
- Forms, development of musical, [220];
- Beethoven’s innovations, [227];
- Schumann’s, [228]
- Glissando, [41]
- Gong, [111]
- Gossec, developer of orchestral technics, [158]
- Habeneck, interpreting conductor, [160]
- Handel’s orchestra, [196]
- Harmonics, [7], [8]
- Harmony, dispersal of, [64]
- Harp, [39];
- pedals, [40];
- methods of using, [39] et seq.
- Harpsichord, used in conducting, [149] et seq.;
- method of use, [150];
- used in symphonic conducting, [155]
- Haydn’s orchestra, [200]
- Horn, compass and character, [30];
- how to read its music, [54];
- methods of using, [97] et seq.;
- stopped tones, [100];
- valves, [100];
- Rossini’s horn style, [100];
- in “Eroica” symphony, [101];
- four horns, how used, [101], [102]
- Horn, English, [23];
- introduction into orchestra, [208]
- Instrumentation, models, [68]
- Instruments, list of, in orchestra, [4];
- names in four languages, [46]
- Leader of orchestra, [154]
- Legno, col, [10]
- Legrenzi’s orchestra, [192]
- Liszt, inventor of symphonic poem, [230]
- Lully’s orchestra, [192]
- Mendelssohn, model for string writing, [76]
- Metronome, [172]
- Meyerbeer, [39], [40], [41]
- Middle voices, [135]
- Monteverde, Claudio, founder of modern orchestra, [186]
- Mozart, tone-coloring, and string plan, [75], [76];
- his orchestra, [204]
- Music, orchestral, development of, [217] et seq.;
- polyphonic, [218];
- classic, [220];
- character of, [222] et seq.;
- what to expect in classic, [224];
- Beethoven’s, [226] et seq.;
- romantic, [228]
- Nicode, divided strings in “Das Meer,” [77]
- Oboe, compass and character, [20];
- uses of, [81] et seq.
- Ophicleide, [210]
- Orchestra, defined, [3];
- Beethoven’s, [4], [206];
- instruments in, [4];
- how used, [61];
- compass, [61];
- dynamic range, [62];
- constitution of, [142];
- development of, [181] et seq.;
- in Middle Ages, [183];
- Peri’s and Cavaliere’s, [185], [186];
- Monteverde’s, [186];
- Scarlatti’s, [190];
- Lully’s, [192];
- Legrenzi’s, [192];
- Bach’s, [195];
- Handel’s, [196];
- in early part of eighteenth century, [193], [198];
- Gossec’s, [200];
- Haydn’s, [200];
- Dresden court orchestra, [203];
- Mozart’s, [204];
- Berlioz’s, [208];
- Wagner’s, [210], [211];
- Boston Symphony’s number, [212];
- festival, [213]
- Orchestral music, development of, [217] et seq.
- Orchestras, famous, [140] et seq., [202]
- Orchestration, general principles of, [61];
- requirements of, [63];
- models in, [67], [68];
- Bach’s polyphonic, [82];
- qualities of good, [113] et seq.;
- pianists’ mistakes, [115];
- Bach’s, [120];
- effect of clarinet in, [120];
- Handel’s, [121];
- romantic, [122];
- innovations of Monteverde, [188];
- Corelli’s contributions to, [193]
- Overture, classic form, [200]
- Percussive instruments, parts for, [112]
- Performance, qualities of orchestral, [124] et seq.;
- requisites of, [125]
- Phrasing, [137]
- Piccolo, [95]
- Precision, [131], [132]
- Quality of tone, [125]
- Quartette, string, establishment of, [189], [190]
- Romantic music, [228] et seq.
- Saltato, [10]
- Score, described, [43] et seq.;
- abbreviations in, [47]
- Seating plan of orchestra, [49], [50], [203]
- Shading in orchestral playing, [134] et seq.
- Solidity, [64], [114];
- how obtained, [115];
- in performance, [126]
- Sonata, development of, [220]
- Sordines, [10]
- Stamitz, developer of orchestral technics, [158]
- Strauss, R., leader of orchestral colorists, [232]
- Strings, [5];
- methods of using, [66] et seq.;
- test of methods, [72];
- Beethoven’s plan, [72], [76];
- innovations in use of, by romanticists, [72];
- effects of different registers, [73];
- Haydn’s plan, [75];
- Mozart’s plan, [76];
- Mendelssohn’s plan, [76];
- introduction of various effects, [80];
- proper proportion of, [127]
- Symphonic poem, [230]
- Symphony, form and development, [220] et seq.
- Tambourine, [111]
- Tempo, importance of, [169] et seq.
- Tone, balance of, [65], [126];
- how obtained, [115];
- qualities of, in orchestral performance, [125] et seq.;
- necessity of fine, [130]
- Transposing instruments, [51] et seq.
- Tremolo, [9];
- invention of, [188]
- Trombone, kinds, compass and character, [34];
- how used, [102];
- introduction in symphony, [103];
- Berlioz’s use of, [106];
- Mozart’s and Gluck’s use of, [107]
- Trumpet, compass and character, [32];
- how to read its music, [54];
- methods of using, [98] et seq.
- Tuba, kinds and character, [35];
- how used, [103];
- introduction of, [210]
- Tympani, compass and character, [37];
- how used, [108];
- Beethoven’s innovations in use of, [109]
- Unanimity, [131], [132], [133]
- Variety, [65];
- how obtained, [119]
- Viola, compass and character of, [13] et seq.;
- how used, [67] et seq.
- Violin, compass, bowing, etc., [6] et seq.;
- entrance into orchestra, [187]
- Violins, first and second, [5];
- second, [11]
- Violoncello, compass and character, [16];
- how used, [71]
- Wagner’s orchestra, [210]
- Wood-wind, enumerated, [4];
- in detail, [19];
- methods of using, [81] et seq.;
- Bach’s plan, [82];
- Handel’s, [84];
- Haydn’s, [85];
- Mozart’s, [87];
- Beethoven’s, [88];
- Brahms’s, [89];
- Beethoven’s innovations, [90];
- Wagner’s, [91]
- Xylophone, [112]
Transcriber’s Notes:
Antiquated words were preserved.
The illustrations and music scores have been moved so that they do not break up paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.