Read Ebook: The orchestra and orchestral music by Henderson W J William James

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Ebook has 307 lines and 47260 words, and 7 pages

Index 235

Portraits

FACING PAGE Arthur Nikisch 48 Haydn 86 Wagner 114 Charles Lamoureux 128 Theodore Thomas 142 Hans Richter 162 Berlioz 208

PART I

How the Orchestra is Constituted

Instruments Played with the Bow

The modern orchestra is a musical instrument upon which a performer, known as a conductor, plays compositions written especially for it. It is true that an orchestra is a collection of instruments, but these are intended to be so distributed and operated that the result shall be homogeneous, the effect that of one grand organ of sound. Within itself the orchestra embraces a wide variety of tone-qualities and many grades of power and brilliancy, and these are due to the presence of several different families of instruments, each having general qualities, with special traits in the individuals. It is by causing these different families to work together or separately that the composer achieves the expression of his thought, and it is by governing wisely the operations of the individual members and the families that the conductor conveys the composer's design to the hearer.

The orchestra of to-day is the result of a series of interesting developments, of which some considerable account will be given in this volume. But it is necessary before that development can be traced that the reader shall take a bird's-eye view of the orchestra as it now is. Subsequently we shall examine its constitution in detail, but at present we shall simply glance at its general features. Orchestras are not the same for all compositions. Composers select their instruments in these days according to the purpose of the work in hand. But the orchestra employed by Beethoven and his immediate successors in their symphonies is the typical orchestra for independent performance. Curtailed or extended as it may be for special effects, its general plan remains undisturbed.

The modern orchestra, then, is composed of the following instruments: Flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, drums, and other instruments of percussion, violins, violas, violoncellos, and double-basses. These instruments naturally divide themselves into families. Flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons are instruments of wood, and are caused to sound by the blowing of the breath of the players. They therefore form a single group or family, known as the "wood-wind," or, more briefly, the wood. Horns, trumpets, and trombones are instruments of brass, and they form a family known as the brass. The percussion instruments are sometimes called "the battery." Violins, violas, violoncellos , and double-basses are all stringed instruments played with a bow, and they form a group known as "the strings."

At present the reader will not be invited to study the characteristics and possibilities of these groups and their combinations, but will be asked to acquaint himself with the individual instruments composing them. The foundation of an orchestra is its body of strings. Two principal reasons may here be given for this: The strings are capable, when playing alone, of a greater variety of expression than either the wood or the brass, and they never grow tired. Blowers of wind-instruments require frequent periods of rest, but the strings are equal to the demands of an operatic act an hour and a half in length. Because the strings are the foundation of the orchestra we must study them first. The string group is often described as the "quartet." This was correct in early times when composers wrote the same part for the 'cellos and double-basses, but it is not correct now, because the strings almost invariably play in five real parts. The violins are divided into two bodies, known as first and second violins. First violins are the sopranos of the strings, second violins the altos, violas the tenors, 'cellos the barytones, and double-basses the basses. This is not strictly true, because the compass of the viola and of the 'cello enables those instruments to sing above the violins at times. But the normal distribution of the parts of the strings is that which has been given, and this distribution is disturbed only when special effects are required, as we shall see hereafter.

THE VIOLIN

The violin has four strings, the lowest being tuned to the G below the treble clef. The other three are tuned to D, A, and E, the E being that in the uppermost space of the treble clef. The E is called the first string, and the G the fourth. The compass of the instrument as employed in the orchestra is from the low G, three and a half octaves upward, to the C in the sixth space above the staff. This compass is sometimes increased by the employment of what are called harmonics. These are strangely sweet flute-like sounds, which the Germans call the flageolet tones of the violin. They are nothing more or less than what the scientists describe as overtones, or, better, upper partials. It is a fact of acoustics that every musical tone is composed of several tones, the ear hearing plainly only that which is the fundamental sound of the series. In the case of a vibrating string the lesser tones can be utilized. Professor Zahm, in his "Sound and Music," says: "A string emitting a musical note rarely, if ever, vibrates as a whole, without, at the same time, vibrating in segments, which are aliquot parts of the whole." Violinists have discovered that by touching the vibrating string at certain points very lightly with the fingers of the left hand, they can stop the vibrations of the fundamental tone, leaving the upper partial to be heard. These harmonics are very high in pitch and sweet in quality, and cannot be used in loud or vigorous music, but in certain kinds of passages they enable the violin to soar away into realms of ethereal beauty of tone.

The prelude to "Lohengrin" also makes use of harmonics. They are heard in the peculiar, mystic, high tones at the close of the number. It should be noted here that harmonics, or upper partials, need not be used simply to increase the compass of the violin. On the contrary, they can be produced from any of the four strings. Those of the G string, for instance, have a singularly mellow, flute-like quality. Thus, harmonics can be employed in tone-coloring, in which the resources of the modern orchestra are almost inexhaustible.

A great many special effects can be produced from violins. The manner of drawing the bow across the strings has much to do with them. For instance, bowing close to the bridge of the instrument produces a rough, metallic sound, while bowing over the finger-board evokes a soft, veiled tone. There is even a difference in the sound of a tone produced by the pushing of the bow upward and that given out when it is drawn downward. The use of the toe or the heel of the bow also makes a difference. The toe is best employed for a delicate touch, while the heel is used for short, vigorous notes. All possible gradations between a smooth, fluent cantilena and the sharpest staccato are possible to the violin, and can be employed in the orchestra with excellent effect.

Rapid alternating strokes of the bow upward and downward produce the tremolo effect, which is very common in orchestral music. Berlioz notes, with his customary accuracy in regard to instrumental effects, that the tremolo of violins expresses great agitation when played by many violins not far above the middle B flat, while a forte on the middle of the first string is stormy and violent. Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" overture affords admirable examples of both these effects.

Pizzicato is a term used to express the plucking of the strings with the fingers. This is a very familiar musical effect. In earlier times it was employed very little, and confined chiefly to the basses. It is very common in modern music, and sometimes whole movements are directed to be played in this manner. The familiar pizzicato movement of Delibes's "Sylvia" ballet is an excellent example.

THE VIOLA

The viola has also four strings, which are tuned thus:

All that has been said about the methods of bowing, tremolo, pizzicato, harmonics, sordines, etc., applies to the viola as well as to the violin.

THE VIOLONCELLO

This instrument is so well known that it will not be necessary to say much about it. Its tone and its various effects are familiar to all concert-goers. The 'cello is tuned precisely as the viola is, but an octave lower:

The compass usually employed in the orchestra is three and one-half octaves from the low C to the G just above the treble staff. This compass may be increased further by the employment of harmonics. Students of scores will find that three different clefs are used for 'cello music, as explained in the account of clefs.

All that has been said about playing the violin applies also to the 'cello, though, of course, in orchestral music the 'cello is not expected to display so much agility as the violin. It is heard to the best advantage in broad and fluent melody. As Berlioz justly says: "Nothing is more voluptuously melancholy or more suited to the utterance of tender, languishing themes than a mass of violoncellos playing in unison on their first strings." He might have added that nothing is more expressive of dignity without passion than the lower tones of the 'cello when uttered by several instruments at once. Owing to its great compass the 'cello can be used as the bass of the string quartet, as a solo instrument, or as the singer of the melody with an accompaniment by the other strings.

THE DOUBLE-BASS

The irreverent frequently call the double-bass the "bull fiddle." It is the foundation of the string choir and the fundamental bass of the whole orchestra. It is tuned thus:

It must be borne in mind, however, that the notes sound an octave lower than written. The instrument is called the double-bass because it was used in early times to double the bass part played by the 'cello. It is only since the beginning of the nineteenth century that it has generally been given an independent bass part. Beethoven extended its powers immensely and revealed capacities which earlier composers did not suspect the instrument of possessing. Indeed, some of Beethoven's contemporaries looked askance at his innovations. Weber wrote an article on the great man's Fourth Symphony. In it he depicted himself as hearing in a dream the comments of the instruments of the orchestra. The contra-bass says:

"I have just come from the rehearsal of a symphony by one of our newest composers; and though, as you know, I have a tolerably strong constitution, I could only just hold out, and five minutes more would have shattered my frame and burst the sinews of my life. I have been made to caper about like a wild goat, and to turn myself into a mere fiddle to execute the no-ideas of Mr. Composer."

The time had not yet come for the famous recitative passage of the basses in the Ninth Symphony. The same methods of bowing, etc., as are applied to the violin are applied to the double-bass, but without any attempt at great agility. Sordines, or mutes, are not used, because an effective mute for a double-bass would weigh about two pounds and would be very inconvenient to carry in the pocket. Harmonics can be produced from the double-bass, but they are strident and loud and have no musical utility.

Wind-Instruments of Wood

THE FLUTE

Next in importance to the strings is the wood-wind, which is divided into three families--flutes, oboes, and clarinets. To the first family belong the piccolo and the flute; to the second the oboe, English horn, and bassoon, and to the third the clarinet and bass clarinet. In the modern orchestra, flutes, clarinets, oboes, and bassoons are usually employed in pairs, while there is, if needed, one piccolo, one English horn, and one bass clarinet. The flute is the most agile of the wind-instruments, and is employed very freely in the orchestra. Its compass is three octaves upward from the C below the treble clef, but the two uppermost notes are seldom used. The tone is soft and sweet in the medium register, clear and penetrating in the upper, and singularly characteristic in the lower. Rapid passages are readily executed on the flute, but the instrument's powers of expression are limited, owing partly to its tone-quality and partly to the impossibility of giving a wide crescendo or diminuendo to any passage played upon it.

Nevertheless, it can be employed expressively when used with judgment. Berlioz calls attention to Gluck's use of it in his "Orfeo" in the scene in the Elysian fields, where it voices the humility and resignation of the bereaved husband. In the upper register rapid sequences for the flute have an air of gayety. Well-known passages which illustrate this are that near the close of the "Leonora" overture No. 3, and that near the close of the finale of the "Eroica" symphony. The piccolo, or octave-flute, is simply a small, shrill-voiced flute, sounding an octave higher than the ordinary instrument. The sounds in its second octave are well adapted to pieces of a joyous character, while its upper register is useful for violent effects, such as a storm or a scene in the infernal regions. In grotesque and supernatural scenes it is also often employed with good results.

THE OBOE

The oboe is a reed instrument with a peculiar pastoral tone, which, when once recognized, can never again be mistaken for that of another instrument. It is not possible to describe this tone, beyond saying that the average hearer thinks of it as the tone of a shepherd's pipe. The instrument is so well suited to pastoral music that the principal melody is almost always given to it in passages having such a character. Rapid passages, except in rare instances, are not suited to the utterance of the oboe, though when it joins with the whole mass of instruments in a tutti, anything that is not impossible may be written for it. But it is essentially a lyric instrument of tender expression, and it is seldom called upon for either gayety or tragedy. Berlioz says: "Candor, artless grace, soft joy, or the grief of a fragile being, suits the oboe's accents. It expresses them admirably in its cantabile." An excellent example of the oboe's quality as a tender lyric singer is the opening of the slow movement of Schubert's symphony in C:

Its pastoral character is illustrated by hundreds of familiar passages. Perhaps none is more familiar than this from the first scene of Gounod's "Faust."

To the oboe belongs the duty of sounding the A to which the whole orchestra tunes. This privilege dates from the time of Handel, when it was the principal wind-instrument employed in the band.

THE ENGLISH HORN

When the ship is sighted by the herdsman, his pipe bursts into this paean of joy:

THE BASSOON

The bassoon is the bass of the oboe, and it occupies among the wood-wind instruments a position similar to that of the 'cello among the strings. Its upper tones resemble somewhat those of the English horn, while its lower tones are deep and hoarse. Its extreme compass is from the B flat below the bass clef to the F at the top of the treble, but the last four notes are uncertain and of unnatural quality. Music for the bassoon, like that for the 'cello, is written on three clefs--bass, tenor, and treble. Bassoons are employed in pairs in the orchestra. They are used either to fill out the harmonies, to strengthen the bass, or as solo instruments.

The bassoon is capable of a great variety of effects. Its upper register has a pastoral quality, combined with a certain plaintiveness, which makes it suitable to the utterance of gentle grief or melancholy. Composers have frequently availed themselves of the humorous effects to be obtained by making the bassoon play music which ill comports with the quality of its tone. The effect is really funny, though the fun arises, not from the inherent humor of the instrument, but from the incongruity of the singer and the song. The most familiar example of this kind of fun is in the clown's march in Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream" music:

There is also a contra-bass bassoon, which sounds an octave lower than the ordinary bassoon. The reader will find that in orchestra scores the bassoons are usually designated by their Italian title, fagotti. This name is applied to the instrument because it resembles two sticks bound together, as in a bundle of fagots.

THE CLARINET

THE BASS CLARINET

The bass clarinet is a clarinet whose compass extends an octave below that of the B flat clarinet. It is a long instrument with a curved bell at the lower end, so that it looks like an old-fashioned Dutch pipe. Bass clarinets in B flat and A are employed, and the music is usually written on the treble clef, thus transposing an octave below. Wagner uses the bass clef, which is more convenient for the student of his scores than for the performer. The tone of the lower register of the bass clarinet is sonorous and rich, and affords a fine bass for wood-wind passages.

Wind-Instruments of Brass

THE HORN

The brass choir is composed of horns, trumpets, and trombones, with the addition in most modern scores of a contra-bass tuba. Wagner has used also bass trumpets and tenor tubas to enrich the color of this part of his orchestra. The horn, or French horn, as it is often called, is the old hunting horn adapted to orchestral purposes. It is an extremely valuable instrument, because it has a most noble and expressive tone, which makes it very interesting as a solo voice, and equally because it blends admirably with either strings or wood, as well as with brass. In the older compositions the reader will find that two horns were used, but it is customary with modern composers to employ four, thus making a full four-part harmony possible. Wagner generally doubles his horn parts, requiring eight instruments.

Stopped tones are frequently given to the horns. These are produced by inserting the hand in the bell of the instrument, where it has an effect not unlike that of a sordine on a violin-string. The quality of stopped tones is nasal and stertorous. They are used with much significance in dramatic music.

THE TRUMPET

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