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What is
Orchestration?
1.
History of the Orchestra
a. During middle ages and
Renaissance everything in an
ensemble was grouped similar to
voices: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
(SATB)
b. One instrument could be swapped
with another. i.e. If a trombone
was not available use a viola
c. Until Mozart and Haydn the
orchestra consisted of what
instruments were available in that
particular town
d. 1700’s stabilization of Strings
e. Opera and Dance brought other
instruments with the Strings and
as various instruments were
refined and standardized they
became permanent members of the
orchestra
f. 1800’s during the Romantic
period, BIG Orchestras came into
existance. The modern orchestra is
based upon this configuration
2. Choirs of
the Orchestra
()=doublings (~)=may double or may
require seperate player
a. Winds,
Includes the following
families: Flutes (Piccolo), Oboes (Eng. Horn),
Clarinets (~Bs. Clar), Bassoons (~Cntr. Bsn):
b. Brass,
Includes the following
families: French Horns,
Trumpets (Picc
Trumpet, Flugelhorn), Trombones, Tubas
c. Perc & Keyboards
Includes many varieties of
struck instruments (all
percussionists should play all
percussion instruments. However,
the mallet instruments tend to be
specialized) Keyboard (Celesta,
Synth)
d. Strings
Includes the following
families: Violins 1, Violins 2, Violas, Celli, Contrabass String
Family
e. Instrument balances and
numbers.
Any configuration of a group of
instrumentalists can be considered
an orchestra. To be sure the size
and composition of orchestras has
changed dramatically over the past
350 years.
Today, in general, we speak of
orchestras in "2s" and "3s" where
a given number of 1st violins
determines the relative number of
total strings. To determine the
number of strings, take the number
of first violins and subract two
players from each subsequent
section. (Rule of "subtract 2" in
the strings ) Thus if an orchestra
has 16 1st Violins it will likely
have 14 2nd violins, 12 Violas, 10
Celli, and 8 Basses
Warning: In small orchestras,
avoid sections that contain only 2
string players
Note: For our purposes we will
always use 4 french horns 1 Tuba
between 2-4 percussionists, Piano
and harp.
You can determine the basic number
of and configuration of an
orchestration as follows:
1. Large Orchestra: 16-20 Violins
1 (use "subract 2" ) Winds &
Brass in 3s, 4 horns, 1 Tuba, 4
Perc, Piano Harp
2. Medium Orchestra 12-16 Violins
1 (use "subract 2" ) Winds in 2s,
4 horns, 1 Tuba, 2 Perc, Piano
Harp
3. Small Orchestra 8-12 Violins 1
(use "subract 2" ) Winds in 1s, 4
horns, 1 Tuba, 2 Perc, Piano Harp
You will be required to
know the seating positions for
all players based on the
smoverhead.gif in the zip file
for this lecture
Images:
smoverhead.gif
3. Scores
1st page
of World of Warcraft Score
Layout High to Low
The written score is presented in
the exact same order as the Choirs
of the orchestra are presented
above. In general, the orcer of
the specific instruments within
each family corresponds to its
register with those instruments in
a higher range sitting above those
of a lower range.
As the semester evolves, we will
recreate scorelayout.pdf
found in the Zip file for this
lecture. You will be responsible
for knowing the layout of each
orchestral instrument as it is
presented in class.
It may seem odd at first that the
French Horns sit above the
trumpets. Historically, the French
Horns were the first of the brass
instruments to be standardized
into the orchestra and have a
unique relationship to the winds
(we will explore that later). As
well, the original function of the
trumpets and trombones was to play
with the timpani so it was logical
that the early scores presented
the Horns closest to the winds and
above the trumpets which were
presented close to the timpani.
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