The Evolution of Modern OrchestrationCoerne, Louis Adolphe
History
The Evolution of Modern Orchestration
Coerne, Louis Adolphe
Instrumentation and orchestration
No. V is primarily noteworthy for the poetic fancy that impelled
Strauss to embody no less than twenty-four motives from his
preceding symphonic poems, as well as from "Guntram" and from
"Traum durch die Dämmerung." These themes are, of course, not
presented in a row, but are joined together or subtly interwoven
or contrapuntally super-imposed one over the other, and one might
again suggest that they must be listened to horizontally and not
vertically. Incidentally it might be added that this Division V of
"Ein Heldenleben" draws into requisition every single example given
above from No. 1 to No. 21 inclusive, with the exception Nos. 16 and
19. Wagner pointed the way for such a procedure by introducing the
opening bars from "Tristan und Isolde" into the "Meistersinger."
Strauss, however, went much further, and in the course of _Des Helden
Friedenswerke_ he has drawn freely upon "Macbeth," "Don Juan," "Tod
und Verklärung," "Till Eulenspiegel," "Zarathustra," and "Don
Quixote." He further elaborates upon two practically new themes (Nos.
30 and 31), although an anticipation of the second of these themes is
already to be found in Division III.
[Music: No. 30.]
[Music: No. 31.]
No. VI brings this noble creation to a fitting end. With the
exception of an episodic anti-climax, the movement is dominated by
calm and majestic peace, as exemplified by themes No. 32 (evolved
from No. 31) and No. 33.
[Music: No. 32.]
[Music: No. 33.]
Such are the vast dimensions of Richard Strauss' orchestral
tableaux! His other works are evolved on similarly broad lines. "Ein
Heldenleben," with its six well-defined divisions, includes no less
than seventy themes. The score makes demand for one hundred and five
instrumentalists:--
16 first violins; 16 seconds; 12 violas; 12 violoncellos; 8
double-basses.
2 harps.
1 piccolo flute; 3 flutes; 3 oboes; 1 English horn (also
as 4th oboe); 1 E flat clarinet; 2 B flat clarinets; 1
bass-clarinet; 3 bassoons; 1 contra-bassoon.
8 horns; 5 trumpets; 3 trombones; 1 tenor-tuba; 1 bass-tuba.
Kettle-drums; bass-drum; side-drum; military drum; cymbals.
XII.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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