Principles of Orchestration Part 32

_Examples:_

_Snegourotchka_ [[97]], [[224]], [[247]] (Lell's 1st and 3rd songs).

_Tsar Saltan_, before [[5]].

* No. 285. _The Golden c.o.c.kerel_ [[135]]; cf. also [[161]], [[197]].

The following are examples of powerful and expressive orchestral pa.s.sages, the voice _tacet_:

No. 286. _The Tsar's Bride_ [[81]].

* _Legend of Kitesh_ [[282]], [[298]].

* _Servilia_ [[130]].

Recitative and declamation.

The accompaniment of recitative and melodic declamatory phrases should be light enough to allow the voice to come through without strain, and the words to be heard distinctly. The most convenient method is to employ sustained chords and _tremolo_ on the strings or wood-wind, giving free lat.i.tude to the voice from a rhythmic point of view (_a piacere_).

Another excellent plan is to write short chords in the strings combined with wood-wind in different ways. Sustained chords and those entailing change of position should occur preferably when the voice is silent, thus permitting both conductor and orchestra to keep a closer watch over the singer's irregularities of rhythm in _a piacere_ recitatives. If the accompaniment is more complex in character, melodic, polyphonic or ornamental in design, the recitative must be sung _in tempo_. Any phrase which it is necessary to emphasise in accordance with the sense of the words a.s.sumes a more _cantabile_ character, and must be reinforced by the orchestra. Opera, today, besides demanding much greater care in the treatment of the text than in the past, abounds in constant transition from declamation to _cantabile_, or in the fusion of the two. The orchestra offers more variety of texture and must be handled with greater regard to its relations.h.i.+p to the words, and the action on the stage. This cla.s.s of orchestration can only be studied from lengthy examples. I refer the reader to operatic full scores and content myself with giving one or [Transcriber's Note: 'two' missing in original] short instances:

_Examples:_

No. 287. _Snegourotchka_ [[16]].

No. 288. _The Tsar's Bride_ [[124-125]].

The following double examples, similar from a musical point of view, show different methods of handling an orchestra from the standpoint of accompaniment to the voice, and the _tutti_ form.

_Examples:_

No. 289-291. _Sadko_ [[99-101]] and [[305-307]] (compare also Ex. 75).

_Vera Scheloga_ [[3-7]] and [[28]].

Care should be taken not to score too heavily when accompanying singers in the wings.

_Examples:_

* No. 292. _Sadko_ [[316]], [[318]], [[320]].

* _Legend of Kitesh_ [[286-289]], [[304-305]].

Orchestral accompaniment of the chorus.

The chorus, possessing much greater unity and power than the solo voice, does not demand such careful handling in the accompaniment. On the contrary, too great a refinement of orchestral treatment will prove harmful to the resonance of the chorus. As a general rule orchestration of choral works follows the rules laid down for purely instrumental scoring. It is obvious that dynamic marks of expression must correspond in both bodies, but doubling one orchestral group with another and coupling instruments of the same kind in unison (2 Ob., 2 Cl., 4 Horns, 3 Trombones etc.) are both possible operations, if performed according to the requirements of the musical context.

Doubling choral parts by instruments is generally a good plan. In _cantabile_ pa.s.sages such duplication may be melodic in character, and the design more ornamental in the orchestra than in the chorus.

_Examples:_

_Ivan the Terrible_, Act II [[3-6]]; Act III [[66-69]].

_The May Night_, Act I [[X-Y]]; Act III [[L-Ee]], [[Ddd-Fff]].

_Snegourotchka_ [[61-73]], [[147-153]], [[323-328]].

_Mlada_, Act II [[22-31]], [[45-63]]; Act IV [[31-36]].

_The Christmas Night_ [[59-61]], [[115-123]].

_Sadko_ [[37-39]], [[50-53]], [[79-86]], [[173]], [[177]], [[187]], [[189]], [[218-221]], [[233]], [[270-273]].

_The Tsar's Bride_ [[29-30]], [[40-42]], [[50-59]], [[141]].

_Tsar Saltan_ [[67-71], [[91-93]], [[133-145]], [[207-208]].

_Legend of Kitesh_ [[167]], [[177-178]].

_The Golden c.o.c.kerel_ [[237-238]], [[262-264]].

The reader will find instances of choral accompaniment in many examples relating to other sections of the work.

In the case of solitary exclamations or phrases in recitative, melodic doubling is not always suitable. It is better to support the voice simply by harmonic duplication.

The repet.i.tion of notes--required by declamation--forming no fundamental part of the rhythmical structure of a phrase or chord should not be reproduced in the orchestra; the melodic or harmonic basis alone should be doubled. Sometimes the rhythmical structure of a choral phrase is simplified in comparison with its orchestral duplication.

_Examples:_

No. 293. _The Tsar's Bride_ [[96]].

No. 294. _Ivan the Terrible_, Act I, before [[75]].

Choral pa.s.sages, the musical context of which is complete in itself, forming a chorus _a cappella_ often remain undoubled by the orchestra, accompanied solely by sustained notes or an independent polyphonic figure.

_Examples:_

No. 295. _Sadko_ [[219]].

* _Tsar Saltan_ [[207]].

* _Legend of Kitesh_ [[167]] (cf. Ex. 116).

* _The Golden c.o.c.kerel_ [[236]].

Heavier scoring is required for a mixed chorus; for a male voice chorus the orchestration should be lighter; still more so for women's voices alone. In scoring a certain pa.s.sage the composer should not lose sight of the number of choristers he is employing, for scenic conditions may necessitate a reduction of that figure. The approximate number should be marked in the full score as a basis upon which to work.