Economy in orchestral colour.
Neither musical feeling nor the ear itself can stand, for long,
the full resources of the orchestra combined together. The
favourite group of instruments is the strings, then follow in order
the wood-wind, brass, kettle-drums, harps, pizzicato effects, and lastly
the percussion, also, in point of order, triangle, cymbals, big drum,
side drum, tambourine, gong. Further removed stand the celesta,
glockenspiel and xylophone, which instruments, though melodic,
are too characteristic in timbre to be employed over frequently.
The same may be said of the piano and castanets. A quantity of
national instruments not included in the present work may be
incorporated into the orchestra; such are the guitar, the domra,
zither, mandoline, the oriental tambourine, small tambourine etc.
These instruments are employed from time to time for descriptiveaesthetic
purposes.
These instruments are most frequently used in the above-named
order. A group of instruments which has been silent for some
time gains fresh interest upon its reappearance. The trombones,
trumpets and tuba are occasionally tacet for long periods, the
percussion is seldom employed, and practically never all together,
but in single instruments or in two's and three's. In national
dances or music in ballad style, percussion instruments may be
used more freely.
After a long rest the re-entry of the horns, trombones and tuba
should coincide with some characteristic intensity of tone, either
pp or ff; piano and forte re-entries are less successful, while reintroducing
these instruments mezzo-forte or mezzo-piano produces
a colourless and common-place effect. This remark is capable
of wider application. For the same reasons it is not good to
commence or finish any piece of music either mf or mp. The
scope of the musical examples in this work does not permit of
illustrating by quotation the use of economy in orchestral colour,
nor the re-entry of instruments thrown into prominence by prolonged
rests. The reader must examine these questions in full scores.
