University of Virginia Library

Chapter V.
COMBINATION OF THE HUMAN VOICE WITH ORCHESTRA.
THE STAGE BAND.

Orchestral accompaniment of solo voices.

General remarks.

In accompanying the voice orchestral scoring should be light
enough for the singer to make free use of all the dynamic shades
of expression without hardness of tone. In overflowing lyrical
moments, where full voice is required, the singer should be well
supported by the orchestra.

Opera singing may be divided into two general classes, lyric
singing and declamation or recitative. The full, round, legato aria
affords greater facility for tone production than florid music or
recitative, and the more movement and rhythmic detail contained
in the vocal part, the greater freedom and liberty must there be
given to the voice. In such a case the latter should not be
doubled by the orchestra, neither should rhythmical figures be written
for any instrument corresponding with those in the vocal part. In
accompanying the voice the composer should bear these points in
mind before turning his attention to the choice of orchestral colour.
A confused, heavy accompaniment will overpower the singer; an
accompaniment which is too simple in character will lack interest,
and one which is too weak will not sustain the voice sufficiently.

In modern opera it is rare that orchestral writing is confined
to accompaniment pure and simple. It frequently happens that the
principal musical idea, often complex in character, is contained
in the orchestra. The voice may then be said to form the accompaniment,
exchanging musical for literary interest. It becomes

subordinate to the orchestra, as though it were an extra part,
subsequently added as an after-thought. But it is evident that great
care must be taken with orchestral writing in such cases. The
scoring must not be so heavy or complicated as to drown the
voice and prevent the words from being heard, thereby breaking
the thread of the text, and leaving the musical imagery unexplained
. Certain moments may require great volume of orchestral tone, so
great that a voice of even phenomenal power is incapable of
being heard. Even if the singer is audible, such unequal struggles
between voice and orchestra are most inartistic, and the composer
should reserve his orchestral outbursts for the intervals during
which the voice is silent, distributing the singer's phrases and
pauses in a free and natural manner, according to the sense of
the words. If a prolonged forte occurs in the orchestra
it may be used concurrently with action on the stage. All artificial
reduction of tone contrary to the true feeling of a passage, the sole
object being to allow the voice to come through, should be strictly
avoided, as it deprives orchestral writing of its distinctive brilliance.
It must also be remembered that too great a disparity in volume
of tone between purely orchestral passages and those which
accompany the voice create an inartistic comparison. Therefore,
when the orchestra is strengthened by the use of wood-wind in
three's or four's, and brass in large numbers, the division of tone
and colour must be manipulated skillfully and with the greatest care.

In previous sections I have frequently stated that the structure
of the orchestra is closely related to the music itself. The scoring
of a vocal work proves this relationship in a striking manner, and,
indeed, it may be stipulated that only that which is well written
can be well orchestrated.

Transparence of accompaniment. Harmony.

The group of strings is the most transparent medium and the
one least likely to overpower the voice. Then come the woodwind
and the brass, the latter in the following order: horns, trombones,
trumpets. A combination of strings, pizz., and the harp
forms a setting eminently favourable for the voice. As a general
rule a singer is more easily overpowered by long sustained notes
than by short detached ones. Strings doubled in the wood-wind

and brass, and brass doubled by wood-wind are combinations
liable to drown the singer. This may be done even more easily
by tremolando in the kettle-drums and other percussion instruments,
which, even by themselves are capable of overpowering any other
orchestral group of instruments. Doubling of wood-wind and
horns, and the use of two clarinets, two oboes or two horns in
unison to form one harmonic part is likewise to be avoided,
as such combinations will have a similar effect on the voice. The
frequent use of long sustained notes in the double basses is another
course unfavourable to the singer: these notes in combination
with the human voice produce a peculiar throbbing effect.

Juxtaposition of strings and wood-wind which overweights legato
or declamatory singing may nevertheless be employed if one of
the groups forms the harmony in sustained notes and the other
executes a melodic design, when, for instance the sustaining
instruments are clarinet, and bassoon, or bassoon and horn, and the
melodic design is entrusted to violins or violas — or in the opposite
case, when the harmony is given to violas and 'cellos divisi, and
the harmonic figure to the clarinets.

Sustained harmony in the register of the second octave to the
middle of the third does not overpower women's voices, as these
develop outside this range; neither is it too heavy for men's
voices, which although opening out within the range itself sound
an octave higher, as in the case of the tenor voice. As a rule
women's voices suffer more than men's when they come in contact
with harmony in a register similar to their own. Taken separately,
and used in moderation, each group of orchestral instruments may
be considered favourable to each type of voice. But the combination
of two or three groups cannot be so considered unless they each
play an independent part and are not united together at full strength.
Incessant four-part harmony is to be deprecated. Satisfactory results
will be obtained when the number of harmonic parts is gradually
decreased, with some of them sustaining pedal notes, and when
the harmony, interspersed with necessary pauses is confined to
the limits of one octave, distributed over several octaves, or duplicated
in the higher register.

These manipulations allow the composer to come to the singer's
aid; in voice-modulations, when the singer passes from the cantabile

to the declamatory style, the composer may reduce or
eliminate some harmony which is found to be too heavy as the
vocal tone diminishes, and conversely, support the voice by a
fuller orchestral tone in broad phrases and climaxes.

Ornamental writing and polyphonic accompaniment should never
be too intricate in character, entailing the use of an unnecessary
number of instruments. Some complicated figures are better partially
entrusted to pizz. strings and harp, as this combination has little
chance of overpowering the voice. Some examples of accompanying
an aria are given below.

Examples:

• The Tsar's Bride, Lykow's supplementary Aria (Act III).
• " " 16-19 -- Griasnov's Aria.
• No.277. Snegourotchka 45.
• * Snegourotchka 187-188, 212-213 the two Cavatinas of Tsar
  Berendey (cf. extracts, Ex. 102, 225).
• No. 278. Sadko 143.
• " 204-206 -- The Venetian's Song.
• * Legend of Kitesh 39-41, 222-223 (cf. Ex. 31).
• * The Golden Cockerel 153-157, 163.

Florid singing which limits volume of tone requires a light
accompaniment, simple in outline and colour, involving no duplication
of instruments.

Examples:

• No. 279. Snegourotchka 42-48 -- Snegourotchka's Aria (Prologue), Fragment.
• * Sadko 195-197 -- Hindoo Song (cf. Ex. 122).
• * The Christmas Night 45-50 -- Oxana's Aria.
• * The Golden Cockerel 131-136 -- Aria of Queen Shémakhâ

Doubling voices in the orchestra.

Melodic doubling of voices by orchestral instruments (in unison
or octaves) is of frequent occurrence, but incessant duplication for
an extended period of time should be avoided; it is only permissible
in isolated phrases. The most natural duplication in

unison of womens' voices is performed by violins, violas, clarinets
and oboes; that of mens' voices by violas, 'cellos, bassoons and
horns. Doubling in octaves is usually done in the upper register.
Trombones and trumpets overpower the voice and cannot be used
for this purpose. Uninterrupted or too frequent duplication should
be avoided, not only because the operation deprives the singer of
full freedom of expression, but also because it replaces by a
mixed timbre the rare characteristic qualities of the human voice.
Doubling, when limited to a few special phrases supports the
voice and endows it with beauty and colour. It is only suitable
in tempo; to apply it, in unison or octaves to a passage ad. lib.
is both ineffective and dangerous.

Examples:

• Snegourotchka 50-52 — Snegourotchka's Arietta (cf. Ex. 41).
• Sadko 309-311 — Volkhova's Cradle-song (cf. Ex. 81).

Besides the question of doubling the voice for the object of
colour there are instances when the singer executes only part of
a phrase, allotted in its entirely to an orchestral instrument.

Example:

• Vera Scheloga 30, 36 (cf. Ex. 49).

Lyrical climaxes, a piena voce, or dramatic passages for the
voice situated outside its normal range should be supported melodically
and harmonically by the orchestra, in the register in which
the voice is placed. The culminating point in such passages
often coincides with the entry or sudden attack of the trombones
or other brass instruments, or by a rush of strings. Strengthening
the accompaniment in this manner will soften the tone of the voice.

Examples:

• No. 280. The Tsar's Bride 206.
• Servilia 126-127
• " 232.
• No. 281. Sadko 314.
• Vera Scheloga 41.

If the culminating point is soft in colour and outline it is better
left unsupported in the orchestra, but sometimes the wood-wind,
sustaining such passages with light transparent melody or harmony
may produce an entrancing effect.

Examples:

• Snegourotchka 188.
• " 318 (cf. Ex. 119).
• No. 282. The Tsar's Bride 214.

It is a common practice to support voices in concerted numbers
by harmony and duplication; this operation makes for accuracy
and brilliance when applied to duets, trios, quartets etc.

Examples:

• Snegourotchka 292-293 — Duet (cf. Ex. 118).
• Sadko 99-101 — Duet (cf. Ex. 289 and 290).
• No. 283. The Tsar's Bride 169 — sextet
• " " 117 quartet.
• Legend of Kitesh 341 — quartet and sextet (cf. Ex. 305).

The beautiful effect produced by a solo instrument accompanying
a cantabile aria cannot be denied. In such cases the instruments
used are generally the violin, viola, and 'cello, or the flute, oboe,
Eng. horn, clar., bass clar., bassoon, horn and harp. The accompaniment
is often contrapuntal or composed of polyphonic designs.
The solo instrument either plays alone or as the leading melodic voice
in the ensemble. In combination with the voice, or associated
with some action on the stage, a solo instrument is a
powerful expedient for musical characterisation. Instances of this
description are numerous.

Examples:

• Snegourotchka 50 — Soprano and oboe (cf. Ex. 41).
• " 97 — Contralto and Eng. horn.
• " 243, 246 — Baritone and bass clar. (cf. Ex.47-48).
• No. 284. The Tsar's Bride 108 — Soprano, 'cello and oboe.
• * The Golden Cockerel 163 — Soprano and viola (cf. Ex. 226).

It is comparatively rare for percussion instruments to take part
in accompanying the voice. The triangle is occasionally used, the
cymbals less frequently. An accompaniment may be formed by a
figure or a tremolo on the kettle-drums.

Examples:

• Snegourotchka 97, 224, 247 (Lell's 1st and 3rd songs).
• Tsar Saltan, before 5.
• * No 285. The Golden Cockerel 135; cf. also 161, 197.

The following are examples of powerful and expressive orchestral
passages, 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 latitude 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
assumes a more cantabile character, and must be re-inforced 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 relationship to the words, and
the action on the stage. This class of orchestration can only be
studied from lengthy examples. I refer the reader to operatic full
scores and content myself with giving one or short instances:

Examples:

• No. 287. Snegourotchka 16.
• No. 288. The Tsar's Bride 124-125.

The following double examples, similar from a musical point
a 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 passages 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 Cockerel 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 repetition 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 passages, the musical context of which is complete in
itself, forming a chorus a capella often remains 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 Cockerel 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 passage 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.

Examples:

• No. 296. Ivan the Terrible, Act II 37.
• * Sadko 17, 20.
• * Legend of Kitesh 61 (cf. Ex. 198).

Note. It must also be remembered that a ff passage on an enlarged
orchestra, comprising wood-wind in fours, and numerous brass (sometimes
in three's), is capable of overpowering a large mixed chorus.

A chorus in the wings requires as light an accompaniment as
that employed for a solo singer on the stage.

Examples:

• Ivan the Terrible, Act I 25-26, 90; Act III 13-14.
• The May Night, Act I, before X; Act III Bbb-Ccc.
• * No. 297. Sadko 102.
• * Legend of Kitesh 54-56 (cf. Ex. 196 and 197).

Solo voice with chorus.

When an aria or recitative is coupled with the chorus great
care must be taken in the choral writing. A woman's solo voice
stands out well against a male voice chorus, likewise a solo male
voice against a women's chorus, for in both cases, the timbre of
the solo voice differs from the rest. But the combination of solo

voice and chorus, of the same timbre, or mixed chorus, creates
a certain amount of difficulty. In such cases the soloist should
sing in a higher register than the chorus, the former a piena voce,
the latter piano. The soloist should stand as near to the footlights
as possible; the chorus up-stage. The orchestration should be
adapted to the soloist, not to the chorus.

Examples:

• No.298. Snegourotchka 143.
• Ivan the Terrible. Act II 37 (cf. Ex. 296).

When the chorus sings in the wings the soloist is always heard
distinctly.

Examples:

• Ivan the Terrible, Act I 25-26.
• * The May Night, Act III Ccc.
• * Sadko 102, 111.

Instruments on the stage and in the wings.

The use of instruments on the stage or in the wings dates from
distant times (Mozart, Don Giovanni, string orchestra in Act I,
finale). In the middle of last century orchestras of brass instruments,
or brass and wood-wind combined, made their appearance on the
stage (Glinka, Meyerbeer, Gounod and others). More modern
composers have abandoned this clumsy practice, not only unfortunate
from the spectators' point of view, but also detrimental to
the mediaeval or legendary setting of the majority of operas. Only
those stage instruments are now used which suit the scene and
surroundings in which the opera is laid. As regards instruments
in the wings, invisible to the audience, the question is simple.
Nevertheless, for the musician of today the choice of these instruments
must be regulated by aesthetic considerations of greater
importance than those governing the selection of a military band.
The instruments are played in the wings, those visible on the stage
are only for ornament. Sometimes stage-instruments may be replicas
of those common to the period which the opera represents, (the
sacred horns in Mlada, for example). The orchestral accompaniment

must vary in power according to the characteristics of the instruments
played in the wings. It is impossible to illustrate the use
of all the instruments mentioned below, and to outline suitable
accompaniments. I can only give a few examples and refer the
reader once again to the passages in the full scores.

a) Trumpets:
• Servilia 12, 25.
• * Legend of Kitesh 53, 55. 60.
• * Tsar Saltan 139 and further on.
b) Horns, in the form of hunting horns:
• Pan Voyevoda 38-39.
c) Trombones, leaving the orchestra to go on the stage:
• Pan Voyevoda 191.
d) Cornets:
• Ivan the Terrible, Act III 3, 7.
e) Sacred horns (natural brass instruments in various keys):
• Mlada, Act II, pp. 179 onwards.
f) Small clarinets and piccolos:
• No.299-300. Mlada, Act III 37, 39.
• g) Pipes of Pan: instruments, specially made, with many holes
  which are passed over the lips. These particular pipes produce
  a special enharmonic scale (B flat, C, D flat, E flat, E, F
  sharp, G, A), which has the effect of a glissando:
  • Mlada, Act III 39, 43 (cf. Ex. 300).
h) Harp, reproducing the effect of an aeolian harp:
• Kashtcheï the Immortal 32 and further on (cf. Ex. 268, 269).
• i) Lyres. Instruments specially made and tuned so as to be able
  to perform a glissando chord of the diminished seventh:
  • Mlada, Act III 39, 43 (cf. Ex. 300).
k) Pianoforte, grand or upright:
• Mozart and Salieri 22-23.
l) Gong, imitating a church bell:
• Ivan the Terrible, Act I 57 and farther on.

---

131




m) Bass Drum (without cymbals) to imitate the sound of cannon:
• Tsar Saltan 139 and later.
• n) Small kettle-drum, in D flat (3rd octave):
  • Mlada, Act III 41 and later (cf. Ex. 60).
o) Bells in various keys:
• Sadko 128 and 139.
• No. 301. Legend of Kitesh 181 and further on. See also 241,
  323 and later.
• * Tsar Saltan 139 and further on.
p) Organ:
• No.302. Sadko 299-300.

Wood-wind and strings are comparatively seldom used on the
stage or in the wings. In Russian opera the strings are employed
in this way by Rubinstein (Gorioucha), and in a splendidly characteristic
manner by Serov (Hostile Power): in the latter opera
the E flat clarinet is used to imitate the fife in the Carnival
procession. [1]