The Complexities of Early Instrumentation. Winds and Brass

Pages: 160 p. Illustrations:58 b/w, 21 tables b/w. Language(s):English, French, German. Publication Year:2015. Brepols. ISBN: 978-2-503-56479-1. Hardback -- SUMMARY When a professional orchestra today plays an eighteenth-century work with parts for wind and brass instruments, nothing seems amiss. Yet writers in the eighteenth century and beyond indicate that many notes in these scores could not be played in tune by these instruments; certain notes could be produced only with difficulty or not at all. The present work concentrates on the time period least explored in modern writings — the years before Hector Berlioz’s "Grand traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration modernes" (1843) — and traces the development of instrumentation instruction for composers from its beginnings in the late eighteenth century, after the era of J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel. An introductory chapter includes background information on subjects related to the discussion: intonation, tuning, key action, the lack of a standard pitch level, and the difficulty of reed making. While earlier manuals supply little but the range of instruments, Valentin Roeser’s "Essai d’instruction à l’usage de ceux qui composent pour la clarinette et le cor" (1764) offers composers concrete assistance in writing for the clarinet and horn. Louis-Joseph Francoeur’s "Diapason général de tous les instrumens à vent" (1772) provides the same for all the winds and brass, as does Othon Vandenbroeck’s "Traité général de tous les instrumens à vent à l’usage des compositeurs" (c.1793). This book is not a history of instrumentation per se, but an account of technological progress and ever-increasing knowledge. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations Preface Introduction to the Wind and Brass Instruments A Compelling Need Criticism of Unplayable Parts Intonation Differing Pitch Levels Tuning The Difficulty of Reed Making Key Action Transposing Instruments The Origins of Instrumentation: Rœser, Francœur and Vandenbroek Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon Horn Trumpet Trombone Accompaniment Wind and Brass Instruments: Other Manuals and Commentaries to 1820 Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon Horn Trumpet Trombone Wind and Brass Instruments, 1820-1840 Manuals Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon Horn Trumpet Trombone Instruments from Mid-Century onward Berlioz on Instrumentation A Sample of Subsequent Commentaries The Exposition universelle of 1867 Into the Twentieth Century Mozart’s Orchestrations for Works by Handel and C. P. E. Bach Conclusion Appendix Johann Sebastian Bach’s Wind and Brass Parts Selected Bibliography Index of Names.…