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On Orchestration

On Orchestration Dr. Hanson's invitation to tell you of my theories of orchestral scor­ ing led me to discover that I had given but little, if any, thought to formulating such theories. Of course, they existed. But I had been so busy trying to learn more of the art of orchestration that I was not conscious of them. Although what I am about to say may seem paradoxical, it is nevertheless true. The more I learn of orchestration the more I know how little I know of it. Thus you may understand why the theories were so long neglected. Even now, after having given some thought to the matter, I hesitate to term the thoughts I'm about to express "theories." I'd rather call them experiences and resultant conclusions. The major problem confronting one who sets out to score for an orchestra is that of presenting the music most effectively. For the solution of this problem, three factors are absolutely essential; clar­ ity, balance and a tasteful variety of tone color. Clarity is the quality that tends to make every effect clear and each voice proportionately distinct. In order to acquire this quality it is necessary to refrain from over-orchestrating. I use http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Black Sacred Music Duke University Press

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Copyright
Copyright © 1992 by Duke University Press
ISSN
1043-9455
eISSN
2640-9879
DOI
10.1215/10439455-6.2.252
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Dr. Hanson's invitation to tell you of my theories of orchestral scor­ ing led me to discover that I had given but little, if any, thought to formulating such theories. Of course, they existed. But I had been so busy trying to learn more of the art of orchestration that I was not conscious of them. Although what I am about to say may seem paradoxical, it is nevertheless true. The more I learn of orchestration the more I know how little I know of it. Thus you may understand why the theories were so long neglected. Even now, after having given some thought to the matter, I hesitate to term the thoughts I'm about to express "theories." I'd rather call them experiences and resultant conclusions. The major problem confronting one who sets out to score for an orchestra is that of presenting the music most effectively. For the solution of this problem, three factors are absolutely essential; clar­ ity, balance and a tasteful variety of tone color. Clarity is the quality that tends to make every effect clear and each voice proportionately distinct. In order to acquire this quality it is necessary to refrain from over-orchestrating. I use

Journal

Black Sacred MusicDuke University Press

Published: Sep 1, 1992

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