The Five Archetypes of Orchestration in 60 Lessons — Part I

We're going to look at an example of what I would term a chain orchestration in this lecture. At the conclusion of the lecture, I'll also demonstrate how I personally used this idea in one of my own pieces.

In this lecture we continue studying chain orchestration now in a section from the first symphony of Beethoven where the chain orchestration is realized by utilizing leaps in the registers. Furthermore, I show you a similar example of this technique in the main theme of the first movement of my double piano concerto 'Passions'.

The examples in this lecture will give the impression that the orchestral contrast in the background accompaniment is sufficient to suggest the foreground, in this case the melody, as a texture with only one element. However, we are still not ready for an example of a texture with an element in this lecture. In these two cases, articulation is primarily where the attention and distinction lay. After all, articulation becomes a key aspect of the composition itself and is a necessary component of orchestration. A prime example of this is the second movement's theme from Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony. I also want to demonstrate to you a section of my violin concerto Zodiac where the articulation actually makes a difference in the performance and composition.

This fourth lecture examines a well-known example of a texture containing one element—the famous introduction of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'une faune. Then I'll show for you a comparable passage from Rotations, a piano piece I wrote in 1987, which has a lot in common with Debussy's opening. When we discuss a texture with one element, that part may ultimately be solely or at least primarily melodic. However, there are various methods in which it can be put into practice. Everything depends on the setting in which it will be used.

In this lecture, we'll discuss two items of one-element textures played by instruments from the same family, the bassoon and double bassoon. The beginning of Igor Stravinsky's ballet Le Sacre du Printemps is definitely the most well-known opening performed by a single instrument. Alternatives will be discussed. In Swerts' 6th Prelude 'Victims' we notice a very odd passage by the double bassoon.

Today's topic discusses a section of an important orchestral piece, specifically Bela Bartok's Concerto for orchestra. The brief section we'll be examining today is found at the very conclusion of the sonata-styled opening movement, Introduzione. It only serves as a means of transition. Using Bartok 's phrase as a guide, I have now created a similar section as an assignment for you.

We have already observed the chain orchestration as a component of a longer symphonic phrase inside the single textures. There are still more

ways that textures with one element can appear; in this lexture, we see numerous examples of "dovetailing."

There are four highlighted composers: myself, Saint-Saens, Grieg, and Holst.

Actually, it's a variation on the chain orchestration; the primary distinction is that the parts are joined together using one or, in some cases, even more similar notes spread over instruments from the same family. The line is transmitted from one instrument to another where there is a brief instant of touch; I would propose to call it torch orchestration.

An important orchestral phenomenon in textures with only one element, if not perhaps the most important aspect of it, is the tutti in unison. There lies precisely the power of the orchestration, of an orchestra when an entire group plays the same melodic line. We can distinguish two types in this: the first is the least common, that is the tutti in unison at the same pitch and the second, the most common, the tutti is doubled over several octaves, from two to even five octaves. In this lecture we will first only discuss the least common tutti, the unison at the same pitch.

In the previous lecture we treated tutti in unison at the same pitch, now the most frequent form of unison tuttis occurs, namely unison spread over several octaves. I have chosen four examples, Mozart's famous symphony, Beethoven's Fifth and Ninth symphonies and an excerpt from Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole

We will discuss now what we have seen in previous lectures. You could consider asking yourself if it's possible to orchestrate and construct a musical piece using only one element's textures. In any case, the game is in the composer's imagination, so let's give it a try. This is a short piece I've titled Novelette for this project. A novella is a prose fiction with a shortened scope.