Favorite uses of instruments

[William]

I know this is a HUGE subject, but that's what makes it interesting.

I was wondering what examples of instrumental writing stand out for people here. If you are lucid enough to comment on why (often I'm not), that certainly adds to the interest.

My list which I only started just now obviously would emphasize orchestral practice except for a few examples:

English Horn:
Franck, Symphony, second movement
This has a wonderful mournful quality that adds enormously to the dark, romantic atmosphere of this great work. I heard that Franck at the premiere was told by Gounod, who was the outstanding French composer at the time and evidently an idiot, "Sir, your work cannot be a true symphony because you included an English Horn."

Piccolo:
John Phillip Sousa, Stars and Stripes Forever
Shostakovich, Fifth Symphony, Adagio movement
These show two different sides of the piccolo: on the Sousa it's brilliant, extremely quick articulation ability which is probably faster than any other instrument in existence, and on the Shostakovich the surprisingly plaintive, sad and delicate tone of its low register in a soft dynamic. This Shostakovich is only a brief section, but memorable. Holst, in the "Dance of the Spirits of Water and Fire" from the Perfect Fool Ballet also wrote for this quiet, lower piccolo range.

Tam-Tam:
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
I was told by a drummer to listen to a particular New York Philharmonic recording of the Rite, and pay attention to the gong part. He said "They make it talk." It's true, and startling how instead of just banging on it you can hear in this piece various chokes, mutes, crescendo rolls and different strokes that create an actual dialogue with the rest of the orchestra.

Contra-Bassoon
Ravel, Mother Goose Suite
Bernard Herrmann, several scores
The dialogue between the clarinet and contrabassoon in the "Beauty and the Beast" section of this is unforgettable. Also, Herrmann's use in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and several others. He exploited very much the tremendous sforzando that the instrument is capable of in its low range. In particular I remember the bizarre combination of medieval serpent with contrabassoon and bassoon ensemble he used in "Journey."

Violin:
Bach, Partitas
This is not orchestral obviously, but in these works Bach does more with one violin than most composers do with an entire orchestra. The complete mastery of all aspects of writing for the instrument, combined with the utmost in expressiveness make these the greatest works ever done for the instrument. It is interesting how Stokowsky did a great transcription of the Partita in D Chaconne, using a large symphony orchestra, and it was not the slightest overkill. That is one indication of how much Bach could evoke from one little violin.

Bass Ensemble:
Holst, Egdon Heath
The prominent opening soli of this work uses the full range of the basses and their ominous, sometimes otherworldly quality when freed from merely providing bass-line chores.

I have a lot more of these but wonder if anybody else can add to this list.

[evan evans]

Ride Cymbal:
Prokofieev's 5th Symphony: Fourth Movement - Last several bars.

Evan Evans

[William]

This thread may be too vague and enormous, but here are some others I was thinking about -

Celeste:
Holst, Neptune
The arpeggios in this for the celeste tracing bitonal chords along with harp create an extremely eerie and vivid effect.

Bassett Horn:
Mozart, Gran Partita
Of course this is about the only well known use of alto clarinet, but the piece remains a favorite for its two bassett horns as well as the other instrumentation: clarinets, bassoons, horns, oboes and one string bass which remarkably provides a reinforcement without being noticeable itself that adds almost uncannily to the depth and resonance of the ensemble. It has been said that this piece is the origin of all symphonic band music which to this day includes a (rarely used) string bass part as well as bassett horn. Though of course Mozart did not include a part for the instrument he hated - the flute. He only wrote for it as a convention or a gig - as in the Concerto for Flute and Harp which he was commissioned to do and which though charming is a rather lightweight piece of fluff. I remember seeing poor James Galway trying to explain away Mozart's hatred of his instrument, not very effectively.

Horn:
R. Strauss, Alpensinfonie
An awesomely difficult but spectacular horn part to play, given Strauss's almost sadistic writing for the horn in both its upper register and its continual use. My lips were reduced to hamburger several times by this composer.

Brass Ensemble:
Mahler, 2nd Symphony
Some very powerful writing for massive, strongly voiced brass choir in this, particularly in the last movement.

Flute:
This may be an odd example, but one I always remember is the solo at the end of Vaughn Williams' 4rth Symphony, 1st movement. Here, the flute plays an extremely mournful lament after the intense violence that has preceded it, and then does a diminuendo with vibrato slowly fading out in the low range that creats a disturbing, haunting effect. Another use by Vaughn Williams of the flute that is unique is his scoring in the finale of the 6th symphony for three flutes in unison, pianissimo, that sounds amazing unlike flutes - another quiet and eerie effect by the compatriot of Holst. The two must have been influenced very much by each other in this regard, especially considering the use of the alto and bass flutes in Neptune.

[Nigel Watson]

Dear William

I will be very happy if this thread continues to get "enormouser" [:D]

Vague....? Absolutely not!
Informed, interesting, educative, opinionated, maybe....? Yes!!!

Thanks for "sharing"

Nigel

[Fred Story]

In the realm of Jazz Orchestration, I've always been a great admirer of Gil Evans. I used to love the way he doubled piccolo and bass clarinet on melodies. It was just a cool and very unigue combination.

Fred Story

[DaveTubaKing]

Always a usefull discussion.

Tuba – Prokofiev Symph 5 – liberated from being just a 4th trombone and being integral to the full orchestral bass – wonderfully lyrical writing which the tuba excels at being a singing instrument.

Tuba – best tuba solo – Gershwin’s an American in Paris (short but sweet) and John Williams Star Wars Jabba The Hut

Flute/Horn/Tuba – there’s an extraordinary moment in one of the slow movements of Holst's Planet Suite (I’m at work otherwise I’d check the score) where a descending passage starts in the flute and goes down thru the horn into the tuba and it sounds almost seamless – could be one instrument (particularly listen to the Previn/LSO recording with the sublime John Fletcher on Tuba)

Clarinets – the solo for two unison clarinets at the beginning of the last movement of Tchaik 5 – deep, dark and very very husky.

Orchestral percussion – anything by Edgar Varese but particularly Ionisation – a trailblazer in exciting innovative percussion sonorities.

Contrabassoon – Michael Tippet's Symph No 4 – not just the usual grunts and farts (at which the CB excels) but exploits its upper register, lyrical qualities and dexterity.

Double Basses – the raw power of a big bass section in the opening of the final movement of Mahler 2 – a passage that scared the heebee geebies out of bass players at the time (and still does).

Bass Drum – obvious but the Dies Irae from Verdi’s Requiem – small anecdote if we have the time – my first ever paid gig as a tuba player was V’s Requiem, which I had never heard. They sat me one foot away from the Bass Drum and when he struck his first note in the Dies Irae I literally fell off my chair and crashed to the floor tuba and all.

Cimbalom (Zither?) (does VSL have one?) – Zoltan Kodaly Hary Janos Suite – it just sounds great – this score is also full of wonderful instrumental writing and scoring – a great example of a slow rude glissando in trombones and tuba (and yes the tuba can do a very good continuous glissando (half valve technique) particularly in the low register) – and also excellent writing for orchestral saxophone (no hint of jazz at all).

If this thread gets popular I’m sure I could think up a few more

[Peter Roos]

[:D] , the BD in Verdi's Requiem seems to be a test of the conductor's heart condition. I once read about a session in which the BD note did not actually come at all, the percussionist wasn't paying attention.

Then you get an effect of a very loud silence, which, I guess, should be killing for the conductor [:P]

[William]

Very interesting responses. Piccolo and Bass clarinet - I remember hearing that, unconsciously.

What about the ff B.D. rolls in the Tuba Mirum of the Berlioz Requiem?

I like hearing Dave TubaKing's emphasis on the low brass. Was the part you mentioned in the Planets in Saturn with the repeated 4 note motif played in different registers? Also, you beat me to mentioning Varese - I was going to do so, because he is the most original and intricate user of the percussion ensemble. Ameriques, Ionization, Hyperprism and many of his others are amazing in how they make the ensemble as much of a participant in the music as a string section in an orchestra.