Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise: A Translation And Commentary (cambridge Musical Texts And Monographs)

Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise is a classic textbook which has been used as a guide to orchestration and as a source book for the understanding both of Berlioz's music and of orchestral practice in the nineteenth century. This was the first English translation of Berlioz's complete text since 1856, and it is accompanied throughout by Hugh Macdonald's extensive and authoritative commentary on the instruments of Berlioz's time and on his own orchestral practice, as revealed in his scores. It also includes extracts from Berlioz's writings on instruments in his Memoirs and in his many articles for the Parisian press. The Treatise has been highly valued both for its technical information about instruments but also for its poetic and visionary approach to the art of instrumentation. Berlioz was not only one of the great orchestrators of the nineteenth century, he was also the author with the clearest understanding of the art. "Berlioz's orchestration treatise is a classic textbook which has been used as a guide to orchestration and as a source book for the understanding both of Berlioz's music and of orchestral practice in the nineteenth century. This is the first new English translation of Berlioz's complete text since 1856, and it is accompanied throughout by Hugh Macdonald's extensive and authoritative commentary on the instruments of Berlioz's time and on his own orchestral practice, as revealed in his scores. It also includes extracts from Berlioz's writings on instruments in his Memoirs and in his many articles for the Parisian press." "The Treatise has been highly valued both for its technical information about instruments and for its poetic and visionary approach to the art of instrumentation. It includes a chapter on the orchestra itself, seen as a giant independent instrument, and on the art of conducting, one of the first documents of its kind. Berlioz was not only one of the great orchestrators of the nineteenth century, he was also the author with the clearest understanding of the art."--Jacket. Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise is a classic textbook which has been used as a guide to orchestration and as a source book for the understanding both of Berlioz's music and of orchestral practice in the 19th century. This is the first new English translation of Berlioz's complete text since 1856, and it is accompanied throughout by Hugh Macdonald's extensive and authoritative commentary on the instruments of Berlioz's time and on his own orchestral practice, as revealed in his scores. It also includes extracts from Berlioz's writings on instruments in his Memoirs and in his many articles for the Parisian press. The Treatise has been highly valued both for its technical information about instruments but also for its poetic and visionary approach to the art of instrumentation. Berlioz was not only one of the great orchestrators of the nineteenth century, he was also the author with the clearest understanding of the art. Frontmatter List of illustrations (page x) Preface (page xiii) A note on the edition (page xxxiii) A note on the translation (page xxxvi) Acknowledgments (page xxxvii) List of Abbreviations (page xxxviii) The Treatise Introduction (page 3) 1 Bowed strings (page 7) 2 Plucked strings (page 64) 3 Strings with keyboard (page 90) 4 Wind: Introduction (page 98) 5 Wind with reeds (page 102) 6 Wind without reeds (page 137) 7 Wind with keyboard (page 153) 8 Brass with mouthpiece (page 164) 9 Woodwind with mouthpiece (page 242) 10 Voices (page 246) 11 Pitched percussion (page 265) 12 Unpitched percussion (page 280) 13 New instruments (page 296) 14 The orchestra (page 319) 15 The conductor and his art (page 336) Appendix Berlioz's writing on instruments (page 366) Bibliography (page 371) General Index (page 377) Index of Berlioz's works (page 385) The four strings of the violin are normally tuned in fifths, with the fourth string tuned to g, the third to d', the second to a' and the first to e".