The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-08-14
SOMETHING ABOUT
MUSICAL Instruments
CiousuF Ones to Which
Opera Audiences Like
to Listen.
TRoMBoNEs, sACKBUTs
Saxophones and BassoonS
0boes, English Horns,
Clarinets, Flutes.

The story used to be told that the
Shah of Persia of S0-odd years ago
attended his first grand opera in Lon
don, and that Adelina Patti then in
her prime never sang better, At the
close of the performance the Shah
was asked what he thought of the
diva. He shrugged his shoulders
When he was further questioned as
to what he had liked best in the opera
he replied, the opening" It event
ually turned out that he did not mean
the overture but the tuning Of the
instruments. OF those who happen
to be early enough at the Metropoli-
tan or Manhattan Opera Houses to
hear this not unharmonious striking
of dissonances how many could tell
the names of all the instruments ?
] Probably not one in 10. OF course, ev-
erybody knows a violin when he sees
it and most people could spot a cello;
nor does it need any great musical
education to be able to distinguish the
big bass drum; but when it comes to
go NDNNi q belaobOlA a A1iACl lubeif VI
even a trombone there would be con
siderable hesitancy ana pretty gener-
al ignorance as to how and why these
| particular instruments are employed.
1t is the purpose of this article to give
some account Of these instruments as
well as the others used in a big or
chestra, and to point out, when the
i OINnnVf1t11tft yf11A
have made a special point of intro
| ducing them into their compositions.
/ It viii be worth while to note first
to what extent the orchestra has de-
yeloped in the last $50 years, it, in
deed, it can be said that an orchestra
did exist so far back There is an
account Of ballet given in 1891, at a
very smart wedding in France when
10 violins, hautboys, flutes comets,
trombones, lutcs, harps, a fageolet
and viol da gambia were used, but
! the violins played alone in one scene
and in the next two the remaining in
lstruments took part in what from the
DIES 7ription, must have been a most
confusing performance so that the or
NilNo - eli 60 wy bDOW ~ lOQdy may DC
Isaid not to have existed at the close
of the sixteenth century 1t is not
till the end Of the following century
that we find the elements Of d com
plete orchestra, with a full stringed
band and wind instruments tt
strengthen it. but those wind instru-
nents were even in Hanrers time
/ ,,1, IN In, a..
parts of the stringed Handel and
Bach wrote for bands of yiols AND
lcrowds Of reeds. The moderns do
mot.
What modern orchestra is like
will best be Illustrated by giving list
of the instruments that compose the
orchestra Of the Metropolitan Opera
House at the present moment, They
are as follows First violins Is, second
yiolins 70, violas or tenors 8, yiolon-
cellos (bass) s, double BASES s. flutes
2, piccolo i, oboes g. cor anglais OF
English horn l, clerinets 2, bass clari.
net /, bassoons 3, double bassoon l.
Itrumpets 2, horns 4, trombones 8, two
pairs of tlmpani or kettle drums, cor.
nets piston 2. tenor tuba /, bass
tuba l. harps 2, bass drum /, piai
of cymbals, | triangle, | tambourine
side drum q pair Of castanets and
a set of bells or glockenspiel.
| When an opera of Wagner is pro
Iduced, the trumpets are increased
from two to four, and a oontrabass
tuba is also added on a Wagner night
When the Ring is given, mighty
increase is made in the orchestra
The additions are a bass trumpet
three flutes, three oboes, three clari,
nets, eight horns, and four tubas.
| Many are the new voices that have
come into the orchestra since the days
of Handel and Bach, but many, too
have gone out. Still, the orchestra
although it has increased in size has
not materially altered; the orchestra.
ton has, One musical critic has gone
so far as to say that the old bands
were we'll adapted to the needs of the
men who composed for them. while
the new are not at all adapted tC
lmodern needs. The old Instruments
ton was not the Instrumentation OF
to-day; but the old composers were
not using every instrument in the
band, because 1t happened to be there
to use; and this critic points out how
some of the voices have gone out or
to use a more practical trem, have
been dropped, although they are
needed toward the perfection of par
Iticular groups. Some cases will be
noticed in the descriptions of tht
groups.
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