The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-23

though 1t is omitted from scores oftener
than many other instruments.
The tympani. Of which Haydn en-
ployed no more than two. are now. nor
numerous. Three are quite common
and -four are not unusual. The per-
cussion department OF the orchestra.
however. has been largely extended
owing to the desire of orchestral COM
posers for characteristic effects. The
military drums are heard in works not
having a specifically military character.
while bells Of all sizes and characters.
triangles, oymbals and even 1ylophones
have found their way into the delinea-
tive apparatus Of the purely orchestral
artist,
Nevertheless the entire scheme rests
on the outline which became clear and
strong in the practice Of Haydn. The
strings are the foundation of the whole
body. The wood wind falls naturally
into three families-futes. oboes and
clarinets. for the bassoon Is the ancient
and typical bass OF the oboe family. The
brass continues to be horns. trumpets
and trombones, with the single addition
OF the tubal, but in the manner of writ
ing for these groups great changes have
taken place. Haydn's method survived
with some Improvements through the
classic period. This method cannot
easily be explained to the layman. for
an understanding Of the system Of it's
distribution Of the notes of the chord
requires some knowledge OF harmony.
1t may be said. however. that tho prim+
tive Of writing for the orchestra
contemplated the treatment of wind
instruments as used in pairs and the al
lotment Of the notes of the chords to them
was made on this basis. Thus 1t became
common to treat the first and second
oboes, for instance. as singing soprano
and alto. n the first and second clari-
nets as doing the same thing.
In tutti passages three times out Of
Ave the oboes simply doubled the clari-
nets. In passages written for the wood
in the first orchestral compositions as
they speedily became in Immediately
succeeding works, it IA customary to
use the lower tones Of the clarinet for the
bottom Of the chord. When the bassoon
was employed that instrument furnished
the foundation.
This. however, accepts as invariable a
four part harmony. but the practice OF
Haydn shows him very often writing in
only three parts. 1t Is in this that he
stands furthest from the modern orches-
trail writer. No sooner was the method
Of writing always in four real parts firmly
established h composers began to
expand their scores and to enrich them
with a larger number Of instrumental
voices.
An amateur would see this most readily
by a comparison Of the treatment OF the
string parts in an old symphony or opera
and that OF the same parts in a recent
work. In such compositions as the SYM
phonies OF Haydn first and second violins
played always in two parts; but il you
turn to the second act OF Tristan und
Isolde you find the violins divided into
numerous parts. making the harmony
wonderfully complex and rich.
A page Of a descriptive composition
such as Nicode's 'Das Nicer in which
an attempt is made to depict unsteady
the phosphofescence Of the ocean, shows
violins divided into many parts. zach part
having its own figure. Sometimes these
divisions appear to be more effective to
the eye than to thee ear. but IL is none the
less true that the employment Of many
voices produces aural results far different
from those gained by writing in simpler
polyphony.
Bach developed to a high degree the
art Of instrumental writing in numerous
voices. but his purpose was not the same
as that of the recent composers. He
aimed at giving to zach voice q definite
individuality. so that the general result
would be that Of several solo voices heard
simultaneously; hut the frst symphonic
writers e~ndeavored to project a melody
against a background OF solid and richly
colored harmony,
They ttained their purpose only in
part, for their skill in coloring was print
tive; but the more recent musicians, |
having mastered many secrets OF the in
strumental palette. aim TO make the back
ground a composite tint secured by the
mixture OF colors. For this reason their
instrumental polyphony instead OF
solo effects in polyphony re-
suits rather in one general color, and this
color is a mixture which can be obtained
ony by scoring in numerous parts.
Despite his adherence to the primitive
Of writing in three part harmony
Haydn demonstrated clearly the prin-
ciples of solidity in scoring for the strings.
He had a nice sense OF balance and wanted
only a perception Of the possibilities
OF the cello. His treatment of the wood
wind in passages calling for the employ
ment Of one OF its voices to carry the
showed discrimination and h
for Hexibility; and he knew how to
a harmonic support OF a solo
wind voice by other wind instrum ents
with an interesting fguration for the
. Still more important was his insight
into the value OF sustained chords in
the wood wind as the support for solo
voices in other parts OF the orchestra.
Naturally Haydn made no great display
Of ingenuity in his use of the brass, The
trombone did not enter his symphonic
orchestra. IL was reserved for Beethoven
to show the power Of this majestic instru-
ment. Nor did Haydn utilize the trumpet
much better than his predecessors. He
improved the method OF writing for the
horns, but he failed to discover the i'm
.ense advantag &c OF employing these in
atr,,pepfs in mora thnn two parts