berlioz treatise on orchestration

7/31/2019 Berlioz Treatise on Orchestration

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berlioz treatise on orchestration

Stringed instruments

The violin

[] The tremolo, played on one or two strings by massed violins produces several

excellent effects; it expresses anxiety, agitation, or terror when played piano, mezzo

forte or fortissimo on one or two of the G, D, or A strings and when pitched no higher

than the middle B flat. It has a stormy and violent character when played fortissimo

on the middle range of the A and E strings. But it becomes ethereal and seraphic

when used in several parts and is played pianissimo on the higher notes of the E

string. One may mention here that the usual practice in the orchestra is to divide the

violins into two groups, first and second, but there is no reason why they should not

each be subdivided further into two or three parts, depending on what the composer istrying to achieve. []

[] Harmonics [...] have a peculiar quality of mysterious softness, and the extreme

height of some of them gives to the violin a vast upper range. [] The composer may

write them in two, three or even four parts, depending on the number of violin parts.

The effect produced by such sustained chords is very remarkable, if the subject of the

piece calls for it and it integrates well with the rest of the orchestral writing. I used

them for the first time in three parts, in the scherzo of a symphony [Romeo and Juliet,

Queen Mab scherzo, bar 361 and following], above a fourth, non-harmonic, violin

part which consists of a continuous trill on the lower note. The extreme delicacy of

the harmonics is enhanced in this passage by the use of mutes; with the sound thus

reduced the notes come from the highest regions of the musical scale, which could

hardly be reached by the use of normal violin sounds. []

Mutes are small devices made of wood which are placed on the bridge of stringed

instruments to reduce their sonority, and which give them at the same time a sad,

mysterious and gentle character; this can be used to good effect in every kind of

music. Mutes are normally used in slow pieces, but they are no less effective for

quick and light figuration when the subject of the music calls for it, or foraccompaniments in an urgent rhythm. []

Pizzicato (plucked strings) is also widely used with bowed instruments. The

resulting sounds produce accompaniments which singers appreciate, as they do not

cover their voices. They can also be used to excellent effect in symphonic music,

even in vigorous passages, whether played by all the string sections together, or by

only one or two parts.

Here is a delightful example of the use of pizzicato in the second violins, violasand basses, while the first violins play arco. In this passage the contrasting sounds

blend in truly wonderful fashion with the melodic sighs of the clarinet and enhance


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their expressiveness (Example: Beethoven, 4th symphony, 2nd movement, bars 26-

34) [...]

When pizzicato is used in a passage played forte it is in general necessary that it

should be written neither too high nor too low, since the highest notes are thin and

dry in sound, and the lower ones are too dull. [] Plucked chords, with two, three orfour notes, are also useful in fortissimo passages; the single finger that violin players

use crosses the strings so quickly that they seem to be struck all at once and vibrate

almost simultaneously. For accompaniments pizzicato figures played piano are

always graceful in effect; they relax the listener and when used with discretion give

variety to the orchestral texture. It is likely that in future far more original and

arresting effects will be produced with pizzicato than is the case nowadays. Since

violinists do not regard pizzicato as an integral part of the art of violin playing they

have hardly studied it. Up till now they have only used the thumb and the index

finger for plucking, and the result is that they are unable to play passages orarpeggios involving more than semiquavers in common time and at a very moderate

tempo. But if they were to put their bow aside and used the thumb and three fingers,

with the right hand supported by the little finger resting on the body of the violin, as

is done when playing the guitar, they would soon be able to play with ease and at

speed passages such as the following, which at the moment are impossible.

(Examples). The double or triple repetition of the upper notes in the last two

examples is made very easy by using in succession the index finger and the third

finger on the same string.

Tied grace notes are also feasible in pizzicato playing. The following passage from

the Scherzo of Beethovens (fifth) Symphony in C minor, which has such grace

notes, is always executed very well. (Example: 5th Symphony, 3rd movement, bars

302-316). []

One common practice to give great power to a passage for the violins is to have the

first violins doubled by the seconds playing an octave below; but if the passage is not

written too high it is much better to have all the violins playing in unison. The effect

then becomes incomparably more powerful and beautiful. The electrifying impact of

the end of the first movement of Beethovens [Fifth] Symphony in C minor is due toa unison of violins. In such a case when the violins are playing in unison the

composer may want to increase their power even further, and has them doubled by

the violas playing an octave below them. But this doubling in the lower part is too

weak and out of proportion to the upper part, and the result is a superfluous buzzing

sound, which tends to obscure rather than enhance the vibration of the higher notes

on the violins. If the viola part cannot be written in a distinctive way it is better to use

it to add volume to the sound of the cellos by having both parts written in unison and

not an octave apart (as far as the lower range of the instrument permits). This is what

Beethoven has done in the following passage (Example: Symphony no.5, 1stmovement, bars 398-423) [...]


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Stringed instruments are the essential foundation of any orchestra. They possess

the greatest expressive power and an unquestionable variety of timbres. The violins in

particular can express a vast range of nuances that seem at first sight incompatible. A

violin section has power, lightness and grace, it can express sombre or joyful

feelings, reverie and passion. It is just a matter of knowing how to let them speak.

There is incidentally no need, as there is for wind instruments, to calculate theduration of a held note, or to provide them with pauses from time to time. The

composer can be sure that they will not run out of breath. Violins are faithful,

intelligent, active and tireless servants.

Slow and gentle melodies, which too often are given to wind instruments, are never

better expressed than by a mass of violins. Nothing can compare with the penetrating

gentleness of the E string of some twenty violins in the hands of experienced players.

It is the orchestras real feminine voice, at once passionate and chaste, heart-rending

and gentle; it can weep, cry and lament, or it can sing, pray and dream, or it can breakout in joyful strains, like no other instrument. An imperceptible movement of the

arm, an unsuspected emotion on the part of the player, might produce no noticeable

effect when played by a single violin. But when multiplied by many instruments

playing in unison, it results in magnificent nuances and irresistible surges of emotion

that penetrate to the depth of the heart.

[The part played by violins in Berlioz's orchestral writing is of course extremely

extensive and varied: virtually Berlioz's entire output could be cited. A few random

examples: Symphonie Fantastique, 1st, 2nd and 3rd movements; Romeo and Juliet,

2nd movement, bar 1 and following; overture Le Corsaire, bar 1 and following; for

pizzicato, which Berlioz uses more than all his predecessors, Romeo and Juliet, 2nd

movement, bar 81 and following, bar 187 and following; a special effect, col legno,

in the Symphonie Fantastique, 5th movement, bar 444 and following]

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The viola

[] Among all orchestral instruments, the violas excellent qualities have suffered

the longest neglect. The viola is as agile as the violin; its lower strings have a

peculiarly penetrating quality; its higher notes are distinctive and have a sad and

passionate intensity; in general its tone has a quality of deep sadness which

distinguishes it from all other stringed instruments. And yet for a long time it has

been left idle, or used mostly for the lowly and pointless function of doubling thebass part an octave higher. There are several reasons for the unjust bondage of this

noble instrument. To begin with the majority of last centurys masters did not know


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what to do with it, as they rarely wrote four real string parts. When they were unable

to think straightaway of a few notes to fill in the chords they quickly fell back on the

inevitable indication col basso, and did so in such a careless way that the result was

sometimes an octave doubling of the bass line which was incompatible either with the

harmony, or with the melody, or with both at once. Then it was not possible at the

time to write for violas distinctive parts which required from the players a normaldegree of proficiency. Viola players were always recruited from among rejected

violin players. When a musician was not capable of performing adequately a violin

part, he turned to the viola. As a result viola players were incapable of playing either

the violin or the viola. I must admit that in our time this prejudice against the viola

part has not been completely eliminated, and that even in the best orchestras there are

still players who have not mastered the art of viola playing any better than that of the

violin. But the drawbacks of tolerating this state of affairs are becoming increasingly

obvious, and gradually the viola, like other instruments, will cease to be entrusted to

any but competent hands. Its tone quality is so distinctive that it is not necessary in anorchestra to have exactly the same number of violas as of second violins. The

expressive qualities of its tone stand out so clearly that in those very rare cases when

composers of the past have given it a prominent role the instrument has never failed

to live up to expectation. []

[] Mhul was captivated by the affinity between the sound of violas and the

dreamy character of Ossianic poetry, and wanted to make constant use of them in his

opera Uthal, to the complete exclusion of the violins. The result, according to

contemporary critics, was unbearably monotonous and damaged the works success.

It was on this occasion that Grtry exclaimed: I would give a louis to hear the sound

of an E string! In truth, the violas tone quality, which is so valuable when properly

used and expertly contrasted with the tone of violins and other instruments, must

inevitably become quickly wearisome: it is too lacking in variety and too tinged with

sadness for it to be otherwise. Nowadays violas are often divided into first and

second. In those orchestras, like that of the Opra, where their numbers are about

sufficient, there is no harm in doing this; but in others where there are hardly four or

five violas, such a division can only be detrimental to an instrumental group which is

already so weak in itself and which other groups always tend to overwhelm. It should

be said that the majority of violas used in contemporary French orchestras do nothave the right dimensions; they have neither the size nor consequently the tonal

power of real violas, and are more or less violins fitted with viola strings. Musical

directors should ban completely the use of these hybrid instruments, whose weak

sound drains one of the most interesting parts of the orchestra of much of its colour

and energy, especially in the lower notes.

When the cellos are playing a melody, it can sometimes be very effective to double

them in unison with violas. The tone of the cellos then acquires a very rounded and

pure quality without ceasing to predominate. One example is the theme from the slowmovement of Beethoven's (5th) Symphony in C minor. (Example: Symphony no. 5,

second movement, bars 1-11)


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[Examples in Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 3rd movement, bar 69 and

following; Harold in Italy, passim; Romeo and Juliet, 4th movement, bar 369 and

following; Roman Carnival overture, bar 37 and following; Royal Hunt and Storm

from Les Troyens, bar 51 and following]

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The cello

[] The cello, in a section of eight or ten players, is essentially a melodicinstrument, and the tone quality of its two higher strings (A and D) is one of the most

expressive in the orchestra. Nothing has such voluptuous sadness as a mass of cellos

playing in unison on the A string, and nothing is better suited to expressing tender

and languorous melodies.

The cello excels also in melodies of a religious character; the composer must then

select the string on which the passage should be played. The two lower strings, the C

and G strings, have a smooth and deep sound which is admirably suited in such cases,

but their low register means that they can only be given a bass line that is more or

less melodic, while the true singing parts must be reserved for the higher strings. In

the overture to Oberon Weber with rare felicity makes the cellos sing in their upper

register, while two clarinets in A playing in unison sound their lower notes

underneath. The effect is novel and arresting. [Example]

[Examples in Berlioz: Waverley overture, bar 30 and following; Symphonie

Fantastique, 3rd movement, bar 69 and following; Benvenuto Cellini overture, bar

67 and following; Romeo and Juliet, 3rd movement, bar 23 and following, 49 and

following, 82 and following]

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The double-bass

[] It is a common fault nowadays to write for this heaviest of instrumentspassages that are so fast that even cellos have difficulty in playing them. This has

serious disadvantages. Double-bass players who are lazy or who really cannot cope


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with such difficult parts immediately give up and concentrate on simplifying the

passage. But as they are not all of one mind on the harmonic importance of the

various notes found in the passage, one players simplified version does not match

that of another player, and the result is disorder and a dreadful confusion. This

buzzing chaos, full of strange noises and hideous grunts, is completed or

compounded by the other players, who are either more dedicated or more confidentof their ability, and who labour in a fruitless attempt to perform the passage entirely

as written.

Composers must therefore be very careful to ask from the double-basses only what

is possible and where there is no doubt that the passage can be correctly played. This

means that the old system of double-bass players who simplify their parts, a system

widely adopted in the old instrumental school and exposed to the dangers we have

indicated, is nowadays completely rejected. Provided the composer has not written

anything that is unsuitable for the instrument, the player must perform the music aswritten, neither adding nor deleting anything. When the fault is the composer's, he

and his audience must bear the consequences, and the player does not have to answer

for anything. [...]

Beethoven has also made use of these barely articulated notes (sc. of the double-

basses), but in the opposite manner from the preceding example [Gluck, Orphe Act

II], by stressing the first rather than the last note of each group. Such is the case with

the passage from the storm of the Pastoral Symphony, which conveys so well the

suggestion of a violent wind charged with rain and of the dull rumbling of a squall. It

should be noted that in this example and in many other passages Beethoven has given

to the basses low notes which they cannot play, and this suggests that the orchestra

for which he wrote included double basses which could reach down to C an octave

below the low C of the cellos, which are no longer found today. (Example: Pastoral

Symphony, 4th movement, bars 45-70) [...]

[Examples in Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 1st movement, bars 12 and 14;

Llio, La harpe olienne; Funeral March for the last scene of Hamlet, bar 39 and

following, bar 87 and following]

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The harp

[] The effect produced by harps except in music that is intended to be heard atclose quarters in a salon is all the better when they are more numerous.


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The notes, chords and arpeggios that they project across the orchestra and the

chorus have exceptional splendour. There is nothing that is more appropriate for the

idea of poetic festivals or religious celebrations than the sounds of a large number of

harps when deployed in an imaginative way. When used in isolation or in groups of

two, three, or four, it is strikingly the timbre of horns, trombones, and brass

instruments in general that marries best with them. The lower strings (except forthose at the lowest end of the range, which are loose and dull in tone) have a veiled,

mysterious, and beautiful quality, but have hardly ever been used for anything but

bass accompaniments in the left hand. This is a mistake. Admittedly harp players are

not anxious to play whole pieces in these lower octaves; they are rather far from their

bodies, force them to lean forward and stretch their arms, and thus to maintain a

rather uncomfortable posture for some length of time. But this was probably of little

consequence as far as composers were concerned. The true reason is that it had not

occurred to them to make use of this special timbre. []

The strings of the top octave have a delicate and crystalline sound of voluptuous

freshness; this makes them ideal for expressing graceful, fairylike ideas, and for

whispering the gentlest secrets of smiling melodies. But the player must never attack

them with force, as they then produce a dry and hard sound, rather like the sound

made when breaking a glass, and this is unpleasant and irritating.

Harp harmonics, especially with several harps in unison, are even more magical.

Virtuoso players often use them in cadenzas and in their fantasias, variations and

concertos. But there is nothing like the sound of these mysterious notes when

combined with chords from flutes and clarinets playing in the middle register;

surprisingly it was only three years ago that for the first time a demonstration was

made of the affinity of these timbres and of the poetic beauty of combining them

together []

[Numerous examples in Berlioz: among others may be cited the Symphonie

Fantastique, 2nd movement; Llio, La harpe olienne; the first three movements of

Harold in Italy; Romeo and Juliet, 2nd and 4th movements; Weber, Invitation to the

Dance in Berlioz's orchestration; the Ballet des Sylphes from the Damnation of Faust;

the Te Deum, 8th movement; the trio for 2 flutes and harp from L'Enfance du Christ;the Trojan March]

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Wind instruments

The piccolo


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[...] Nowadays the piccolo is strangely misused, as is the case for all instruments

which vibrate in a shimmering, piercing or explosive manner. The sounds of the

second octave can be very suitable for pieces of a joyful character, and the whole

dynamic range can be used. The upper notes (played fortissimo) are excellent for

violent and shattering effects, as for example in a storm or in a piece of a ferocious orinfernal character. The use of piccolo is thus particularly appropriate in the 4th

movement of Beethovens Pastoral symphony, sometimes exposed on its own above

the tremolo of the violas and basses, imitating the whistling of a storm which has yet

to break out in its full force, and sometimes on higher notes together with the mass of

the orchestra. (Example: bars 93-108). Gluck, in the storm from Iphignie en Tauride,

makes the higher notes of two piccolos in unison grind even more ferociously, by

writing them in a sequence of sixths, a fourth above the first violins. The sound of the

two piccolos comes out an octave above and therefore produces sequences of

elevenths, the harshness of which is extremely appropriate in the context. (Example:bars 69-76). In the chorus of the Scythians in the same opera, the two piccolos double

the violins turns an octave above; these notes, mingled with the baying of the savage

crowd and the relentless rhythmic din of the cymbals and small drum, have a

terrifying impact. (Example). The diabolical laughter of the two piccolos playing in

thirds in the drinking song in Der Freischtz is well known. It is one of the happiest

inventions in Webers orchestral writing. (Example).

Spontini, in the magnificent bacchanal of the Danades (which has since become an

orgiastic chorus of Nurmahal), was the first to have the idea of combining a brief

shriek of piccolos with a cymbal crash. No one before had suspected the peculiar

affinity between two so very different instruments when used in this way. The effect

has a stabbing, lacerating quality, like a dagger blow. It is very characteristic, even

when only those two instruments are used, but the impact can be increased by a sharp

stroke on the timpani together with a brief chord on the remaining instruments.

(Example).

These and other examples I might mention seem to me altogether admirable.

Beethoven, Gluck, Weber and Spontini have thus used the piccolo in a manner which

is at once imaginative, original and sound. But when I hear this instrument used todouble three octaves above the melody of a baritone, to utter its shrill cry in the midst

of religious harmonies, to add power and incisiveness to the upper part of the

orchestra, from the beginning to the end of the act in an opera, and all just for the

sake of noise, I cannot help finding this style of instrumental writing flat, stupid, and

in general worthy only of the melodic style to which it is applied.

The piccolo can be effective in quiet passages, and it is a misconception to believe

that it can only play very loud. [...]

[Examples in Berlioz: Francs Juges overture, bars 36, 45 and following, 612 and

following; Weber, Invitation to the Dance, in Berlioz's orchestration; The Menuet des


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Follets from the Damnation of Faust; Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens,

passim and especially bar 219 and following]

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The flute

[...] The sonority of this instrument is gentle in the middle range, fairly penetrating

in the upper range, and very distinctive in the lower notes. The timbre of the middle

and upper ranges does not have a strongly defined expressive character. It can be

used for melodies and accents of different kinds, though it cannot match the artlessgaiety of the oboe or the noble tenderness of the clarinet. It appears therefore that the

flute is an instrument largely devoid of expression, and can be introduced in any

context to play anything, because of its facility in executing groups of fast notes and

in sustaining high sounds that are useful in the orchestra to supplement high

harmonies. In general this is true. But a careful study will reveal that it possesses an

expressiveness of its own, and is well suited to rendering some feelings which no

other instrument can match. Should one wish, for example, to give to a sad melody a

note of grief that was at the same time humble and resigned, the weak sounds of the

middle range of the flute, especially in the keys of C minor and D minor, will

certainly provide the appropriate tone colour. Gluck is the only master who seems to

me to have understood how to make excellent use of these pale tones. Listening to the

pantomime aria in D minor which he inserted in the scene in the Elysian Fields in his

Orphe, one can see at once that the flute was the only suitable instrument to play it.

The oboe would have sounded too childlike and its voice would not have seemed

pure enough. The clarinet would perhaps have been more suitable, but some of its

sounds would have been too forceful, and none of the softest notes could have been

scaled down to the weak, faded and veiled sound of the F natural in the middle range

and of the first B flat above the stave. These give to the flute all its sad character in

the key of D minor where they occur frequently. And lastly neither the violin, nor theviola, nor the cello, whether used solo or as a section, were suitable to express this

sublime lament of a suffering shade overcome with despair; the instrument required

was precisely that chosen by the composer. Glucks melody is so designed that the

flute lends itself to all the troubled emotions of this eternal grief, which still bears the

marks of earthly passions. At first it is a barely perceptible voice that seems afraid of

being heard. Then it sings a gentle lament, and rises to express reproach, deep grief,

and the cry of a heart torn by incurable wounds. It then sinks back gradually to the

lament and murmured grief of a resigned soul What a poet! (Example)

The use made by most composers of the lower notes of the flute is limited or

unsatisfactory. And yet Weber, in numerous passages in Der Freischtz, and before


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him Gluck, in the religious march in Alceste, have shown all that they can contribute

to harmonies of a solemn and dreamy kind. As I have already said, these low notes

blend well with the lower register of the cor anglais and of the clarinets; they provide

the soft nuance in a dark colouring. (Example) []

Modern composers generally write their flute parts too uniformly high; they alwaysseem worried that they will not stand out above the rest of the orchestra. The result is

that they dominate instead of blending with the whole, and the instrumental writing

becomes shrill and harsh instead of being sonorous and harmonious. []

[Although the flute plays a major role in Berlioz's orchestra, flute solos of any

length are comparatively rare compared with other wind instruments (for one

example cf. Harold in Italy, 3rd movement, bars 167-90). His preference is to give

wind melodies to two or more instruments. The trio for 2 flutes and harp from

L'Enfance du Christ is of course a special case]

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The oboe

[] Quick runs, whether chromatic or diatonic, can be played fairly easily on the

oboe, but the effect they produce is merely clumsy and almost ridiculous; the same is

true of arpeggios.

The need for runs of this kind is extremely rare, and we confess we have not yet

come across it. What virtuoso players attempt in this style of playing, in their

fantasias and variations, is hardly likely to demonstrate the opposite. The oboe is

principally a melodic instrument; it has a rustic character, full of tenderness, I would

say even of shyness.

Nevertheless it is always written in tutti passages without any regard for its tonal

character, because it is then submerged in the ensemble and the distinctive quality of

its timbre can no longer be identified. Let us say immediately that the same is true of

the majority of wind instruments. The only exception that should be made is for those

instruments that are excessively powerful or have a timbre that stands out because of

its individuality. Unless one wishes to trample common sense and all artistic

principles it is quite impossible to use such instruments merely to provide the

harmony. This applies to trombones, ophicleides, double-bassoons, and in many

cases to trumpets and cornets. The sounds of the oboe are suitable for expressingsimplicity, artless grace, gentle happiness, or the grief of a weak soul. It renders these

admirably in cantabile passages.


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It can also convey a degree of agitation, but one must be careful not to intensify

this to cries of passion, to vehement outbursts of anger, threats or heroism: its thin,

bitter-sweet tones then become feeble and altogether grotesque. Some great masters,

Mozart among them, have not avoided this pitfall. One may find in their scores

passages with a passionate intent and martial tone that are oddly at variance with thesound of the oboes that play them. The result is not only that the effect misfires, but

that there is a jarring discrepancy between the stage and the orchestra, and between

the melody and its instrumentation. The most direct, beautiful and noble march theme

loses its nobility, directness and beauty if heard on the oboes. It may preserve some

of its character if given to the flutes, and will hardly lose anything if played by the

clarinets. Should it be absolutely necessary to use the oboes in a piece of this kind to

give more body to the harmony and increase the power of the wind section, then at

least the parts should be written in such a way that their timbre, unsuited to this style

of music, should be completely covered by the other instruments and should blendwith the ensemble so as to be unobtrusive. The lower notes of the oboe, which sound

ugly when exposed, may be suitable in certain harmonies of an eerie and sorrowful

character, when played together with the lower notes of clarinets and the low D, E, F

and G of the flutes and the cor anglais.

Gluck and Beethoven have shown a wonderful understanding of the uses of this

valuable instrument, and it is to the oboe that they both owe the deep feelings aroused

by some of the most beautiful passages in their music. (Examples from Gluck) []

Beethoven has made greater use of the joyful tones of the oboe. Examples of this

are the solo in the scherzo of the Pastoral symphony [example: bars 88-123], that in

the scherzo of the Choral symphony, or in the first movement of the symphony in B

flat, etc. But he has been equally successful in giving the instrument passages of a sad

or desolate character. This can be seen in the solo in the minor in the recapitulation of

the 1st movement of the symphony in A [example: bars 300-310], in the andante

from the episode in the last movement of the Eroica symphony [example: bars 348-

372], and especially in the aria from Fidelio where Florestan, dying of hunger,

imagines in his delirious agony that he is surrounded by his family in tears, and

mingles his cries of anguish with the broken lamentation of the oboe.

[Examples in Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 1st movement, bar 360 and

following; 3rd movement, bar 3 and following; overture to King Lear, bar 38 and

following, bar 151 and following; overture to Benvenuto Cellini, bar 228 and

following; Romeo and Juliet, 2nd movement, bar 81 and following; overture Le

Corsaire, bar 247 and following]

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The cor anglais

[] Quick runs for the cor anglais sound even worse than they do for the oboe. Its

tone is less penetrating, more veiled and deeper than that of the oboe, and is thereforenot suitable for expressing the gaiety of rustic tunes. It is not capable either of voicing

passionate laments, and tones of acute grief are more or less beyond its reach. It is a

melancholy, dreamy and rather noble voice, with a somewhat subdued and distant

tone. This makes it superior to any other instrument when the intention is to move by

reviving images and feelings from the past, and when the composer wishes to touch

the hidden chords of tender memories. M. Halvy made a most felicitous use of two

cors anglais in the ritornello of Eleazars aria in act IV of La Juive. (Example)

In the Adagio of one of my symphonies [the Symphonie Fantastique], the coranglais, after repeating an octave lower the phrases of the oboe, like the voice of a

young man answering a girl in a pastoral dialogue, then repeats fragments from it at

the end of the piece, to the muted accompaniment of four timpani, while the rest of

the orchestra remains silent. The feelings of absence, oblivion, and painful loneliness

which arise in the minds of some listeners when they hear this forsaken melody

would not have a quarter of their force if sung by any instrument other than the cor

anglais. (Example).

When blended with the lower notes of clarinets and bassoons over a tremolando of

the double basses, the lower notes of the cor anglais produce a novel and special

sound, eminently suitable for giving a menacing colour to musical ideas where fear

and anguish predominate. This effect was unknown to Mozart, Weber, and

Beethoven. There is a magnificent example in the duet in Act IV of Les Huguenots,

and I believe M. Meyerbeer is the first to have introduced this sound into the opera

house. (Example). []

[Examples in Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 3rd movement, beginning and bar

175 and following (cited by Berlioz); Rob Roy overture, especially bar 260 and

following, 275 and following; Harold in Italy, 3rd movement, bar 34 and following;Roman Carnival overture, bar 21 and following; L'Enfance du Christ, passim; it

should be noted that in Romeo and Juliet there are no prominent solos for the cor

anglais, which is always used together with one or more other wind instruments; see

for example the special colouring produced by a unison of the cor anglais, the

bassoons and a horn in the 6th movement, bar 48 and following]

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The clarinet

[] The small clarinet in E flat has piercing sounds which can easily be made to

sound vile, starting from the A above the stave. It has therefore been used in a

modern symphony to parody, degrade and vilify a melody; the dramatic purpose ofthe work required this strange transformation [this refers to the last movement of the

Symphonie Fantastique] []

As a general rule players should only use the instruments specified by the

composer. Since each of these instruments has its own special character it is at least

likely that the composer chose one rather another because he preferred this particular

timbre, and not through any caprice. To insist, as some virtuoso players do, in

transposing and playing everything on the B flat clarinet, is therefore with rare

exceptions a betrayal on the part of the player. This betrayal will be even moreobvious and reprehensible if it involves, for example, the A clarinet [which alone

could play a low C sharp]. [...]

We mentioned that the clarinet has four registers; each of these has its distinctive

timbre. The upper register has a somewhat piercing character which should only be

used in an orchestral fortissimo or in extrovert runs in a brilliant solo passage (some

of the high notes can nevertheless be sustained piano when the tone production has

been carefully prepared). The tones of the middle range and of the chalumeau are

suitable for melodies, arpeggios and runs. Those of the lower register are particularly

suited, especially with held notes, for those coldly threatening effects, and for the

dark tones of still rage which Weber ingeniously invented. []

The sounds of the middle range have a proud quality tempered by noble

tenderness, and are thus ideal for expressing feelings and ideas of the most poetic

kind. Only light-hearted gaiety, or even carefree joy, seem not to suit them. The

clarinet is not well adapted for music of an idyllic kind, it is an epic instrument, like

the horns, trumpets and trombones. It is the voice of heroic love. Whereas massed

brass instruments in great military symphonies evoke the idea of a warlike band in

shining armour, marching on to glory or to death, the numerous unisons of clarinetsplaying with them seem to represent the loved women, proud-eyed and deeply

passionate, who, stirred by the sound of arms sing as they fight, and crown the victors

or perish with the vanquished. I have never been able to hear from a distance military

music without being deeply moved by the feminine timbre of clarinets and being

filled with images of that kind, as after the reading of ancient epic poems. This

beautiful instrumental soprano voice, so sonorous and rich in penetrating inflexions

when used in large numbers, gains when played solo in delicacy, elusive nuances,

and mysterious sympathy what it loses in power and brightness. Nothing is so

virginal and pure as the colour given to certain melodies by the timbre of the middlerange of a clarinet in the hands of a talented player.


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No other wind instrument is able like the clarinet to voice a note quietly, make it to

swell, decrease, and fade away. Hence its priceless ability to produce a distant sound,

the echo of an echo, a sound like twilight. I cannot think of a more admirable

example of the use of some of these nuances than the dreamy phrase on the clarinet,

accompanied by a tremolo of the strings, in the middle of the Allegro of the

Freischtz overture!!! Here is the lonely virgin, the blond betrothed of the huntsman,who raises her eyes to heaven and mingles her gentle lament with the sounds of the

deep forests shaken by the storm. O Weber! (Example)

I may also quote from my monodrama (Llio) a similar though not identical effect

produced by a melody on the clarinet. The fragmented melody is similarly

accompanied by a tremolo on some of the strings, while the double-basses pluck

intermittently a deep note and provide a heavy pulsation under the harmony, and the

harp plays fragments of barely sketched arpeggios. In this case, to give the clarinet a

sound as vague and remote as possible, I had the instrument wrapped in a leather bagto serve as a mute. This sad murmur and the faint sound of this solo, reproducing a

melody already heard in an earlier piece, have always struck audiences deeply. This

shadow-like music induces deep sadness and moves to tears, in a way the most

sorrowful strains could not; it provokes feelings of spleen as much as the shimmering

harmonies of the Aeolian harp (Example).

[] Neither Sacchini, nor Gluck, nor any of the great masters of that period made

use of the lower notes of the instrument. I cannot guess why. Mozart seems to have

been the first to use them for accompaniments of a sombre character such as that of

the trio of masks in Don Giovanni. It was left to Weber to discover the terrifying

quality of these low notes when used to sustain sinister harmonies. It is better in such

cases to write them in two parts than to make the clarinets play in unison or in

octaves. The more numerous the harmonic notes, the more striking the effect. []

[Examples in Berlioz: Francs Juges overture, bar 496 and following; Symphonie

Fantastique, 2nd movement, bar 302 and following; 3rd movement bar 119 and

following; 4th movement, bar 164 and following; 5th movement, bar 40 and

following (small clarinet en E flat); Llio, La harpe olienne; Romeo and Juliet, 6th

movement bar 74 and following; Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale, 1st et 3rdmovements]

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The bass clarinet

[] The lowest notes are the best, but in view of the slowness of the vibrations


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they should not be made to follow in too quick succession. M. Meyerbeer has

entrusted to the bass clarinet an eloquent monologue in the trio of Act V of Les

Huguenots (Example). Depending on the way the part is written and the skill of the

performer, this instrument's lower notes can assume the raw timbre of the low notes

of the standard clarinet, or the calm, solemn and magisterial tone of some of the

organs registers. It can therefore be used to good effect in many circumstances.Besides, if four or five instruments are used in unison, it provides a smooth sound

which is excellent for the bass line of bands of wind instruments.

[Examples in Berlioz: overture to Benvenuto Cellini, bar 66 and following;

Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale, passim]

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The bassoon

[] The bassoon is in many ways extremely useful in the orchestra. Its sonority is

not very powerful, and its timbre, totally devoid of brightness or nobility, has a

propensity towards the grotesque, which must always be kept in mind when it is

given a prominent part. Its lower notes provide excellent basses for the whole

woodwind section. Bassoons are normally written in two parts. But as large

orchestras always have four bassoons, the composer may with advantage write four

real parts, or better still, three parts with the lowest doubled an octave below, to give

more strength to the bass line. The upper notes have a somewhat painful and

suffering character, I might call it almost pitiful; these can sometimes be used in a

slow melody, or in an accompanying passage, with the most striking results. Thus the

strange little cackles that are heard in the scherzo of Beethovens symphony in C

minor, towards the end of the decrescendo, are produced exclusively by the rather

strained sound of the high A flat and G of the bassoons playing in unison. (Example:

5th Symphony, 3rd movement, bars 281-302).

On the other hand when M. Meyerbeer, in the scene of the Resurrection of the

Nuns [in Robert le Diable], wanted to produce a pale, cold and deathly sound he

obtained it by using the flaccid notes of the instruments middle range. (Example).

Quick legato runs can be used to good effect; they only sound well when written in

the instruments preferred keys, such as D, G, C, F, B flat, E flat, A, and their relative

minor keys. The following runs produce an excellent effect in the scene of the

bathing women in Act II of Les Huguenots. (Example).

[Examples in Berlioz: Francs Juges overture, bar 494 and following; Symphonie


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Fantastique, 4th movement, bar 25 and following, 49 and following; Roman Carnival

overture, bar 304 and following; Le Corsaire overture, bar 174 and following]

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The double-bassoon

[] There is no need to add that the double-bassoon, a very ponderous instrument,

is only suitable for grand harmonic effects and for bass lines in a moderate tempo.

Beethoven used it in the finale of his C minor symphony and in that of the Choral

Symphony. It is extremely valuable in large orchestras of wind instruments; but few

players decide to take up the instrument. Sometimes the ophicleide is used to replaceit, but its tone does not have the same depth as its range is the same as that of the

standard bassoon and not an octave lower; in any case its timbre is of a quite different

character from that of the double-bassoon. I therefore believe that in the majority of

cases it is better to do without this instrument than to replace it in this way.

[Examples in Berlioz: Francs Juges overture; Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale,

passim]

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Brass instruments

The horn

[...] There are two kinds of sounds on the horn which are very different incharacter, open sounds which are almost always the natural resonance of the

harmonic divisions of the instruments tube, and which are produced solely by the

lips and the breath of the player; and stopped sounds which can only be produced by

closing to a greater or lesser extent the bell - the lower opening of the instrument -

with the hand. [] The older masters have generally restricted themselves to the use

of open sounds, and it has to be admitted that they have employed them in a rather

clumsy way. Even Beethoven is very sparing in his used of stopped notes when he is

not writing a solo part for the horns. There are only few examples in his orchestral

writing, and when he makes use of this it is almost always for a special effect. This isthe case with the stopped notes and the artificial sound of the three horns in E flat in

the scherzo of the Eroica, and with the low F sharp of the second horn in D in the


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scherzo of the Symphony in A. (Examples: 3rd Symphony, 3rd movement, bars 166

to 260; 7th Symphony, 3rd movement, bars 181 to 208).

This method is probably far superior to the opposite one which most contemporary

French and Italian composers have now adopted. The latter consists in writing for the

horns exactly as for bassoons and clarinets, without taking into account the vastdifference between stopped notes and open notes, and also between different stopped

notes, or the difficulty for the performer to play a particular note after another that

does not lead to it naturally, or the doubtful intonation, poor sonority and harsh and

strange sound produced when two thirds or three quarters of the bell are stopped. All

this shows ignorance of the fact that a deep knowledge of the instruments character,

taste and good sense, might argue against the use of the sounds which these

apprentice composers throw around with gay abandon in the orchestra. The poverty

of the writing of older composers is obviously preferable to this ignorant and hateful

wastage. When stopped sounds are not used for a specific effect then at least thosewhich have a poor sonority and are too different from the other sounds of the horn

should be avoided.

[...] In certain scenes of silent horror stopped notes in several parts can produce a

considerable effect. I believe Mhul is the only composer who sensed this in his

opera Phrosine et Mlidore. (Example).

[] The horn is a noble and melancholy instrument. But the expression of its tone

and its sonority are such that it can be used in any kind of piece. It blends easily with

the rest of the harmony, and even the least skilful composer can at will give it a

prominent role or make it play a part that is useful though inconspicuous. It is Weber

in my opinion who more than any other master has succeeded in making the most

original, poetic and complete use of the instrument. In his three masterpieces,

Oberon, Euryanthe and Der Freischtz, he has given the horn a new and magnificent

voice, which only Mhul and Beethoven seem to have understood before him;

Meyerbeer more than anyone else has maintained its purity. Among orchestral

instruments Glucks writing for the horn shows him at his least successful. It is

enough to examine any of his works to lay bare his limited skill in this respect [].

I have said that the horn is a noble and melancholy instrument, and this is true

despite those joyful hunting fanfares that are often mentioned. But the joyful

character of such tunes actually owes more to the melody than to the timbre of the

horns. Hunting fanfares only sound joyful when they are played on hunting horns, a

rather unmusical instrument, whose strident and brash sound does not in any way

resemble the chaste and reserved voice of the horns. Yet by forcing the flow of air in

the horns tube it is possible to make it sound like a hunting horn; this is what is

known as making the tone sound brassy.

This can sometimes produce excellent effects, even with stopped notes. When the

aim is to force open sounds, composers usually require that the players turn the bells


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upward, to make the sound as forceful as possible. In this case they indicate the

position of the instrument with the words with upturned bells. There is a magnificent

example of the use of this device in the final explosion of the duet "Gardez vous de la

jalousie!" in Mhuls Euphrosine et Coradin. One day Grtry, still reeling from the

impact of the horns dreadful shriek, answered to someone who was asking his

opinion of this electrifying duo: "It is enough to blow off the theatres roof with theskulls of the audience!"

[Examples in Berlioz: Romeo and Juliet, 4th movement, bar 476 and following;

Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens, bar 45 and following, 322 and following,

338 and following; on the use of stopped notes see for example Symphonie

Fantastique, 4th movement, beginning, 5th movement, bar 9 and following, 370, 372;

Les Troyens Act II scene 1, bar 75 and following]

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The trumpet

[...] Despite the generally adopted routine, delightful effects can be obtained from

trumpets playing piano; Gluck was one of the first to demonstrate this in the long

held note of the two trumpets playing in unison on the dominant, in the andante of the

introduction to Iphignie en Tauride (Example: bars 9-12, 14-16, 25-28); after him

Beethoven (especially in the slow movement of the 7th Symphony in A), and Weber,

have made very effective use of this. (Example: Beethoven, 7th Symphony, 2nd

movement, bars 174-183). [...]

[] The trumpets timbre is noble and brilliant. It is equally suitable for martial

ideas, for cries of fury and vengeance, and for songs of triumph. It can express all

manner of vigorous feelings, proud and grand, and the majority of tragic accents. It

can even figure in a joyful piece, so long as it has a fiery or stately character.

Despite its proud and genuinely distinguished timbre, there are few instruments

that have been so debased as the trumpet. Until Beethoven and Weber, all composers,

Mozart not excepted, have insisted either in confining it to the demeaning role of

filling up, or in making it sound two or three rhythmic patterns, always the same,

which are flat, ridiculous, and frequently jar with the character of the pieces where

they occur. This odious commonplace has now been abandoned at last. All

composers with a sense of style give to the melodies, accompaniment figures and

fanfares played by trumpets the breadth, variety and independence which theinstruments characteristics make possible. It has taken nearly a century to reach that

point. []


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[Example in Berlioz: Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale, 3rd movement,

beginning]


The cornet

[...] The cornet is very popular in France at the moment, particularly in that

musical world where loftiness and purity of style are not thought of as truly essential

qualities. As a result it has become the solo instrument that is indispensable forquadrilles, galops, variations and other second-rate compositions. Since we are now

used to hear it playing in dance orchestras melodies that are more or less devoid of

originality and distinction, and since its timbre has neither the nobility of the horn nor

the pride of the trumpet, it is rather difficult to introduce the cornet to the elevated

melodic style. Yet it could play a valuable role there, but rarely and only on condition

that it is given melodies in a broad tempo that have unquestionable dignity. Thus the

ritornello in the trio from Robert le Diable [by Meyerbeer], "mon fils, mon fils, ma

tendresse assidue", is well suited to the cornet. (Example).

Joyful melodies must always fear from this instrument some loss of whatever

nobility they may have, and if they have none, an enhancement of their triviality. A

phrase that would appear tolerable, when performed by violins or the woodwind,

becomes flat and intolerably vulgar when emphasised by the incisive, brash and

impudent sound of the cornet. This danger disappears if the phrase can suitably be

played at the same time by one or more trombones, whose mighty voice will then

cover up and ennoble that of the cornet. When used harmonically, it blends very well

with the mass of brass instruments. It serves then to complete trumpet chords, and to

contribute to the orchestra groups of notes, whether diatonic or chromatic, which

because of their speed would be unsuitable for trombones or horns. The normalpractice is to write two parts for cornets, often in two different keys.

[Berlioz makes constant use of the cornet as a regular part of the brass section: it is

found for example in all four symphonies and in the overtures from Benvenuto

Cellini onwards. But is rare for Berlioz to give solo passages to the cornet which give

prominence to the instrument for its own tonal characteristics. The cornet part which

Berlioz added to the second movement of the Symphonie Fantastique, though

distinctive and not a mere doubling of the other parts, is not intended as a solo]

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The trombone

[] The trombone is, in my view, the real leader among the class of wind

instruments I have described as epic. It possesses to the highest degree nobility and

grandeur. It commands all the accents, grave or powerful, of high musical poetry,

from imposing and calm religious tones to the frenzied clamour of an orgy. The

composer may at will make it sing a chorus of priests, threaten, utter a subdued

lament, whisper a funeral dirge, raise a hymn of glory, break out in dreadful cries, or

sound its formidable call for the awakening of the dead or the death of the living.

And yet a way was found, some thirty years ago, of demeaning it by reducing it toa slavish duplication of the double-bass part, which is useless and grotesque.

Fortunately this system has now been almost entirely abandoned. Yet one may see in

a host of otherwise fine scores the basses almost constantly doubled in unison with a

single trombone. I know of nothing less harmonious and more vulgar that this style of

instrumentation. The sound of the trombone is so distinctive that it must never be

heard except to produce a special effect. Its task is therefore not to reinforce the

double-basses, with which its timbre does not blend in any way. It must also be

admitted that in an orchestra a single trombone on its own almost always seems more

or less out of place. The instrument requires harmony, or at least the unison of the

other members of its family for its various qualities to manifest themselves

completely. Beethoven sometimes used it in pairs, as with trumpets, but the

established practice of writing it for three parts seems to me preferable. []

In a single forte trombones in three part harmony, especially in their middle range,

convey an expression of heroic pomp, of majesty and pride, which only a prosaic and

vulgar melody could diminish or nullify. In such cases they assume the character of

trumpets, but magnified to an enormous extent. They do not merely threaten, they

proclaim, they sing instead of roaring. But it should be noted in such cases that the

sound of the bass trombone always tends to predominate over the other two,especially if the first is an alto trombone. (Example)

In mezzo forte in the middle range, in unison or in harmony in a slow tempo, the

trombones take on a religious character. In the chorus of the priests of Isis in the

Magic Flute Mozart has provided wonderful examples of how to give them the voice

and manner of high priests. (Example)

The pianissimo of trombones applied to harmonies in a minor key is sombre and

lugubrious, I might say almost hideous. Particularly in cases where the chords arebrief and separated by silences, it is like hearing strange monsters uttering in the dark

groans of barely suppressed rage. No one in my view has made a more dramatic use


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of this special sound of the trombones than Spontini in the incomparable funeral

march of La Vestale: "Prisse la vestale impie!" and Beethoven in the immortal duet

of the second act of Fidelio sung by Leonora and the jailer as they dig the tomb of the

prisoner who is about to die. (Examples)

The practice of some masters nowadays of treating the three trombones andophicleide as a quartet, with the latter taking the real bass part, may not be above

reproach. The timbre of the trombones, so incisive and domineering, is far from

similar to that of the ophicleide. I believe it is much better to have the ophicleide

simply double the lower part, or at least the composer should provide a correct bass

line by writing for the three trombones as though they were meant to be heard on

their own.

Gluck, Beethoven, Mozart, Weber, Spontini, and a few others have fully

understood the importance of the role of the trombones. They have utilised withperfect understanding the diverse characteristics of this noble instrument to depict

human passions and to reproduce the sounds of nature. They have therefore preserved

its power, dignity and poetry. But when the trombone is compelled, as by the

majority of contemporary composers, to howl in a credo brutal phrases more

appropriate for a drinking house than a holy place; to ring out in tones suitable for

Alexanders entry into Babylon when no more is involved than a dancers twirl; to

play tonic and dominant chords as accompaniment to a ditty where a guitar would be

enough; to mingle its Olympian voice with the trivial melody of a vaudeville duet or

to the frivolous noise of a dance theme; to prepare in the tutti of a concerto the

triumphant entry of an oboe or a flute this is cheapening and degrading a

magnificent personality; this is turning a hero into a slave and a buffoon; this is

depriving the orchestra of its colour; this is rendering impotent and useless any

attempt at utilising instrumental forces in a cumulative and calculated manner; this is

ruining the past, present and future of art; this is a wilful act of vandalism, or it

demonstrates a complete lack of feeling for expression which verges on stupidity.

[Numerous examples: see for instance the Francs Juges overture, bar 20 and

following, bar 100 and following; Symphonie Fantastique, 4th movement, bar 78 and

following, 114 and following; 5th movement, bar 147 and following; Romeo andJuliet, 1st movement, bar 45 and following, 79 and following; 6th movement, bar 160

and following; Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale, passim, et especially the solo in

the 2nd movement; the Hungarian March from the Damnation of Faust, bar 94 and

following]

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The ophicleide

[] The timbre of the ophicleides lower notes is rough, but it can do wonders in

some cases when placed below a mass of brass instruments. The highest notes have a

raw quality which have perhaps not been sufficiently exploited. The middle range,

particularly when the player is not very skilled, is all too reminiscent of the sound ofthe serpent and the cornet. I think it is best for them not to be left exposed. There is

nothing more vulgar, I would even say more monstrous and less designed to blend

with the rest of the orchestra than those more or less fast passages written as solos for

the middle range of the ophicleide in some modern operas. It is rather like a bull

escaped from its stable and frolicking in a salon.

[Examples in Berlioz: the Francs Juges overture, bar 20 and following; Symphonie

Fantastique, 5th movement, bar 127 and following]

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The bass tuba

[] The bass tuba is nowadays very widespread in the north of Germany,

especially in Berlin; it has an immense advantage over all other low wind

instruments. Its timbre is incomparably nobler than that of ophicleides, bombardons

and serpents, and has something of the vibration of the timbre of a trombone. It is less

agile than the ophicleide, but its tone is powerful and its range in the lower part is the

most extensive available in the whole orchestra. []

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The saxhorns

[] The tone of the saxhorns is rounded, pure, full, even, resonant, and completely

consistent throughout the whole range. The different keys of the saxhorn, like those

of the cornet, start in descending order from the typical instrument, the little soprano

saxhorn in C, which is an octave above the cornet in C. The practice has developed in

France of writing all these instruments, as well as the saxotrombas and the saxtubas,both the lowest and the highest, on the G clef, as is done with horns. The only

difference is that whereas for the horn in C basso the real sound must be imagined to


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be an octave below the written note in the G clef, for some very low saxhorns the

sound must be imagined to be two octaves below. []

The notes of the bottom range have a rather poor timbre and the instrument must

not be used below the low A. But there is nothing more brilliant, better defined and

more devoid of shrillness despite their brilliance than all the notes of the upperoctave. This timbre is also so clear and penetrating that one can pick out a single

soprano saxhorn through a considerable mass of other wind instruments. The soprano

saxhorn in B flat is more frequently used than that in C; and though it is a tone lower

than the C saxhorn it is already difficult or at least very strenuous for the player to

sound the last two notes; these valuable notes must therefore be used very sparingly

and must be introduced in a skilful way.

[Example in Berlioz: Te Deum, 8th movement; the original version of the Royal

Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens was written for saxhorns, which nowadays arereplaced by horns, trumpets, and cornets; the same applies to the great finale (the

Trojan March) of Act I of Les Troyens]

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Percussion instruments

The timpani

Among all percussion instruments the timpani seem to me the most valuable, or at

least those which are most commonly used, and from which modern composers have

been able to draw the greatest number of picturesque or dramatic effects. The old

masters only used them to strike the tonic or dominant on a more or less

commonplace rhythm in pieces of a brilliant character or with martial pretensions.

They therefore associated them almost always with the trumpets.

The majority of orchestras nowadays still only have one pair of timpani, the largest

of which is reserved for the lower note. []

For many years composers have complained of the awkward obligation, caused by

the lack of a third timpani sound, to avoid using the instrument in chords which did

not include either the tonic or the dominant; no one ever asked whether a single

timpanist might not play on three timpani. Eventually the timpanist at the Paris Opra

demonstrated one day that this was easy, and this daring innovation was tried. Sincethen composers who write for the Opra can make use of three timpani notes. It took

seventy years to reach that point! It would obviously be better to have two pairs of


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timpani and two players; this is the practice that has been followed in the

orchestration of several modern symphonies [an allusion to Berlioz's own works]. But

progress moves more slowly in theatres, and it will take another twenty five years to

bring this about.

One may use as many timpanists as there are timpani in the orchestra, in order toproduce rolls and rhythms with two, three, or four parts, depending on the numbers

available. []

Apart from the special skill required from the timpanist in the handling of sticks,

he needs to be a first rate musician who is gifted with an exceptionally sensitive ear:

that is why good timpanists are so rare.

There are three kinds of sticks; their use changes so much the nature of the

timpanis sound that it is more than mere negligence for composers to fail to indicatein their scores the sticks they want the players to use.

Sticks with a wooden head produce a harsh, dry and hard sound, suitable only for

striking a violent blow, or for accompanying a noisy orchestral outburst.

Sticks with a wooden head covered with leather are less harsh; their sound is less

brilliant though still very dry. In many orchestras these are the only sticks used and

this is a great pity.

Sticks with sponge heads are the best; they are the most musical and are less noisy,

and should be used most of the time. They give a velvety and dark timbre to the

timpani, which gives excellent definition to the sound, and makes the pitch easier to

hear. They are suitable for a whole range of soft or loud nuances for which the other

sticks would produce a very poor effect or would at least be inadequate.

Whenever mysterious and softly threatening sounds are required, even in a forte

passage, sticks with sponge heads should be used. It may be added that the elasticity

of the sponge increases the sticks bounce; the player only needs to touch the

timpanis surface lightly to obtain in a pianissimo delicate, gentle and very tight rolls.In his symphonies in B flat and C minor Beethoven made wonderful use of the

timpani pianissimo; these superb passages lose a great deal if played with sticks

without sponge heads, even though the composer did not specify anything to that

effect in his scores. (Examples: 4th Symphony, 2nd movement, bars 96-104; 5th

Symphony, 3rd movement, bars 313-373)

[Examples in Berlioz: Francs Juges overture, bar 310 and following; Waverley

overture, bar 55 and following; Symphonie Fantastique, 3rd movement, bar 177 and

following; 4th movement, bar 1 and following; King Lear overture, bar 67 andfollowing]


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Bells

Bells have been introduced into orchestral writing to produce effects that are

dramatic rather than musical. The timbre of low-pitched bells is appropriate only for

scenes of a solemn or tense character. High-pitched bells, on the other hand, give rise

to more peaceful impressions; there is something rustic and artless about them which

make them particularly suitable for religious scenes from country life. That is why

Rossini made use of a little bell in G to accompany a graceful chorus from the second

Act of William Tell, the refrain of which is "voici la nuit". Meyerbeer on his sideneeded to use a deep bell in F to give the signal for the massacre of the Huguenots, in

the fourth Act of the opera of that name. In addition he was careful to make that F the

augmented fifth of the B natural played by the bassoons below. Assisted by the low

notes of two clarinets in A and B flat this gives the passage the sinister timbre which

evokes the feelings of terror and fear which permeate this immortal scene. (Example)

[Example in Berlioz: the last movement of the Symphonie Fantastique, bar 102 and

following]

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The bass drum

Among percussion instruments of indeterminate pitch it is without doubt the bass

drum that has caused the greatest havoc and introduced most nonsense and vulgarity

in modern music. None of the great masters of the previous century thought itappropriate to introduce it in the orchestra. Spontini was the first to use it in his

triumphal march in La Vestale and a little later in a few pieces in Fernand Cortez,

where it was well motivated. But to write for it as has been done these last fifteen

years, where it is introduced in every ensemble, in every finale, in the slightest

chorus, in dance tunes, even in cavatinas, this is the height of insanity and, to call

things by their name, of brutality. All the more so as composers usually do not have

the excuse of an original rhythm which they might want to enhance and bring out

over subsidiary rhythms. Instead, the strong beat of every bar is struck, the orchestra

is crushed, the voices obliterated; nothing is left, neither melody, nor harmony, norline; even the tonality barely emerges. Composers then naively believe that they have

orchestrated their music in an energetic way and written something beautiful! No


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need to add that in this system the bass drum is almost never used without the

accompaniment of cymbals, as though these two instruments were by their nature

inseparable. In some orchestras both instruments are even played by one and the

same musician: one of the cymbals is fixed to the bass drum, so the player can strike

it with the other cymbal in his left hand, while the right hand wields the bass drums

stick. This cost-cutting method is intolerable: the cymbals lose their sonority in thisway and can only make a noise similar to the dropping of a bag full of metal junk and

broken glass. This is trivial, and devoid of pomp and splendour. It is just good

enough to set monkeys dancing and to accompany the tricks of conjurers, jugglers

and swallowers of swords and snakes on public squares and at the dirtiest of cross-

roads.

And yet the bass drum can be admirably effective when used intelligently. It might

join in an ensemble piece, in a very large orchestra, but only to enhance gradually the

power of a strong rhythm which has already been established, and which is graduallyreinforced by successive entries of the most sonorous instruments. The impact of the

bass drum is then wonderfully telling; the orchestras pendulum acquires enormous

power; and noise tamed in this way is transformed into music. Pianissimo notes from

the bass drum, when combined with cymbals in an andante and struck at long

intervals, have a majestic and solemn quality. On the other hand the bass drum played

pianissimo on its own is sinister and threatening (provided the instrument is of large

dimensions and well built); it then resembles a distant cannon shot.

In my Requiem I have used the bass drum forte without cymbals and played with

two sticks. The player strikes each side of the instrument and can thus play a

succession of fairly rapid notes. When combined with timpani rolls in several parts,

as in the work I have just mentioned, and with an orchestration that emphasises the

note of terror, they suggest the strange and awesome sounds that accompany the great

cataclysms of nature. (Example)

On another occasion, to obtain a deep roll in a symphony which would be much

lower in pitch than the lowest notes of the timpani, I did this by using two players on

a single bass drum that was stood upright like a drum.

[Examples in Berlioz: the Francs Juges overture, bar 299 and following;

Symphonie Fantastique, 5th movement; the Hungarian March from the Damnation of

Faust, bar 84 and following; the Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens, bar 207

and following, 239 and following]

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The cymbals

Cymbals are often used in conjunction with the bass drum, but as I have just said

about the latter instrument, they can be used separately to excellent effect in many

circumstances. Their quivering and thin sound, which cuts through the rest of the

orchestra, can be eminently suitable whether for feelings of extreme ferocity,combined with the shrill shrieks of piccolos and strokes on the timpani or the side

drum, or for the feverish excitement of a bacchanal where joy turns to frenzy. []

A vigorous marcato rhythm in a vast choral piece or a frenzied dance gains a great

deal by being played not by a single pair of cymbals but by four, six, ten or even

more, depending on the size of the venue and the numbers of the other instruments

and voices. The composer must always be careful to indicate the duration he wishes

to give to cymbal strokes that are followed by a rest. When he wants the sound to

reverberate, he should write long sustained notes with the indication: let the soundvibrate; in the opposite case he should write a quaver or a semiquaver with the words:

dampen the sound. The player does this by bringing the cymbals close to his chest

immediately after striking them. A timpani stick with sponge head, or a bass drum

stick, is sometimes used to set a cymbal vibrating when suspended by its thong. This

produces a rather prolonged metallic shimmer, sinister in quality though without the

formidable power of a stroke on the tam-tam.

[Berlioz makes frequent use of the cymbals, but always with discretion and a great

variety of nuances. The Roman Carnival overture is a good illustration. In the

Symphonie Fantastique the cymbals are used only at the very end of the 4th and 5th

movements (the last chord). The Menuet des Follets from the Damnation of Faust

may be mentioned as an example of the varied use of the instrument in the course of

the same piece]

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The gong

The tamtam, or gong, is only used in compositions of a dirge-like character and for

dramatic scenes of the utmost horror. When mingled in a forte with strident chords of

brass instruments (trumpets and trombones) its vibrations have an awe-inspiring

quality. No less terrifying in their lugubrious resonance are the exposed strokes of the

gong, as M. Meyerbeer has demonstrated in the magnificent scene of the resurrection

of the nuns in Robert le Diable. (Example)

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The side drum

Side drums are rarely appropriate except in large ensembles of wind instruments.

Their effect is enhanced and ennobled in proportion to the numbers used; a single

side drum, particularly when used in an ordinary orchestra, has always seemed to me

trivial and vulgar. It should however be mentioned that M. Meyerbeer has been able

to draw a distinctive and formidable sound by combining the side drum with the

timpani for the celebrated crescendo roll in the scene of the blessing of the daggers in

Les Huguenots. But when eight, ten, twelve or more drums play rhythmic

accompaniments or crescendo rolls in a military march, they can provide magnificent

and powerful support for wind instruments. Ordinary rhythms, devoid of melody,harmony or tonality, or of anything that constitutes real music, but intended solely to

provide a beat for soldiers on the march, become exciting when performed by a mass

of forty or fifty drums on their own. This may be the moment to point out the peculiar

and very real delight for the ear of a multiplicity of unisons or of the simultaneous

reproduction by a very large number of similar instruments of the sound they make.

[]

Side drums, like the timpani, can be used covered; but instead of covering the skin

with a piece of cloth, players often merely loosen the snares, or insert a leather strap

between them and the lower skin to check the vibrations. The drums then take on a

flat and dull sound, rather similar to what is produced when the top skin is covered.

This makes them suitable for compositions of a funereal or awe-inspiring character.

[Examples in Berlioz: Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale, passim; Te Deum, 3rd et

8th movements; the Hungarian March from the Damnation of Faust; the Funeral

March for the last scene of Hamlet]


The triangle

As with the bass drum, cymbals, timpani, trombones, and all instruments that have

a thunderous, explosive or reverberating sound, the triangle is nowadays deplorably

misused. It is even more difficult than with those instruments to give it an appropriaterole in the orchestra, as its metallic sound when played forte is only suitable for

pieces that are extremely brilliant, and when played piano for pieces that have a


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certain bizarre wildness. Weber has used it to good effect in his choruses of

Bohemians in Preciosa, and Gluck better still in the section in the major of the

terrifying ballet of the Scythians in Act I of Iphignie en Tauride (Example).

[Examples in Berlioz: Harold in Italy, 1st movement, bar 73 and following;

overture to Benvenuto Cellini; the Roman Carnival overture; the Menuet des Folletsfrom the Damnation of Faust]

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The "pavillon chinois" or "Jingling Johnny"

The "pavillon chinois" or "Jingling Johnny" is equipped with numerous little bells,

which serve to give brilliance to extrovert pieces and solemn marches in military

music. It cannot be shaken to produce its sound except at well spaced intervals, that is

about twice in a bar in a moderate tempo

[Example in Berlioz: Symphonie Funbre et Triomphale, 3rd movement]

We will not say anything here about various more or less imperfect and little

known instruments, such as the aeolodicon, the anemochord, the accordion, the

poikilorgan, the ancient sistrum etc. and will refer interested readers to the excellent

General Treatise on Instrumentation by M. Kastner. Our aim in this work is merely to

study those instruments that are used in modern music and to try to discover the rules

for creating harmonious understanding and striking contrasts between them, by taking

into account above all their expressive potential and the individual character of each.

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Keyboard instruments

The piano

[] Given the high level of perfection to which the skilled piano-makers of our

time have brought the instrument, the piano can be considered from two differentangles: as an orchestral instrument, or as a small but complete orchestra in its own

right. On only one occasion has a composer thought it appropriate to use the piano in


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the orchestra just like any other instrument, that is to make it contribute to the

ensemble its own individual resources, for which there is no available substitute. And

yet some passages in Beethovens concertos should have drawn the attention of

composers in this direction. They have probably all admired the wonderful effect

produced in the great E flat concerto (sc. the Emperor) by the slow broken chords

played by both hands in the upper register of the instrument while flute, clarinet andbassoon play the melody and the strings accompany with off-beat chords. In such a

context the sound of the piano has a delightful charm, full of calm and freshness, and

is the very image of grace. (Example: 5th piano concerto, 2nd movement, bars 64-

82).

The use made of the piano in the single example I have just mentioned is quite

different. In a chorus of airy spirits, the composer has used two pianos for four hands.

The lower pair of hands executes a fast rising arpeggio in triplets, which is answered

in the second half of the bar by another, descending arpeggio in three parts played bya piccolo, a flute and a clarinet, above which there is a shimmering double trill in

octaves from the upper pair of hands on the piano. No other available instrument

could produce this kind of harmonious flutter which the piano has no difficulty in

rendering, and which the sylph-like character of the piece requires. (Example:

Berlioz, Fantasia on Shakespeares Tempest). [...]

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The organ

[] Like the piano, though better than it, the organ seems to be able to assume a

double face in the hierarchy of instruments, as an additional orchestral instrument, or

as instrument that is by itself a complete and independent orchestra. It may be

possible to combine the organ with the different elements that build up the orchestra,

and this has been done several times. But it is a strange way of belittling this majesticinstrument to reduce it to this secondary role. It must also be realised that its level,

even and uniform sonority never blends completely with the diverse and distinctive

sounds of the orchestra, and that there seems to be a hidden antipathy between these

two musical powers. The organ and the orchestra are both Kings, or rather one is

Emperor and the other Pope; they have different missions, their interests are too vast

and too divergent to be confused. Hence on almost all occasions when the attempt has

been made to bring these two incompatible forces together, either the organ largely

overshadowed the orchestra, or the orchestra, increased to inflated proportions,

almost completely obliterated its opponent.

Only the very soft stops seem to be suitable for the accompaniment of voices. In


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general the organ is meant for total domination, it is a jealous and intolerant

instrument. It seems to me that there is only one set of circumstances where it could

blend with a chorus and an orchestra without detriment, but only on condition that it

remained itself in majestic isolation. Suppose a mass of voices placed in the choir of

a church, far away from the organ, and interrupting its chant to let the organ repeat it,

in whole or in part; suppose even that the chorus, in a ceremony of a sad character,was accompanied by a lament alternating between the orchestra and the organ from

the two extremities of the church, with the organ following the orchestra like a

mysterious echo of its lament. This manner of instrumentation could lead to grand

and sublime effects. Yet even in this case the organ would not really blend with the

other instruments, but would answer and question them. There would only be

between these two rival powers an alliance all the more sincere as neither would shed

any of its dignity. Every time I have heard the organ playing together with the

orchestra it seemed to me to produce a dreadful effect; it interfered with the orchestra

instead of strengthening it. As for determining how the organ should be used on itsown when considered as a self-contained orchestra, this is not the place to do this. We

have not set ourselves the task of writing a collection of textbooks for different

instruments, but rather to study how they can contribute to musical purposes when

combined with each other. []

[Examples in Berlioz: Te Deum, 4th and 8th movement]

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Alexandre's melodium-organ

[] The simplest melodium with a single register, whose range we have just

indicated, has two different timbres, that of the Cor anglais for the left half of the

keyboard and that of the Flute for the right. Depending on the manufacturers design,

the others can produce through various combinations registers for the Bassoon, theClarion, the Flute, the Clarinet, the Fife, and the Oboe, all of them so named because

of the analogy between these instruments and the timbre of the melodium. There is

also the Full organ, the Forte, and Expression. These registers give the melodium a

range of seven octaves, although its keyboard only has five. []

The melodium does not have the mixture stops of the organ, the effect of which is

traditionally admired by many people, but which in reality are an open door to the

most dreadful confusion. It only has stops for simple or double octaves and for

shifting the keyboard right or left. These cause each key to sound both thefundamental note and the octave or double octave of the note, or the double octave

without the octave, or even the octave above and the octave below simultaneously.


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Many ignorant players, devoted to noise, make a deplorable use of these octave

stops. The result is barbaric, though admittedly not to the same degree as with the

mixture stops of the organ which give to each note simultaneously the notes of the

major chord, in other words the major third and perfect fifth. Barbaric it is

nonetheless, since quite apart from the harmonic congestion produced, it necessarilyintroduces into the harmony the most dreadful chaos through the unavoidable

inversion of chords. []

The ignorance of the middle ages, groping for the l

berlioz treatise on orchestration

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