Scan 322
the american history and encyclopedia of music, 1910
6 lines. Read by computer on 15 September 2026. Printed page 276. See the scan on archive.org.
1doublebasses are needed to secure the proper balance, while more may well be added. Solidity is another element we have a right to expect in a good orchestra, and this is due partly to the arrangement of parts by the composer or one who arranges a composition for orchestra, and partly to good playing. Almost any ear appreciates a full substantial resonant body of tone and at once detects one that is hollow, thin, or nasal. Occasionally the acoustic properties of a concert hall are so poor that even though the quality of tone of each instrument and of the various choirs may be rich, smooth and full, and the many voices of the orchestra work perfectly together, one feels conscious of a lack of solidity, and finds upon inquiry that the orchestra was in no way at fault.
3Again, one can soon detect a failure of instruments to attack a phrase properly; the orchestra should act as one voice, and every tone should be begun and ended by every instrument at exactly the same instant, otherwise the theme or phrase lacks definiteness, you feel the careless, unorganized handling of instruments, and it detracts materially from one's enjoyment. When one instrument drags ever so little behind another the rhythms are not perfect, and the smoothness and the unity of the performance are ruined. We admire brilliant passages partly because we realize what precision and unity they require. Unstinted applause should be given a conductor and his orchestra for a perfect performance. Arduous and frequent rehearsals, constant practise by the various instruments, continued working together of the separate choirs and the entire orchestra, a subordinating of self and instrument for the perfection of the orchestra as a whole, a common sympathy and understanding between conductor and his men, are all necessary.
5Many of us fail to recognize the power of properly analyzing a composition which is required of the conductor. He must know the symphony, the concerto or overture, thoroughly, know it so that he has formed his own ideas as to the manner in which it should be performed, and then he
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