Scan 104
The American History and Encyclopedia of Music, 1924
6 lines. Read by computer on 15 September 2026. Printed page 82. See the scan on archive.org.
1may be considered as a typical first-class orchestra, although at musical festivals five hundred performers are sometimes gathered together. The Symphony Orchestra contains sixteen first violins, fourteen second violins, ten violas, ten violoncellos, a harp, eight double basses, three flutes, two oboes, one English horn, three clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, three kettle drums, a triangle and a bass drum. As a general rule, the first violins slightly exceed the number of second violins; the violas are somewhat fewer than the second violins, and the cellos and double basses are about half the number of the first violins. Above all else, the instruments must balance well.
3The art of writing for the smaller group differs greatly from that of writing for the larger, but is no less an art, for the perfection of the composition depends more upon the manner in which the available instruments have been treated than upon their number. Large or small, the orchestra contains much the same elements. There are always the string band, the wood-winds, the brasses and the percussion group. The individuals of each group may be combined with each other, or with individuals from other groups.
5The string band is composed of the first and second violins, the violas, the violoncellos, and the double basses. This group is the foundation of the orchestra, and must receive especially careful attention. Their importance is due to the fact that they have greater possibilities of expression, and can be played for longer intervals without fatigue than can any of the other groups. The first violins are treated as sopranos, the second violins as altos, the violas as tenors, the violoncellos as barytones, and the double basses as basses. They are not restricted to these uses entirely, for the compass of the violas or of the violoncellos renders either capable of crossing and sounding even above the violins. The violins are the most wonderful instruments in the orchestra, as they can produce a tone unbearably shrill or beautifully soft and low. It can change from a wooing
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