Books › The instruments of the modern orchestra & early records of the precursors of the violin family, with over 500 illustrations and plates;, 1910 › scan 43
Scan 43
The instruments of the modern orchestra & early records of the precursors of the violin family, with over 500 illustrations and plates;, 1910
4 lines. Read by computer on 29 August 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1introduced valved horns and trumpets into the orchestra, thus revolutionising instrumentation for the brass wind. Of Wagner's musical theories, it is not necessary to say much, they are well known in England now. His claim, however, to be one of the very first masters of orchestration is acknowledged by all. He is besides a consummate master in the art of attuning the audience to what it is called upon to witness.
3The art of conducting an orchestra, upon which so much depends now-a-days, is of comparatively recent date in England, having been practised only from the beginning of last century. Concerts and operas used to be directed by a musician seated at the piano (and earlier still at the harpsichord or spinet) who followed from the score, occasionally joining in on the piano, while the first violin or leader gave the tempi, or beat time, with his bow, if the instrumentalists faltered or failed to keep strictly together. In 1820, at a Philharmonic concert, Spohr electrified his audience by forsaking his piano and standing with his face towards the orchestra and his score in front of him, on a desk, beating time with his bâton from beginning to end of the concert. This was found so successful a method that it was at once adopted in England. The final seal was placed upon our modern orchestra by the invention in 1815 of the piston or valve system for brass wind instruments by Stölzel and Blümel, both natives of Silesia. Ingenuity had been at work in all directions to provide a new and satisfactory bass for the wind contingent. The ophicleide or keyed serpent; and the various other allied keyed brass instruments comprised under the general but misleading term of "bass-horns" were tolerated faute de mieux. The results of the invention were instantaneous and far-reaching and instrument makers of all countries vied with each other in making use of this invaluable contrivance and in bringing it to mechanical perfection. Before long the orchestra was enriched
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