On Tuesday, October 1, 2002, at 06:32 AM, Michael Edwards wrote:
> [Darcy James Argue:] > >> Hmm... the top line is already doubled in the flute. The violas >> double the >> top line 8vb, doubled with clarinet. Plus, I suspect (and it's >> infuriating >> to not know this for certain...) that those two winds will be >> amplified.[1] > > Well, as the composer or arranger, can't you *specify* what is to > be > amplified, and what is not? If only... > Or if that is highly dependent on the acoustic > conditions at particular venues, at least make the intended balance > clear, so > that that can inform any decisions the conductor or players may make > about > amplification. I think the best I can hope for is that the conductors and (especially) the sound techs involved in these productions take the matter of balance seriously. Unfortunately, near as I can tell, this would require the sound tech to (A) use very minimal amplification, and (B) follow along with the score and only bring up, e.g., the klez clarinet when she in fact has a solo. And we all know what the odds of *that* are -- if these were "real" concerts and not "pops" concerts, they might take the matter more seriously, but the vibe I am getting is that there will very very little rehearsal and soundcheck time for these gigs. Alternatively, I could try to persuade the players in the klezmer band to take matters into their own hands, and simply move off-mic when they are playing ensemble passages. (Though frequently this causes sound techs to turn up that mic *even more*, in a sort of acoustical escalation.) On Tuesday, October 1, 2002, at 08:40 AM, Christopher BJ Smith wrote: > Aha! Yes, your assumption that the front line will be heard perfectly, > and the rest of the accompanying orchestra will fade into the > background is a valid one. You cannot assume that you will get proper > balance between the front line and solo instruments in the orchestra > (or even entire sections in the orchestra). All you can do is make > sure that the front line sounds complete and balanced within itself, > and that the orchestra sounds as complete and balanced as an > accompanying ensemble can sound (kind of like the concept in a big > band that each section should be properly voiced and balanced within > itself, regardless of doubling between sections.) Well, that's how I started out and I've generally stuck to it, but in this current piece, which is somewhat jazzier than the others, there are some sections that require (well, not "require" exactly but "fairly scream for") 4 clarinets in 4-part block voicings. (And later, 3 clarinets and bass clarinet in drop-2). So the melody will be in the klez clarinet, and the orchestral clarinets will have the inner parts. It's not tragic if the top line is, ahem, tastefully amplified, but I worry that it will be mic'ed up the wazoo and the inner parts will just disappear. Also, there are lots of situations where it's not possible to have a "complete within itself" front line harmonically that's still timbrally a good match for the orchestra. In such cases I pretty much have to rely on the orchestra to fill in the inner voices, which again depends on the sound tech not mucking everything up. As for the 3-way string split, I think I've decided the best way to do this is to make Vln I and Vln II identical Div a3 parts. - Darcy ----- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Boston MA _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
