At 3:40 PM -0500 2/17/06, Andrew Stiller wrote:
On Feb 17, 2006, at 2:17 PM, David W. Fenton wrote:
On 16 Feb 2006 at 23:50, Andrew Stiller wrote:
(17th-c. orchestras had no 16' voice)
Is this really true as an unqualified statement? Orchestral practice
was very, very different in different places, and, of course, the
whole idea of an "orchestra" did not really quite yet exist in the
way we use it.
I would prefer to state it differently: 17th
century orchestras did not REQUIRE a 16' voice.
However ...
Monteverdi specifies both contrabass violin and
contrabass viol in the 1607 score to "L'Orfeo."
Perhaps a pickup orchestra, but closely modeled
on descriptions of the varied instrumentation
described in the performances of 16th century
intermedii.
Praetorius shows us the instrument itself, which
sort of implies that it was known and used by
1618 in southern Germany.
Schütz specifically calls for contrabass or
violone in some music, but I can't remember
which. Possibly in the Funeral Music. One
assumes that he had a regular group of musicians
where he worked, the direct ancestors of what
became the "orchestra."
Corelli may not have specified violone in his
concertos, but specifically mentions it as
appropriate for his church sonatas.
If by "orchestra" you mean a permanent (i.e.,
not ad-hoc) instrumental ensemble dominated
by members of the violin family playing in
massed sections, then yes, it apparently is
unqualifiedly true. The Vingt-quatre violons du
roy had no 16' voice. Lully's opera orchestra
had no 16' voice. Corelli's orchestra had no
16' voice. Contrabasses (one or two) began to
creep into a few orchestras (not the most
important) in the 1690s, but that is the only
qualification I can think of. The details (and
*massive* documentation) are in _The Birth of
the Orchestra_, wh. I have recommended here
before.
We can both cite examples, which simply means
that practice had not become hard and fast, but I
would have to question any dogmatic statement
that 16' instruments did not exist or were not
used in the entire 17th century. As to "massed
sections," the numbers were certainly no more
than we would call a chamber orchestra today.
John
--
John & Susie Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
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