Hi Ray, On 23 Feb 2008, at 5:18 PM, Ray Horton wrote:
Darcy, you have a point, but from an orchestral players standpoint, they see much of what is written in the name of scordatura as merely unnecessary: In _Pines_ why should cellists detune when there is a bass section that can divide (the passage in question is very soft);
Because the sound of an open string on cello -- especially that scordatura B! -- is very different from the sound of a stopped bass string. (When the basses divide, do the top ones at least play the B without vibrato?)
in __heldenleben__ the 2nds play into the viola range, something the violas can do much better;
Not if what you want is the sound of a violin playing an open string Gb!
in the original example that started this thread a novice orchestrator did not know she had exceeded the low range of the violin by several notes, etc.
Well, no one is defending ignorance. But I am inclined to suspect that Respighi, Strauss, and Stravinsky had good reasons for wanting the scordatura they asked for. (And god forbid we assume that a [gasp] living composer might also have a legitimate musical reason for asking orchestral musicians do something a tiny bit out of the ordinary.)
Cheers, - Darcy ----- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brooklyn, NY _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
