At 9:12 AM -0800 11/25/09, Ryan Beard wrote:
I'm working on a piece for String Orchestra, but it has a second cello part. (The instrumentation is Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello I, Cello II, String Bass.) My question concerns the cello part. Should I extract the cello parts together in one part on two staves, or in separate parts, like the violins?What in your opinion would be best for the performers, and best for the rehearsal process and performance?Happy Thanksgiving!Ryan
Hi, Ryan. If they are truly separate parts (and occasional unisons don't count against this), definitely separate parts. Do remember, however, that it is almost 100% true that there are MANY more violins in orchestras than there are cellos, so don't expect equal balance. Our community string orchestra at present has about 8 1sts, 10 2nds, and 6 cellos, but that's the most cellos we have EVER had! So our proportion favors violins 3:1.
If they are essentially the same cello part with occasional divisi, then you should extract them as a single part, and decide whether to show the divisi sections on a single staff or on two separate staves, same as any other conventional string part.
The difference in performance will be that with separate parts, the cellos will probably divide into 1st and 2nd by stand, so stand partners are playing the same part and have someone available for page turns, and it will favor the 1st cello part in the balance. And don't forget that putting two staves on a single part automatically means planning for twice as many page turns. With a single part marked for divisi they will probably divide by outside-inside on each stand, and in that case it's VERY important not to allow page turns to fall during a divisi section or you will lose one part.
And yes, page layout and the planning of page turns can make the difference between something that is playable and something that is NOT playable!
I've never run into dual cello parts with string orchestra, although they are rather often divisi, but some baroque composers (especially the French) and Mozart among later composers often scored for 2 viola parts, and they are always printed as separate parts. Since our orchestra has only 5 violas this year, we are at a definite disadvantage in such music. And no, the composer can NOT specify the number of string players, and would be foolish to try to do so.
John -- John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music Virginia Tech Department of Music College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences 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 "We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition of jazz musicians. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
