MUS417/571.2
ORCHESTRATION
Fall 2015

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ANNOUNCEMENTS!

DEC 4 — BRASS / PERCUSSION EXAM

DEC 2 — REVIEW
Study Guide 3

NOV 30 — FINAL PROJECTS DUE (one bound score for conductor with title page and preface and taped parts for each individual instrumentalist)
— NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED — please email me PDFs and .mid of your final score and parts by 2 pm.

NOV 26 — Orchestration (textural composition)

NOV 20 — Preparation of Score and Parts

NOV 13, 16, 18 — INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS IN D104 (bring your score in progress/sketches)
Do more listening while you have extra free time

NOV 11 — NO CLASS

NOV 9 — Final Project Proposal due — orchestrational techniques, tips, and tricks
FINAL PROJECT — orchestrate a short piano or chamber work, or excerpt thereof / original composition (1–2 minutes = NO LONGER) for the URI Symphony Orchestra. 

3 flutes
1 oboe
3 clarinets
1 bassoon

2 horn parts (2 players on each=4 parts printed)
2 trumpets
3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass)
1 euphonium
2 tubas 

2 percussion (instrument list handed out in class)
Piano — optional

Violin I (8 players)
Violin II (5 players)
Viola (6 players)
Violoncello (3 players)
Double Bass (2 players)

NOV 6 — Unpitched percussion with Jesse-Ray Leich and John Celentano
Homework: Start working on your final project so you have ideas fleshed out and work to show in your individual meeting

NOV 4 — Pitched percussion with Jesse-Ray Leich and John Celentano
Homework: see previous

NOV 2 — Scoring for Brass
Homework: Listen and Score 11, pg. 96, (due Friday Nov. 6) — please email PDF and .mid/.mp3

OCT 30 — Euphonium and Tuba demonstration with Claire Leath and Ian Wykes
Homework: Final project proposals are due via email MONDAY 11/2

OCT 28 — Horn demonstration with Jaime Thorne
Homework: Finish Worksheet 11 (pg. 81-83) — trumpet and horn transpositions, due Friday 10/30

OCT 26 — Trumpet demonstration with George Kent
Homework: Start Worksheet 11 (pg. 81-83) — trumpet transpositions, completed entirely by Friday 10/30

OCT 23 — Trombone demonstration with Tyler Barboza

OCT 21 — Exam 2 (Woodwinds + Keyboard Instruments)

OCT 19 — Project 2 due, review for exam
Study Guide

OCT 16 — Piano (meet in C100)
Debussy or Mozart scoring example due

OCT 14 — Scoring for Winds and Strings

OCT 12 — Scoring for Winds and Strings
Project 2 proposal due
Homework: Orchestrate either the Debussy excerpt pg.69-70 or Listen & Score 6, page 71-72 for winds and strings, harp is optional, but make your own choices, don't try to copy the Mozart as directed. Due Friday 10/16: email PDF and .mid/.mp3

PROJECT 2: WINDS/STRINGS/PIANO ASSIGNMENT — DUE 10/19
Compose or orchestrate a pre-existing piano piece or piece for 4 or fewer instruments/voices for
WINDS in twos (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons—one of each may double on an auxiliary such as bass clarinet for part or all of the excerpt),STRINGS (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Violoncello, Contrabass) and PIANO. Your project should be at least 30 to 60 seconds in duration and include the following elements/techniques:

A diversity of textures (homophonic, polyphonic, etc.)
Clarity re: Fore-, middle-, and background material
Attention to timbral detail (arco vs. pizz., mutes, sul tasto, sul ponticello, extended techniques, etc.)
Detailed scoring (tempo, dynamics, slurs/bowings, articulations)

All legibly notated on computer software (Finale available in F102 and music resource center).
Submit your final PDF (of score) and .mid or .mp3 file (export audio) to me via email by start of class on 10/19 along with the original score you used as a source (if you're not composing original music).

PROJECT GRADING (80 points total)
30 points — idiomatic writing (knowing strengths/weaknesses/capabilities of each instrument)
20 points — using variety of textures (helps to clarify form)
10 points — detailed scoring (dynamics, bowings, articulations, attention to timbre)
10 points — clear notation (looks professional, no collisions, proper spacing)
10 points — artistry (be creative!)

OCT 9 — Saxophone demonstration with Mike Grenier
Homework: Worksheet 7, #1-2 (pg. 47-50) — finish it and do Worksheet 8, #2 (Brahms scoring assignment pg. 54-56)

OCT 7 — Bassoon demonstration with Susan Wood + Clarinet demonstration with Kelli O'Connor
Homework: Worksheet 7, #1-2 (pg. 47-50)

OCT 5 — Scoring for Winds
Homework: Continue listening/score study, begin worksheet 7 (due 10/9)

OCT 2 — Oboe demonstration with Jane Murray
Homework: Catch up on listening, transcribe worksheet 8, #1 (pg. 51) for 2 flutes and 2 oboes ONLY

SEPT 30 — Flute demonstration with Michael Avitabile

SEPT 28 — Exam 1 (Strings+Harp)
Study guide

STRING PROJECT ASSIGNMENT — DUE 9/25
Compose or orchestrate a pre-existing piano piece for string orchestra and harp (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Violoncello, Contrabass, Harp). Your project should be at least 30 seconds in duration and include the following elements/techniques:

A diversity of textures (homophonic, polyphonic, etc.)
Clarity re: Fore-, middle-, and background material
Divisi
Harmonics
Attention to timbral detail (arco vs. pizz., mutes, sul tasto, sul ponticello, extended techniques, etc.)
Detailed scoring (tempo, dynamics, slurs/bowings, articulations)

All legibly notated on computer software (Finale available in F102 and music resource center).
Submit your final .mus or .sib file to me via email by start of class on 9/25 along with the original piano score (if you're not composing original music).

PROJECT GRADING (80 points total)
30 points — idiomatic writing (knowing strengths/weaknesses/capabilities of each instrument)
20 points — using variety of textures (helps to clarify form)
10 points — detailed scoring (dynamics, bowings, articulations, attention to timbre)
10 points — clear notation (looks professional, no collisions, proper spacing)
10 points — artistry (be creative!)

SEPT 23— Harp demonstration with Mason Morton (C100)
Homework: Work on your string project, continue review for exam 1

SEPT 21 — Scoring for Strings
Homework: Work on your string project, begin review for exam 1

SEPT 18— Violin demonstration with EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks (extended techniques)
Homework: Complete Listen and Score #3 (workbook page 29) in Finale/Sibelius, add bowing to Barber excerpt, complete short harmonics writing exercise (handout)

SEPT 16 — Viola demonstration with Brandon Kaplan
Homework: Complete worksheet 1 #5-6 and review harmonics (examples for violin)
Here's another chart that shows the alternate notation º when the node is the same as the sounding pitch.
Plus an artificial harmonic chart and a string division graphic (divide string in half to get 2nd partial=1 node=sounds octave higher; divide in thirds to get 3rd partial=2 nodes=sounds octave+P5 higher, etc.)

SEPT 14 — Cello demonstration with Ted Mook
Homework: Complete worksheet 3, questions 1, 2, and 3 (pg. 15-16)

SEPT 11 — Double bass demonstration with Jacob Richman
Homework: Complete Worksheet 2, questions 1, 2, and 3 (workbook pg. 11–13)
Read Adler pg. 39–48 and 75–83
Listening

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COURSE RESOURCES
Textbooks: Samuel Adler, The Study of Orchestration 3rd ed. + workbook
Syllabus (PDF)
Instruments for Eyes and Ears
MOLA Guidelines (notation standards)
Finale help (also try user manual under help menu) (1) formatting, (2) page turns, (3) even spacing of systems
Sibelius help
IMSLP (score archive)

Natural Harmonics
Artificial Harmonics
Stone—Extended techniques for bowed string instruments (notation)
Messina—more extended string techniques (notation)
On Playing the Harp by Yolanda Kondonassis


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IMPORTANT DATES

• SEPT 9 — Fall 2015 classes begin

• SEPT 25 — PROJECT 1 due: Strings

• SEPT 28 — EXAM 1: Strings

• OCT 19 — PROJECT 2 due: Strings, Winds, and Piano

• OCT 21 — EXAM 2: Strings, Winds, and Piano

• NOV 11 — VETERANS DAY — NO CLASS

• NOV 20 — FINAL PROJECT (First Draft) due — must complete draft to participate in final reading

• NOV 27 — THANKSGIVING — NO CLASS

• NOV 30 — FINAL PROJECT (Final Draft) — Complete, bound score and parts due

• DEC 4 — EXAM 3: Brass and Percussion

• DEC 14 — 3:30-6:30 pm — FINAL READING (Concert Hall)
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SCORES AND RECORDINGS

Orchestration — timbre and texture clarify form, content, and expression
Maurice Ravel — Bolero (PDF)

Double bass — orchestral excerpts + solo works
Beethoven — Symphony No. 9, 4th movement (52:15) (PDF) — soli, be sure to leave them space
Mahler — Symphony No. 1, 3rd movement (PDF pg. 76) — solo, a reminder this can happen in orchestral music
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel) — Pictures at an Exhibition, 6th movement "Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle" (PDF pg. 53) — also features homophonic strings in octaves
Grisey — Partiels — all about that low bass rip (chords imitate sonic spectrum of trombone sound)
Johnson — Failing (A Very Difficult Piece for Solo String Bass)
Richman — Pretty Polly video excerpt and full audio (PDF)
Volness — Hints and Hauntings (PDF)

Violoncello — orchestral excerpts + solo works
Beethoven — Symphony No. 5, 2nd movement (PDF) — soli, pizz. bass accompaniment, melody then orchestrated
Elgar — Enigma Varations, XII. "B.G.N" (PDF pg. 82)— solo/soli, with dark string accompaniment
Shostakovich — Symphony No. 15, 2nd movement — solo, shows range/timbre, string accompaniment
Saariaho — Sept Papillons (PDF) — harmonics, extended techniques
Martino — Parisonatina al'Dodecafonia (PDF)— diversity of sounds in juxtaposition
Lachenmann — Pression (PDF excerpt) — many non-pitched sounds, some too soft for orchestral texture

Viola — orchestral excerpts + solo works
Stravinsky — La Sacre du Printemps (1:37) (PDF pg. 90) — 4 soli, (altri= the rest of the violas)
R. Strauss — Don Quixote, 3rd variation (PDF pg. 35) — playful solo
Garrop — Torque, I. Momentum — dramatic, low, dark viola (glissandi)
Stravinsky — Elegy for Solo Viola — double stops galore
Muhly — Keep in Touch — lyricism, registral colors, sul ponticello, electronics

Violin — orchestral excerpts + solo works
Saint–Saëns — La Dance Macabre (PDF) — violin solo, double stops, lots of homophonic and contrapuntal string writing, harp feature
Rimsky-Korsakov — Scheherezade (PDF) — violin solo appears throughout piece
Debussy — La Mer (PDF)— divisi string writing (+harp) and violin solo
Czernowin — String Quartet — extended techniques
Peterson — Näcken — harmonics and arpeggios
Volness — River Rising (PDF)— violin + electronics with various extended techniques

 Scoring for strings
Barber — Adagio for Strings (PDF) — divisi, various soli over homophonic texture, with additional counterpoint as piece goes on, harmony and register clarify form, high cello timbre = yearning, all strings in highest register ff = intense!, sense of timelessness (lack of metric pulse), unresolved ending (see Bernstein's annotated score here)
Pärt — Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten — divisi, cascading scalar passages downward at different rates, stopping on harmonic tones (tintinnabulation), moving lines garner attention, as process plays out, register shifts downward and scalar line is slower (chimes for added funerary effect)
Adams — Shaker Loops (PDF) — textural composition, using ensemble as one big instrument
I. lines appear out of rhythmic texture,
(8:56) II. trills/tremolos/harmonics/glissandi,
(14:24) III. Vcl melody over similar materials from I and II combined, gradually shifting to homophony,
(22:06) IV. material from all movements combined, shifting from high register to single pitch expanding to lower register (pedal tone in bass helps provide contrast/underpinning for active parts)
Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 4, III. Scherzo (PDF) — all pizzicato
Dvorak — Serenade for Strings, V. Finale (22:44) (PDF) — contrapuntal dialogue, active, dynamic string textures (fore-, middle-, background), clear bowing articulation and phrasing
Saariaho — Nymphea Reflection VI. Misterioso — more modern approach to string orchestra

Harp
Ravel — Introduction and Allegro
Debussy — La Mer (PDF)
Berio — Sequenza II
Rautavaara — Harp Concerto
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Flute (and its auxiliaries)
Debussy—L'après-midi d'un Faune — prominent flute solo w/orchestra
Prokofiev—Lieutenant Kijé Suite — prominent piccolo solo w/orchestra
Stravinsky—Le Sacre du Printemps (28:10) — prominent (isolated) alto flute solo
Varèse—Density 21.5 — flute solo, colors
Mats Möller's New Sounds for Flute

Oboe (and its auxiliaries)
Berlioz—Symphony Fantastique (24:55) (PDF) — antiphonal English horn/oboe soli in movement III
The story behind the piece by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
31:38 awesome cresc. into bass solo, epic string homophony, with dreamy wind interjections
34:20 clarinet solo (lots to talk about in this piece)
Berio—Sequenza VII (PDF) — alternate fingerings, growl, varied articulation, etc.
Rodrigo—Concierto de Aranjuez, II. Adagio — English horn solo, prominent oboe lines
Libby Van Cleve's Oboe Unbound

Bassoon (and its auxiliaries)
Stravinsky — La Sacre du Printemps (PDF) — classic high bassoon solo at beginning
Dukas — L'Apprenti Sorcier (PDF)— classic low bassoon soli, lots of wind colors
Gordon — Rushes — for seven bassoons

Clarinet (and its auxiliaries)
Gershwin — Rhapsody in Blue (PDF) — clarinet solo at beginning
Stravinsky — La Sacre du Printemps (7:25) (PDF pg. 45) — "Rounds of Spring" pairs Eb clarinet + Bass clarinet

Saxophone
Gershwin — An American in Paris (PDF)
Milhaud — La Création du monde (starts 1:18) (score)

Keyboard Instruments
Saint-Saëns — Le Carinval des Animaux, "Aquarium" (PDF) — piano texture with strings
Shostakovich — Symphony No. 5 (8:46) (PDF pg. 12) — piano punctuation, more chamber combinations
Stravinsky — Petrushka (PDF)— piano and celesta as equal members of ensemble
Rachmaninoff — Piano Concerto No. 2 (PDF) — used as solo voice and accompaniment to orchestra
Tchaikovsky — Nutcracker Suite, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" (PDF pg. 46) — classic celesta solo (+ bcl)
Stravinsky — Les Noces — 4 pianists + percussion
Cage — Sonatas and Interludes — prepared piano
Cowell — Aeolian Harp — inside the piano

Scoring for Winds
Ligeti — Six Bagatelles (PDF of 1st movement) — individual wind voices (+ horn)
Beethoven — Octet in Eb for Winds Op. 103 (1:10) (PDF) — mixed winds + horns
Mendelssohn — Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream (PDF pg. 59) — winds as section
Ravel — Daphnis and Chloe, 2nd Suite (PDF) — winds as texture / bird calls
Bartók — Concerto for Orchestra (II. Gioco Delle Coppie) (10:55) (PDF pg. 30) — soli in pairs
Larsen — Symphony: Water Music (II. Hot, Still) — winds featured vs. strings, then in combination, quickly changing colors
Mahler — Kindertotenlieder (PDF) — solo/isolated passages (prominent oboe)
Mussorgsky — Night on Bald Mountain (PDF)

Tenor / Bass Trombone
Berio — Sequenza V (image of score excerpt)
Cage — Solo for Sliding Trombone
Biedenbender — Liquid Architecture (PDF) — bass trombone and piano

Scoring for Brass
Holst — The Planets (PDF) — "Mars" especially
Bruckner — Symphony No. 8 (PDF) — low brass feature in finale (1:27:10)
Brahms — Symphony No. 4 (PDF) — IV. opening chorale
Strauss — Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (PDF) — prominent horn solo

Scoring for Orchestra (textural composition)
Ligeti — Atmosphères
Bartók — Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (III. especially)
Saariaho — Du cristal
Luther Adams — Become Ocean

Scoring for Orchestra and Voice
Mahler — Das Lied von der Erde – II. Die Einsame im Herbst
Orff — Carmina Burana – O Fortuna
Adams — Harmonium – I. Negative Love

Scoring for Orchestra and Electronics
Rautavaara — Cantus Arcticus – I. The Bog
Bates — Mothership
Kouyoumdjian — This Should Feel Like Home