| Re: Historically informed performance and orchestra
This is a VERY important and timely issue in my opinion and I think timbre is at the very heart of it. The modern orchestra has a very limited tonal palette considering the wide range of music that makes up its standard repertoire. (Style is another more complicated and polemical issue – perhaps another time) One can only hope that thanks to the great strides in the area of “period instrument” performance, orchestras are becoming more aware of the wide range of different instrumental colors which were once apart of their medium. Is it practical? In most instances, perhaps not. Not every orchestra can indulge in resurrecting an obsolete part that had been long ago absorbed into another, or even done away with entirely, such an ophecleide part. Doug Yeo is fortunate that the BSO can indulge in that extravagance, afterall it’s all for the better isn’t it? (we needn’t get into $$ issues – doubling pay and all that)
Historically speaking, trumpet players are perhaps some of the biggest culprits in the shift in orchestral timbre, especially with regard to romantic literature (afterall, what orchestral instrument has changed as drastically as the trumpet during the 19c, going from an eight-foot-pitched natural instrument to a four-foot-pitched valved instrument in the course of a few decades?) - the obsolescence of the F trumpet in favor of the Bb or C trumpet (itself a modified long-model cornet by the way); C trumpet (at all costs) instead of Bb (not too much difference in timbre but discernable nonetheless); C cornets instead of Bb and A (a BIG difference there!). Piccolo trumpets – YIKES!!! It’s all starting to sound the same: bright. What ever happened to blend? Granted the recent trend in cornets has been toward historical-style cornet mpieces, which is great. But you really can’t fault trumpet players for opting to use equipment that makes their job easier. Accuracy and practicality are the bottom line, and rightfully so. That has been the trumpet player’s credo for more than a century and has become so natural as to become the norm. But at what cost? In this regard they most certainly can be faulted for not appreciating and trying to preserve the original tonal colors of the prescribed instruments. (Shame on conductors for not insisting on it! It’s sad that most of them don’t know any better in the first place - A sticky argument actually, can one trust that composers actually wrote with that in mind?). The increasing use of rotary trumpets is certainly welcomed, but it’s not enough for some repertoire in my opinion. Natural/Baroque trumpets (and appropriate mouthpieces) should become commonplace in the modern orchestra, at the very least for classical music. For Baroque repertoire, which often calls a high caliber of specialized technique it would certainly depend on the player and the work (though certainly best to leave it to the specialists where that’s concerned).
I appreciate modern orchestras (and trumpet playing), I truly and most sincerely do. But I, and surely others do as well, know better that what we here today (speaking of certain repertoires) is not necessarily what the composer heard or intended, and that piques my interest to no end. (I.m big on tapping into the aesthetic of the music, and timbre is as much a part of it as interpretation) Are players willing to go more historically informed with regard to instrument choice (style and technique aside)? On the whole probably not, though there are those out there who are taking the bold step in that direction. Will audiences accept it or even care? Sadly not if it sounds different – people know what they like and they only like what they know. I am optimistic and hopeful.
Those are some of my thoughts, for what their worth. I look forward to hearing others
Dr.Z |