THE ORCHESTRA: A USER'S MANUAL

Introduction	Orchestration	Orchestration	Resources	Historical	Andrew Hugill
	by section woodwinds brass percussion others strings combinations tuttis	by instrument flutes oboes clarinets bassoons saxophones horns trumpets trombones tubas percussion keyboards harps fretted strings voices electronics violins violas cellos basses conductors	select... score layouts seating plans ranges/transpositions harmonic series language/phonetics notation charts	select... 20th/21st Century 19th Century Classical Baroque pre-Baroque	Philharmonia

BRASS

Solos and groups:

Horns
Trumpets
Trombones
Tubas

Other combinations and tuttis

 

 

The traditional line-up of the brasses is: Horns, Trumpets, Trombones, Tubas. The numbers and combinations of these instruments vary greatly according to historical period, geographical location and, of course, composer choice. Probably the most common orchestral combination is:

4 horns
3 trumpets
3 trombones
1 tuba

but there are numerous variations on this, including massively expanded groupings where required.

Horns are often used in combination with woodwind, and generally have a weaker sound than the other brass. The convention when writing for four horns is to give high parts to horns 1 and 3, and low parts to 2 and 4 (with 1 taking the highest, and 4 taking the lowest). A fifth horn may well be used even when only four are required by the score, to cover the less important passages in the Horn 1 part, allowing the principal to concentrate on important solos. A quartet of horns will be very effective and unobtrusive when carrying the harmonic background to a passage.

Use the links on the left to sample various brass scorings from the Philharmonia's recorded archive.

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Solos and groups:

Horns

COMPOSER	WORK	CD	EXCERPT	COMMENTS
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 4	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80555	>MI b109-111	High horn solo, accompanied by strings pizzicato and harp.
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 4	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80555	>MIII 75-76	A high horn figure, followed by the same figure on low horns, ending on an extreme low E (concert).
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 4	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80555	>MIII 81-84	The high horn carries the main melody, but there is a countermelody in Violin 1 which eventually takes over, plus decoration in the woodwind.
Igor Stravinsky	The Rite of Spring	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK45796	>Fig. 74	Horn cuivré.
Igor Stravinsky	The Rite of Spring	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK45796	>bar before Fig. 101	Stopped horns.
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 5	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80569	>M3 b.296-307	Open horns alternating with stopped horns (accompanied by clarinets, bassoons, violas and cellos).
Manuel de Falla	El Amor Brujo (Love the Magician): Danza rituel del fuego (Ritual Fire Dance)	Philharmonia/Giulini EMI CDM 69037 2	>Fig. 34	Stopped and unstopped horns, with trumpets (decorated by strings and woodwind).
Manuel de Falla	El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-cornered Hat): Farruca	Philharmonia/Giulini EMI CDM 69037 2	>opening	High horn solo (note pizzicato Violins 2 assisting accents)
Ludwig van Beethoven	Symphony No. 7	Philharmonia/Klemperer EMI 7 63354 2	>MIV bb. 231-248	Classic horn writing, using the harmonic series and high register.
Claude Debussy	La Mer	Philharmonia/Cantelli Testament SBT 1011	>I Fig. 3	Muted horns in octaves.
Peter Tchaikovsky	Symphony No. 5	Philharmonia/Muti EMI CZS 7 67314 2	MII	Horn solo with string accompaniment.

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Trumpets

COMPOSER	WORK	CD	EXCERPT	COMMENTS
Igor Stravinsky	The Rite of Spring	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK45796	Fig. 132	Muted trumpets in octaves.
Igor Stravinsky	Petrouchka	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK573274	Fig. 134-139	Trumpet with side drum.
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 5	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80569	MI b1-12	Trumpet solo.

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Trombones

COMPOSER	WORK	CD	EXCERPT	COMMENTS
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 5	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80569	MI b357-371	Tombone solo, leading into a horn-led tutti.
Gustav Holst	The Planets: Saturn	Philharmonia/Gardiner DG445 860-2	3 after I	Trombone trio (accompanied by low strings pizzicato), joined by trumpet trio.
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 5	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80569	MI b53-60	Trombone trio.
Igor Stravinsky	Petrouchka	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK573274	Fig. 122-123	Trombones.
Maurice Ravel	Bolero	Philharmonia/Maazel EMI CDE 7 677812	Fig. 10	Trombone.

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Tubas

COMPOSER	WORK	CD	EXCERPT	COMMENTS
Igor Stravinsky	The Rite of Spring	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK45796	Fig. 64-66	Tuba melody.
Igor Stravinsky	Petrouchka	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK573274	Fig. 191	Tuba solo.
Gustav Holst	The Planets: Mars	Philharmonia/Gardiner DG445 860-2	9-13 after I	Bass and tenor tuba melody.
Gustav Holst	The Planets: Mars	Philharmonia/Gardiner DG445 860-2	3 after IV	Tenor tuba solo.

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Other combinations and tuttis:

 

COMPOSER	WORK	CD	EXCERPT	COMMENTS
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 4	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80555	MII 154-160	A falling acccented string phrase, leads to a melody on horn, decorated by flute and brass. But all this is cut across by one muted trumpet.
Igor Stravinsky	The Rite of Spring	Philharmonia/Salonen Sony SK45796	Fig. 57-59	8 horns (with bassoons and low strings), punctuated by ww, strings and timps.
Gustav Holst	The Planets: Uranus	Philharmonia/Gardiner DG445 860-2	opening	Brass in octaves.
Gustav Mahler	Symphony No. 5	Philharmonia/Zander Telarc 2CD-80569	MI b357-371	Tombone solo, leading into a horn-led tutti.
Edward Elgar	Symphony No. 1	Philharmonia/Haitink EMI CDC 7 47673 2	Fig. 42	A countermelody in horns, trumpets and trombones.
Claude Debussy	La Mer	Philharmonia/Cantelli Testament SBT 1011	II Fig. 52	Trumpets leading to horns leading to trombones leading to a solo cornet.

 

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