Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise: A Translation and Commentary (Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.90 (864 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0521239532 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 430 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-10-04 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Hugh Macdonald is Avis Blewett Professor of Music at Washington University, St Louis. He has edited The Selected Letters of Berlioz (1995) and Volumes IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII of the Berlioz Correspondance générale (1992- ). . He is also author of Skryabin (1978) and Berlioz (1982). He has been General Editor of the New Berlioz Edition since its inception in 1967
Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise (1843) is a classic textbook by a master of the orchestra, which has not been available in English translation for over a century. It is thus a study of the high craft of the most distinctive orchestrator of the nineteenth century.. This is a book by and about Berlioz, since it provides not only a new translation but also an extensive commentary on his text, dealing with the instruments of Berlioz's time and comparing his instruction with his practice
reviewed by Hugh Wood in TLS march 2003 bruce purcell "-the provenance of the 'Treatise'. It came from many evenings of his youth spent with the Berlioz rat-pack at the Opera. Those uproarious occasions, enlivened by justifiable if impertinent complaints about missing trombones or unscored cymbal-clashes, are told breathlessly in Chapter Fifteen of the 'Memoirs'."
My expectations were exceeded in both respects. "When I received the book, I confidently expected a good modern translation of this seminal work on orchestration and an informative commentary. A better translation and commentary than the present one can scarcely be imagined. Indeed, as far as commentary is concerned, this book is an essential reference tool for scholars of every nationality and for all performers of Berlioz's music." Journal of Musicological Research