Thursday 3 December 2009
Conch shells and horns
Labels:
diary
On of the most striking moments in the recent performance of Gluck's Alceste by Chelsea Opera Group was during Act 3 the Infernal God summons Alceste and is meant to be blowing into a conch shell. The composer writes for two horns, playing in unison, but the horn players hold the bells of their horns nearly together and the horns act as sort of mutes for each other. The effect is described by Berlioz in his Treatise on Orchestration. It both looks and sounds fascinating; looks, because of course, it is rather a contortion for two horn players standing side by side to place their bells together as the instruments are played laterally. And it sounds hauntingly fascinating. Though it doesn't seem to be a commonly used effect.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Kullervo Sets Off for War (Mural, 1901, in the Old Student House, Helsinki University) Sigfúsdóttir: Oceans , Grieg: ...
-
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana ; Katherine Broderick, Oliver Johnston, Janis Kelly, Michel de Souza, Idunnu Münch, director: Harry Fehr, con...
-
Bernstein: A Quiet Place - Henry Neill, Elgan Llyr Thomas - Royal Ballet & Opera (Photo: Marc Brenner/ROH) Bernstein: Trouble in Tahiti...
-
Puccini: Il tabarro - Yvonne Howard, Natalya Romaniw - Welsh National Opera (Photo: Craig Fuller) Puccini: Il trittico , Dario Solari, Nata...
-
Wagner: Die Walküre - The London Opera Company, November 2023 London Opera Company presented a full-scale performance of Wagner's Die ...
-
Judith Weir: Blond Eckbert - English Touring Opera Do not take my story for a fairytale , Judith Weir: Blond Eckbert ; Abigail Kelly, Amy J...
-
What about blowing the box to pieces: composer Eímear Noone on writing for video games, films and TVEímear Noone (Photo: Andy Paradise) Dublin and LA-based composer Eímear Noone is known for her scores for video games, films and TV. She re...
-
Title page of the "Bassus Generalis" for one of the partbooks in which the Vespers were published in 1610 Monteverdi: Vespers of 1...
-
Reinis Zariņš (Photo: Andris Sprogis) Latvian pianist Reinis Zariņš will be performing Olivier Messiaen ’s Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-...
-
Jake Heggie (Photo: James Niebuhr) Jake Heggie 's song cycle for soprano, violin and string quartet, Intonations : Songs from the Violin...
No comments:
Post a Comment