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    Flute - Lowest Octave - Orchestration Online

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    Jose Suñer
    The document discusses orchestrating the lowest octave of the flute. It notes that this register is tricky to balance but can be effective if handled correctly. It provides two examples from a harp concerto where the flute's lowest octave is used. The first is as part of a chorale texture where the flutes are doubled to provide solidity. The second example is in a delicate harmonic texture where the flutes blend into the surrounding horns and strings.

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    Flute - Lowest Octave - Orchestration Online

    Uploaded by

    Jose Suñer
    56 views3 pages
    The document discusses orchestrating the lowest octave of the flute. It notes that this register is tricky to balance but can be effective if handled correctly. It provides two examples from a harp concerto where the flute's lowest octave is used. The first is as part of a chorale texture where the flutes are doubled to provide solidity. The second example is in a delicate harmonic texture where the flutes blend into the surrounding horns and strings.

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    The document discusses orchestrating the lowest octave of the flute. It notes that this register is tricky to balance but can be effective if handled correctly. It provides two examples from a harp concerto where the flute's lowest octave is used. The first is as part of a chorale texture where the flutes are doubled to provide solidity. The second example is in a delicate harmonic texture where the flutes blend into the surrounding horns and strings.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    56 views3 pages

    Flute - Lowest Octave - Orchestration Online

    Uploaded by

    Jose Suñer
    The document discusses orchestrating the lowest octave of the flute. It notes that this register is tricky to balance but can be effective if handled correctly. It provides two examples from a harp concerto where the flute's lowest octave is used. The first is as part of a chorale texture where the flutes are doubled to provide solidity. The second example is in a delicate harmonic texture where the flutes blend into the surrounding horns and strings.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    19/9/2020 Flute - Lowest Octave - Orchestration Online

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    Flute – Lowest Octave


    Posted on January 4, 2013
    by Thomas Goss

    The lowest octave of the ute is tricky to balance, but effective if handled
    correctly. The conventional wisdom is to avoid using this register unless very
    thinly accompanied – but it’s more complicated than that, and an orchestrator
    with a keen ear can nd unexpected opportunities.

    In the following two excerpts from movement 2 of my harp concerto, I score for
    this register in two different ways, both in group textures. The rst is as a
    melody, the top note of a chorale with clarinets and bassoon 1. Note that while
    the lower lines of the chorale have one instrument each, the top line is played by
    doubled utes. This is not for balance, but for solidity and for a blended (rather
    than soloistic) tone. The balance is provided by the utes being one dynamic
    degree higher than the other winds. I could have used my favorite auxiliary, the
    bass clarinet (see yesterday’s tip), as the bottom line – but that might have
    resulted in too many of the wrong type of overtones being reinforced in the

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    19/9/2020 Flute - Lowest Octave - Orchestration Online

    utes. Also, it would have made the clarinet timbre dominate. The bassoon
    encourages the tones to blend because of its own very complex timbre
    underpinning each chord.

    The second example is part of a very delicate harmonic texture. The horns are
    playing ppp, along with gently pulsing strings and tremolo basses. The utes and
    clarinets push slightly at the rhythm of each pulse, like the slight ex of tone in a
    heartbeat. Here, the utes will blend into the harmonic cushion, but not be
    swallowed, because of the character of the textural elements that surround
    them. The horns and strings create a radiant, complex chord, while the clarinets
    and utes have a cooler combined tone in the center of the sound picture.

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    19/9/2020 Flute - Lowest Octave - Orchestration Online

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