The instruments of the orchestra : Violin / Jeremy Siepmann, written and narrated [grabación sonora]

Instruments of the Orchestra, Siepmann, Jeremy

1. Wagner: Tannhauser: Overture
2. Anonymous: Domna, pos vos ay chausida
3. We don't merely use instruments, we play on them. And they play on us.
4. Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 7
5. The violin is one of the most tender and beautiful instruments ever invented.
6. Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major: II. Adagio
7. But for a long time it was seen as the instrument of the devil.
8. Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March of the Devil
9. The manipulative seductiveness of the gypsy violin
10. Anonymous: Csardas Music
11. The violin and the imitation of nature
12. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Spring: I. Allegro
13. Birds are again evoked in the second concerto, especially music's natural favourite.
14. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Summer: I. Allegro non molto
15. Like the devil, the violin is a master of disguise.
16. Kreisler: Schon Rosmarin
17. The menacing sensuality of Ravel's Tzigane; a very different side of the violin:
18. Ravel: Tzigane
19. Do we now have the true measure of this instrument Not just yet.
20. Paganini: Caprice No. 24
21. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4: III. Presto / Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor
22. Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge: VIII. Moto Perpetuo
23. Prokofiev's tremolo in Romeo and Juliet should not be heard just before bedtime
24. Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet: Act IV
25. Vivaldi uses it to illustrate the shivering of travellers crossing the ice.
26. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Winter: I. Allegro non molto
27. The violin muted
28. Debussy: Clair de lune
29. The gentleness of muted strings persists even when a whole orchestra plays.
30. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467: II. Andante
31. The pizzicato violin
32. Strauss: Pizzicato Polka
33. In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, the accompaniment is pizzicato.
34. Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor: II. Andante assai
35. Kabalevsky: Colas Breugnon / Warlock: Capriol Suite: III. Tordion / Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet: Act I
36. Holst: The Planets: I. Mars: The Bringer of War
37. Bach: Sonata No. 3 in C major for unaccompanied violin: II. Fugue
38. Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 4
39. Double - stopping is a standard feature of a lot of folk music.
40. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Autumn: I. Allegro
41. Now the same technique, but the sound might have come from another world.
42. Ravel: Bolero
43. Double - stopping can only approximate the sound of a real violin duet.
44. Joachim: Cadenza to the Violin Concerto by Brahms
45. Now compare that with a real violin duet.
46. Bartok: 44 Duos: I. Teasing Song
47. Another duo by Bartok, demonstrating the violin's rich lower register
48. Bartok: 44 Duos: II. Maypole Dance
49. And now what may be the most beautiful accompanied violin duet in history
50. Bach: Concerto in D minor for two violins: II. Largo ma non tanto
51. The soul of the violin is in song; but what about this weird passage
52. Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major: II. Scherzo
53. The use of harmonics in the orchestra can be both magical and unsettling.
54. Mahler: Symphony No. 1, "Titan": I. Langsam, schleppend (opening)
55. Tchaikovsky's use of harmonics in The Sleeping Beauty is both strange and daring.
56. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty: Act II, No. 15: Entr'acte
57. Ravel's harmonics in Mother Goose effect a magical transformation.
58. Ravel: Ma Mere l'oye (Mother Goose): IV. Beauty and the Beast
59. Stravinsky: The Firebird: Introduction
60. The natural upper notes of the violins have a unique emotional "grab"
61. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra: Of the Afterworldsmen
62. Still in their upper register, the violins unleash the energy of a young colt.
63. Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge: V. Aria Italiana
64. Elsewhere, Britten uses the same high register to create a very different mood.
65. Britten: Peter Grimes: 4 Sea Interludes, Op. 33a: I. Dawn
66. To end this outing with the violins, a charming little elfin dance
67. Hellmesberger: Elfenreigen

Instruments of the orchestra, yes. But not just instruments in the orchestra. This is a set of portraits in depth, featuring individual instruments in many contexts (orchestral, chamber, folk, solo, operatic, cinematic, even jazz and avant-garde music) and in pieces from the Middle Ages to the present. Joining regular orchestra members are such exotic visitors as the eerie ondes martenot, the wind machine, banjos, bagpipes, coconuts, typewriters, six-shooters, taxi horns, and migrating swans - and the hundreds of examples range from illustrative snippets to entire movements. The first CD is devoted entirely to the violin, and the last to the greatest instrument of all, the orchestra itself.

This intoxicating, energetic, and remarkably informative survey of musical instruments is unprecedented in its scope and achievement. All the lively descriptions are followed by striking musical examples, of which there are over 200, spanning all eras, styles, and genres. As well as a full transcript of the text, the comprehensive booklet contains clear illustrations and background historical information on each instrument.