String section
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The string section is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In discussions of the instrumentation of a musical work, the phrase "the strings" or "and strings" is used to indicate a string section as just defined. An orchestra consisting solely of a string section is called a string orchestra. Smaller string sections are sometimes used in jazz, pop, and rock music and in the pit orchestras of musical theatre.
Seating arrangement
The most common seating arrangement in the 2000s is with first violins, second violins, violas, and cello sections arrayed clockwise around the
In the 19th century it was standard
"Desks" and divisi
In a typical stage set-up, the first and second violins, violas and cellos are seated by twos, a pair of performers sharing a stand being called a "desk", Each principal (or section leader) is usually on the "outside" of the first desk, that is, closest to the audience. When the music calls for subdivision of the players the normal procedure for such divisi passages is that the "outside" player of the desk (the one closer to the audience) takes the upper part, the "inside" player the lower, but it is also possible to divide by alternating desks, the favored method in threefold divisi.[4] The "inside" player typically turns the pages of the part, while the "outside" player continues playing. In cases where a page turn occurs during an essential musical part, modern performers may photocopy some of the music to enable the page turn to take place during a less important place in the music.
There are more variations of set-up with the double bass section, depending on the size of the section and the size of the stage. The basses are commonly arranged in an arc behind the cellos, either standing or sitting on high stools, usually with two players sharing a stand; though occasionally, due to the large width of the instrument, it is found easier for each player to have their own stand. There are not usually as many basses as cellos, so they are either in one row, or for a larger section, in two rows, with the second row behind the first. In some orchestras, some or all of the string sections may be placed on wooden risers, which are platforms that elevate the performers.
Numbers and proportions
The size of a string section may be expressed with a formula of the type (for example) 10–10–8–10–6, designating the number of first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and basses. The numbers can vary widely: Wagner in
The music for a string section is not necessarily written in five parts; besides the variants discussed below, in classical orchestras the 'quintet' is often called a 'quartet', with basses and cellos playing together.
Double bass section
The role of the double bass section evolved considerably during the 19th century. In orchestral works from the classical era, the bass and cello would typically play from the same part, labelled "Bassi".[7] Given the pitch range of the instruments, this means that if a double bassist and a cellist read the same part, the double bass player would be doubling the cello part an octave lower. While passages for cellos alone (marked senza bassi) are common in Mozart and Haydn, independent parts for both instruments become frequent in Beethoven and Rossini and common in later works of Verdi and Wagner.
Variants
String section without violins
In
String section without violas
Darius Milhaud's La crèation du monde has no parts for violas.
String section without violins or violas
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Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms has no parts for violins or violas.[8]
Gubaidulina's Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings has no parts for violins or violas.
Third violins
In other musical genres
"String section" is also used to describe a group of bowed string instruments used in
References
- ^ Stanley Sadie's Music Guide, p. 56 (Prentice-Hall 1986). Nicolas Slonimsky described the cellos-on-the-right arrangement as part of a 20th-century "sea change" (Lectionary of Music, p. 342 (McGraw-Hill 1989).
- ].
- conductor.
- ^ Norman Del Mar: Anatomy of the Orchestra (University of California Press, 1981) weighs the various merits in the chapter "Platform planning", pp. 49ff
- ^ Millington, Barry (2006). The New Grove Guide to Wagner and his Operas. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 290.
- ^ Svend Brown (2006). "Program notes". Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Archived from the original on 2006-10-01.
- Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, online edition, article "Orchestra", section 6.
- ISBN 9780460860635
- ^ "The String Section – studio strings or online session musicians". www.stringsection.co.uk.
- ^ F. G. J. Absil (2010). "Size of the String Section in Popular Music Recordings" (PDF).