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Principles of Orchestration (Dover Books On Music: Analysis) Paperback – June 1, 1964

by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Author)

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"To orchestrate is to create, and this cannot be taught," wrote Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, the great Russian composer whose genius for brilliant, highly colored orchestration is unsurpassed. But invention, in all art, is closely allied to technique, and technique can be taught. This book, therefore, which differs from most other texts on the subject because of its tremendous wealth of musical examples and its systematic arrangement of material according to each constituent of the orchestra, will undoubtedly be of value to any music student. It is a music classic, perhaps the only book on classical orchestration written by a major composer.
In it, the composer aims to provide the reader with the fundamental principles of modern orchestration from the standpoint of brilliance and imagination, and he devotes considerable space to the study of tonal resonance and orchestral combination. In his course, he demonstrates such things as how to produce a good-sounding chord of certain tone-quality, uniformly distributed; how to detach a melody from its harmonic setting; correct progression of parts; and other similar problems.
The first chapter is a general review of orchestral groups, with an instrument-by-instrument breakdown and material on such technical questions as fingering, range, emission of sound, etc. There follows two chapters on melody and harmony in strings, winds, brasses, and combined groups. Chapter IV, Composition of the Orchestra, covers different ways of orchestrating the same music; effects that can be achieved with full tutti; tutti in winds, tutti pizzicato, soli in the strings, etc.; chords; progressions; and so on. The last two chapters deal with opera and include discussion of solo and choral accompaniment, instruments on stage or in the wings, technical terms, soloists (range, register, vocalization, vowels, etc.), voices in combination, and choral singing.
Immediately following this text are some 330 pages of musical examples drawn from "Sheherazade," the "Antar Symphony," "Capriccio Espagnol," "Sadko," "Ivan the Terrible," "Le Coq d'Or," "Mlada," "The Tsar's Bride," and others of Rimsky-Korsakov's works. These excerpts are all referred to in the text itself, where they illustrate, far better than words, particular points of theory and actual musical practice. They are largely responsible for making this book the very special (and very useful) publication it is.
This single-volume edition also includes a brief preface by the editor and extracts from Rimsky-Korsakov's 1891 draft and final versions of his own preface, as well as an appendixed chart of single tutti chords in the composer's works.

From the Back Cover

"To orchestrate is to create, and this cannot be taught," wrote Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, the great Russian composer whose genius for brilliant, highly colored orchestration is unsurpassed. But invention, in all art, is closely allied to technique, and technique can be taught. This book, therefore, which differs from most other texts on the subject because of its tremendous wealth of musical examples and its systematic arrangement of material according to each constituent of the orchestra, will undoubtedly be of value to any music student. It is a music classic, perhaps the only book on classical orchestration written by a major composer.
In it, the composer aims to provide the reader with the fundamental principles of modern orchestration from the standpoint of brilliance and imagination, and he devotes considerable space to the study of tonal resonance and orchestral combination. In his course, he demonstrates such things as how to produce a good-sounding chord of certain tone-quality, uniformly distributed; how to detach a melody from its harmonic setting; correct progression of parts; and other similar problems.
The first chapter is a general review of orchestral groups, with an instrument-by-instrument breakdown and material on such technical questions as fingering, range, emission of sound, etc. There follows two chapters on melody and harmony in strings, winds, brasses, and combined groups. Chapter IV, Composition of the Orchestra, covers different ways of orchestrating the same music; effects that can be achieved with full tutti; tutti in winds, tutti pizzicato, soli in the strings, etc.; chords; progressions; and so on. The last two chapters deal with opera and include discussion of solo and choral accompaniment, instruments on stage or in the wings, technical terms, soloists (range, register, vocalization, vowels, etc.), voices in combination, and choral singing.
Immediately following this text are some 330 pages of musical examples drawn from "Sheherazade," the "Antar Symphony," "Capriccio Espagnol," "Sadko," "Ivan the Terrible," "Le Coq d'Or," "Mlada," "The Tsar's Bride," and others of Rimsky-Korsakov's works. These excerpts are all referred to in the text itself, where they illustrate, far better than words, particular points of theory and actual musical practice. They are largely responsible for making this book the very special (and very useful) publication it is.
This single-volume edition also includes a brief preface by the editor and extracts from Rimsky-Korsakov's 1891 draft and final versions of his own preface, as well as an appendixed chart of single tutti chords in the composer's works.

About the Author

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was a prolific composer of orchestral works and many other forms of music, including chamber works and art songs. He also wrote many operas, excerpts from which are featured in this collection; most notably, "The Flight of the Bumblebee" from The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Dover Publications
Publication date

June 1, 1964
ISBN-10

0486212661
ISBN-13

978-0486212661
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From the Publisher

Music Theory & Technique Books By Famous Composers

In addition to their own compositions, many great composers took the time to write method and technique books that provided an interior look into their harmonic and orchestration approaches to their music, as well as critiques of other composer's works.

Tchaikovsky: Guide To The Practical Study Of Harmony

Written during Tchaikovsky’s years as professor at the renowned Moscow Conservatory, this volume presents a clear and thorough introduction to the study of harmony from one of the great masters. Features numerous examples and exercises. (0486442721)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Principles Of Orchestration

The only book on classical orchestration written by a major composer, providing the reader with the fundamental principles of modern orchestration from the standpoint of brilliance and imagination, devoting considerable space to the study of tonal resonance and orchestral combination. In his course, Rimsky-Korsakov demonstrates such things as how to produce a good-sounding chord of certain tone-quality, uniformly distributed; how to detach a melody from its harmonic setting; correct progression of parts; and other similar problems.(0486212661)

Schumann On Music

Schumann's genius as a composer is well known; perhaps less well known is the fact that he was also a gifted music critic who wrote hundreds of perceptive essays, articles, and reviews for the Neue Zeitschrift fur Müsik, the influential music journal he founded in 1834. This work contains 61 of the most important critical pieces Schumann wrote for Neue Zeitschrift between 1834 and 1844. (0486257487)

Rameau: Treatise On Harmony

Written while Rameau was still a relatively obscure organist and music master at Clermont-Ferrand, this Treatise was immediately recognized as a profound advance in musical theory, and it established Rameau's reputation as a theorist. His book was the first to codify those principles of tonality that were to dominate the music of the West for almost two centuries. Even today the theories of Rameau remain the basis for the study of harmony. (0486224619)


Wagner On Conducting Wagner wrote eloquently on his theories of conducting and musical interpretation, and in 1869 he published the famous essay reprinted in this volume, a work that abundantly reveals both the wellsprings of his musical genius and the qualities that made him a figure of controversy.(0486259323)	Reger: Modulation In addition to his international renown as a teacher, conductor, and pianist, Max Reger wrote more than 1,000 works in virtually every musical genre. His study of Modulation — the change from one key to another — is a subject of critical importance to performers and composers in their study of harmony. (048645732X)	Berlioz/Strauss: Treatise On Instrumentation The most influential work of its kind ever written, appraising the musical qualities and potential of over 60 commonly used stringed, wind and percussion instruments. With 150 illustrative full-score musical examples from works by Berlioz, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Weber, Wagner, and others, and numerous smaller musical examples. Complete with Berlioz' chapters on the orchestra and on conducting. (0486269035)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications; Revised ed. edition (June 1, 1964)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486212661
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486212661
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #82,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Music Conducting (Books)
- #45 in Music Reference (Books)
- #82 in Music Techniques (Books)

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4.5 412 ratings

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Rose

Principles of Orchestration

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2024

Verified Purchase

This was a Christmas presentation for my grandson. He likes it very much. He's 15 learning how to write music for
an orchestra.

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diyezerk

I only wish I could hear the examples he gives

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

Rimsky-Korsakov lays down principles for orchestration that he feels are important, and these are followed by references to examples drawn from his own pieces. My only complaint is that it is difficult to hear the scores in question. One seems to need to have the whole score to find the part in question and then follow along until the part in question comes. This is tedious. If only someone would have the tenacity and daring to post all or most of the musical examples on youtube or some other website so that we could hear the example in question. On some website I encountered, there were musical examples drawn from the book which were helpful to me when I was studying the work, but they were drawn from an electronic realizations of the music, rather than recordings of real orchestras. While it was helpful, it is after all, somewhat synthetic. I would under take this task myself, but I do not have the means to do so. Part of the problem is that access to Rimsky-Korsakov's works is somewhat limited outside of particular pieces. His operas are certainly underrepresented in the Western repetoire. My local library does not possess all of his works, nor do I feel inclined to try to purchase all of them myself. Perhaps this could be a collaborative work on a forum such as youtube where one example at a time can be posted. It's even possible to have more than one recording of the same excerpt. What is crucial is reference to the book. This would be an invaluable resource for orchestrators and composers for years to come.

6 people found this helpful

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Len B

An insight into the master's mind.

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Rimsky-Korsakov is by most experts' standards, certainly in the top five all time orchestrators. (Berlioz, Ravel, and Stravinsky being three of the other four. I'll let you pick number five yourself.)

How did he achieve the effects he did? What processes were going through his brain as he decided on the instrumentation for his own masterpieces?

This book has the answers, and that's why I bought it. I've been hearing about it for most of my life and decided to see what the shouting was all about. Well, the shouting was right. This treatise really does have the answers. The strange thing is that even though the instruments themselves have change over the intervening years, sometimes drastically, the basic principles have not changed. And that's what the book is about: Principles. Not specific techniques. Not extravagant approaches or extreme examples. Principles.

That's what the title says, and that's what the book is. Exactly what I wanted.

7 people found this helpful

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Ken

Only for experienced score readers

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

I have the paperback version.
The text of the book is very useful and worth reading. However, I'm not experienced at score reading, so the examples (which take up two-thirds of the book) have limited utility for me. And since they are all at the end of the book and not with the corresponding text, this involves a lot of flipping back and forth.

One person found this helpful

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Scott Geilen

Excellent read

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2022

Verified Purchase

I had a wonderful experience reading this book. I learned a lot about orchestration and how I can apply it to my own works. There are many examples that Nikolay provides, which will further develop anyones understanding of the material if they wish to make the most of their time reading this book. Highly recommend.

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a great book that tells all you need to know about the world of orchestrating music and how complex it can get but in this book, its put in a way for most people who know things about music will understand its best for the reader to know a little bit of music theory or you may have a bit of trouble. But still a great book no matter what.

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is a great and to the point orchestration course book. It's translated into plain English, and it would be difficult for a student of music to not understand Master Rimsky-Korsakov's principles. He even gives relative volume relations between the orchestral sections as just that. (i.e. "x" amount for French Horns at "MF" equals "x" amount of strings at "FF"). Even without the numerous score examples the book is just great!

4 people found this helpful

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Victor Noagbodji

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

This is a great book. I don't have any background in music and never studied it but what the author writes here is clear an understandable. I had to jump on Wikipedia many times. And I still can't fully understand the partitions but I am getting there I guess. Almost done with the book itself.

4 people found this helpful

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RENATO BENITES

Soberbo!

Reviewed in Brazil on October 31, 2021

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Este livro, quando bem estudado, equivale a anos num curso de música em alguma universidade. Korsakov não só é um gênio, como também um mestre! Não é um livro fácil, mas a leitura recompensa.

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loris

ATTENTI ALLA TRUFFA

Reviewed in Italy on November 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

La versione Kindle è una truffa: contiene solo 5 pagine di indice.
Richiesto rimborso immediato.

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Count 2019

Sehr gut ! Bin zufrieden

Reviewed in Germany on December 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Alles gute 👍

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Dufour

ARNAQUE!

Reviewed in France on January 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Il n'y a que le sommaire, aucun contenu dans ce livre
je fais une réclamation

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pedro jose sauleda

Very hard to read the examples

Reviewed in Spain on March 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

The examples have a very low quality which makes them very difficult to read (I bought the Kindle version). Perhaps the hard cover version has better quality

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Principles of Orchestration (Dover Books On Music: Analysis) Paperback – June 1, 1964

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From the Publisher

Music Theory & Technique Books By Famous Composers

Tchaikovsky: Guide To The Practical Study Of Harmony

Rimsky-Korsakov: Principles Of Orchestration

Schumann On Music

Rameau: Treatise On Harmony

Wagner On Conducting

Reger: Modulation

Berlioz/Strauss: Treatise On Instrumentation

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Principles of Orchestration (Dover Books On Music: Analysis) Paperback – June 1, 1964

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From the Back Cover

About the Author

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you

From the Publisher

Music Theory & Technique Books By Famous Composers

Tchaikovsky: Guide To The Practical Study Of Harmony

Rimsky-Korsakov: Principles Of Orchestration

Schumann On Music

Rameau: Treatise On Harmony

Wagner On Conducting

Reger: Modulation

Berlioz/Strauss: Treatise On Instrumentation

Product details

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Important information

About the author

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov

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