At 7:19 PM -0600 1/11/10, Stephen Lamb wrote:
I'm currently working on editing a piece for orchestra and narrator,
and a question came up about standard practice. Often, when the
narrator is delivering his line, there are rests in the orchestra
with fermatas over them. I've inserted cues, the last line the
narrator reads, in all the parts. Currently the score is set up the
same way, with the conductor seeing the last line, like the
orchestra, with plans to include the full narration on a separate
page at the beginning of the score. How is it usually done? Is it
better for the full narration to be in the score, even at a small
print size, or would that just clutter up the score?
Thanks for the help.
Stephen Lamb
Nashville, TN
Personal opinion: It is essential for the full narration to be in
the score, and at a size that the conductor can read. Just as it is
essential for an instrumental cadenza to be in the score of a
concerto (unless it is being improvised, of course). This is NOT a
good place to save a few pages!
Having the cues lines in the individual parts is an option and
completely up to you. I probably would not include them, simply
because no orchestra member is going to come in on hearing the cue
without the conductor's direction.
Yes, I know that in musical theater it's common just to have the last
sentence as a cue for the conductor, but guess what, I've had people
mess up their lines, or even stage directors change the cues without
informing the Music Director. It happens! And it leaves everyone
waiting when the promised cue is not delivered.
Among the conductor's jobs is to serve as a "traffic cop" in
coordinating a large number of people. That makes it essential for
him or her to follow the narration (or the cadenza), and even more
essential to know what's happening in case the performer messes up
and changes something or mixes things up!
There should be a separate part for the narrator, of course, perhaps
with musical cues (even though some narrators will not be able to
read music). Coordination between conductor and narrator takes great
care on both of their parts, just as it does with a concerto.
As just one example, the score to "Peter & the Wolf" includes the
full narrations--in about 3 languages!
John
--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:john.how...@vt.edu)
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
"We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition
of jazz musicians.
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