Agree with John here ... I just finished transcribing a Mendelssohn orchestral overture for Wind Ensemble, and could not have done it sans help from the Picc., esp. when dealing with the higher violin parts. I am a Picc. fan when it comes to that situation ..
Dean On Sep 16, 2011, at 10:38 AM, John Howell wrote: > At 5:18 PM +0100 9/16/11, Steve Parker wrote: >> >> Gotta disagree about the piccolo... there are >> not many instruments I can never imagine writing >> for (unless paid of course) >> but piccolo and bagpipes share the lead! ;-) > > Interesting statement, Steve. I can't imagine > not having piccolo available for concert band > music, and it's been an orchestral instrument for > about 250 years (although Beethoven didn't use it > in a symphony until his 5th). The earlier > piccolo concertos--including the several by > Vivaldi--were actually for sopranino recorder > rather than small transverse flute. > > Of course like any strong spice, it needs to be > used sparingly and in exactly the right places, > but in those places it's the only thing that can > do the job. If you happen to remember Billy > May's "Sorta Dixie" album, whoever played the > piccolo double on it was a superb player, and the > jazz piccolo solo(s) was played really elegantly. > > Don't judge the instrument by high school > marching bands. Our Community Band has two > excellent piccolists, one a retired professional > and the other an excellent semi-professional, and > they both play in tune and with beautiful tone. > > Bagpipes? Well, there's a place for them and > their music, preferably not too close by! > > John > > > -- > John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music > Virginia Tech Department of Music > School of Performing Arts & Cinema > College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences > 290 College Ave., Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0240 > Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 > (mailto:john.how...@vt.edu) > http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html > > "Machen Sie es, wie Sie wollen, machen Sie es nur schön." > (Do it as you like, just make it beautiful!) --Johannes Brahms > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > Finale@shsu.edu > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale The perfect drive......a diminishing sphere of white impaling the azure heavens in a graceful elliptic........height and distance vying for supremacy......compatriot's jowls lax, eyes huge, their raucous paeans thinly veiling jealousy......one stroke justifying a capricious investment in the titanium industry. Dean M. Estabrook http://sites.google.com/site/deanestabrook/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
