MUSICAL COMPOSITION

108 MUSICAL COMPOSITIONBefore passing from Mozart, the student is stronglyadvised to apply the same system of study to somespecimens of his orchestral accompaniments of vocalmusic. The following are useful examples: the song,"Deh vieni, non tardar" from Figaro; the recitativeand aria "In quali eccessi" and the sestet "Sola, Sola"from Don Giovanni. The attempts to amplify thevery meagre pianoforte arrangements of these piecesinto orchestral form will be found easier after a goodgrounding in the symphonies. From Mozart, he canmove on to Beethoven, and as he gets more at homein the work, he can confine himself to fragments ofmovements~which seem the least easy or the mostsuggestive of variant colours; such as the slow movementof Symphony No.4, the opening of the Finale ofNo.5 (for sonorous, as opposed to noisy, fortissimo),the slow movement of No.6, the Scherzo and Trio ofNo.7, and the Allegretto of No.8. He can try someexperiments with Weber (FreischUtz and Euryantheovertures), and finally with Wagner, whose Siegfried­Idyll is a unique specimen of the maximum of effectattained by the simplest means, and any page or pagesin the Meistersinger. This last score is supremelyvaluable to the student of orchestration if only for itseconomical and perfectly proportionate use of thatdangerous rogue-elephant, the double bass.A course of study of this plan will soon lead thestudent not only to assign a phrase to the instrumentwhich suits it best, but even to get inspiration for hisphrases from the tone-quality of the instrument whichis in his mind. It will also teach him, in a way whichno original experiments can, how to make his middleparts not only interesting in themselves but sufficiently