an assignment from my conducting teacher. this is sort of an outline of the basic history of orchestration in very dry terms, i.e. when they started adding specific instruments. i won't really go into what the theory behind the sounds these composers were attempting was, or even be super exact, but these are sort of "quintessential" examples of certain orchestrations.
for those of you who aren't used to reading orchestrations as i wasn't when i started having to be able to say/memorize them, the typical listing is
flute/oboe/clarinet/bassoon horn/trumpet/trombone/tuba percussion+strings
picc = piccolo
cor ang = english horn
bass = bass clarinet (when right after the clarinet number)
es = e-flat clarinet (")
contra = contrabassoon
hp = harp
d[#] = doubling, as in, if you have 2d1 in the first slot, it means 2 flutes, one of which doubles on picc. basic assumption if no instrument specifics follow a d or a + are: piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon, respectively.
+ = the number of a related instrument (picc, english horn, etc) follows a plus sign if nobody playing the core instrument doubles as the player for said related instrument i.e. if the instrument requires a dedicated player.
after a while, maybe by the time we get to strauss and definitely when we get to stravinsky, the shorthand isn't especially helpful anymore, just confusing.
str = strings
for the rest, look up this very nice and clear wiki article on orchestrational shorthand.
1. Handel concerto grossi (1730s and 40s): 4 string parts + basso continuo.
*bach liked to add oboes (2), bassoon, horns (up to 2) and trumpets (up to 3), sometimes even a flute. but usually no more than two of these at once.
2. Late Haydn symphonies (1791-95): 2/2/0/2 2/2/0/0 timp, str
*typical classical orchestra, no clarinets yet, horns and trumpets only in the brass.
3. Beethoven 1 (1800): 2/2/2/2 2/2/0/0 timp, str
Beethoven 9 (1824): 2+picc/2/2/2+cb 4/2/3/0 timp, bass drum, triangle, cymbals, str, SATB
*SATB is soprano alto tenor bass choir.
*Beethoven 3 adds a third horn to the original 2; Symphony 5 adds three trombones and a piccolo and contrabassoon.
4. Mendelssohn symphonies (1820s-40s): 2/2/2/2 2/2/0/0 timp, str
*he uses more horns in symphony 3, his latest composed (1842)
5. Schumann symphonies (1830s-50s): 2/2/2/2 4/2/3/0 timp, str
*solidifies the place of 4 horns in the symphony orchestra
6. Brahms symphonies (1870s-80s): 2/2/2/2 4/2/3/0
*same, but he starts to use contrabassoon as well, in symphs 1 and 3; and bass trombone in 2.
7. Strauss tone poems (1880s-90s, mostly):
winds: 3d1/3d1/3d1/3d1 or thereabouts. earlier ones had 2+1; later ones had 3+1.
brass: 4/3/3/1 is typical, later he throws in two and even four more horns, sometimes an extra tuba or a tenor tuba.
host of percussion, almost always includes timp, cymbals, at least 1 harp (sometimes 2), and at alternating times a bass drum, tamtam, triangle, tamborine, and snare drums.
*basically between strauss and wagner, many secondary instruments related to core wind instruments become standard, especially piccolo, contrabassoon, and bass clarinet. english horn and picc clarinets (in d and eb) are somewhat rarer (in the broader scope of things), as are wagner tubas/tenor tubas (usually played in part by lower horns).
8. Debussy's La Mer (1905): 2+1/2+1/2/3+1 4/3+2cornet/3/1 timp, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tamtam, glock, 2 hp, str
*french take... pretty similar
9. Stravinsky Petrouchka (1910-11): 4d2/4d1/3d1/4d1 4/2d2(picc tpt)+2(cornet)/3/1 timp, bass drum, cymbals, 2 snare, tambourine, tambourin, tenor drum, triangle, tamtam, glock, xylophone, pno, celesta, 2hp, str
Stravinsky Petrouchka (rev 1947): 3d2/2+1/2+1/3d1 4/3d2(picc tpt)/3/1 one fewer snare, one fewer tambourine, no glock, one fewer harp.10. Bartok Concerto for Orchestra (1943): 3d1/3d1/3d1/3d1 4/3/3/1 timp, side drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tamtam, 2hp, str
and just as a bonus, you also get stravinsky's rite of spring (1913)
3 fl, 2 picc, 1 alto fl (picc2 = fl3)
4 ob, 2 eng hn (eng hn2 = ob4)
3 cl, 2 bass cl, 1 sop cl (basscl2 = cl2)
4 fg, 2 cb (cb2 = fg4)
8 hn, 2 wagner tubas (wt 1 and 2 = hn 7 and 8)
4 tpts, 1 bass tpt, 1 picc tpt (bass tpt = tpt 4)
3 tb
2 tuba
percussion: timp (small & large), triangle, tambourine, guiro, antique cymbals, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam
strings
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