Family Name Instrument : Sounding Range Concert pitch is written pitch Written Range Open string tunings for stringed instruments Note: string players are sometime required to mistune their strings. This is called scordatura (e.g. Biber's Rosary Sonatas; the viola part in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra). Bowed Strings (1) | Violin | more ... sounds at written pitch Violino piccolo | more... the small violin information about tuning Viola | more ... sounds at written pitch Viola d'amore | more... instrument with six bowed strings and six steel strings, the latter neither bowed nor plucked (tuning, from 18th century: A, d, a, d', f#', a', d'') Tenor Violin | more ... tuned an octave below the standard violin Violoncello piccolo | more... a small cello with an extra e'-string above the normal strings (C, G, d & a) Violoncello (Cello) | more ... sounds at written pitch Double Bass | more ... with four strings sometimes fitted with a fifth string tuned to low C sounds an octave below written pitch Rebec | more... Renaissance Violin | more... Baroque Violin | more... The 20th century Violin Octet | more ... Bowed Strings (2) | Pardessus de Viol | more ... sounds at written pitch Treble Viol | more ... sounds at written pitch Alto Viol | more ... sounds at written pitch Tenor Viol | more ... sounds at written pitch Lyra Viol A small bass viol popular in England during the 17th century. It differed otherwise little from the standard bass viol. Its repertory, notated in tablature, is pre-dominantly polyphonic and played mainly with the bow. The sources include pieces for one lyra viol or more, and lyra viol accompaniment for songs, by composers such as Coprario, Jenkins, William Lawes and Tobias Hume. At least 60 different tunings have been noted. Division Viol An English form of bass viola da gamba, used in the 17th century for performing free ornamentation by varying given melodies. It was the equivalent of the European viola bastarda, and was smaller than a consort bass viol but larger than a lyra viol. Bass Viol | more ... sometimes a seventh string added tuned to A below bass clef sounds at written pitch: also sometimes called the 'Viola da Gamba' although strictly all viols are 'da gamba', that is they are played down on the lap or between the player's legs (gamba being the Italian for 'leg') Consort of Viols The viol consort was introduced to England in the early sixteenth century and was mainstay of domestic music until the middle of the seventeenth century. After the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660, things rapidly changed with the rise in popularity of the violin amongst court musical lfe and amateurs. Composers soon ceased to contribute to the viol consort repertory, with some of Purcell's contemporaries such as Roger North regretting the change. North acknowledged that the violin was 'very excellent in it's kind', but thought that the 'noble Base Viol' embodied all its 'sublimitys'. As North recognised, the viol was not entirely supplanted by the violin in the Restoration period. The bass viol remained in use as a continuo instrument in chamber music until the early eighteenth century, and the instrument acquired a new repertory of solos, duet and trios with continuo. Violone | more... (Italian, literally 'large viol') In modern terminology, the double bass viol, the direct ancestor of the double bass. Historically, the term has embraced a variety of meanings: any viol, a large viol (in particular a low-pitched viola da gamba), and even (in some Italian sources) the cello. The term is known as early as 1520. Electric Viola da Gamba | more... one of the most exciting extensions of this remarkable family of bowed stringed instruments, the Ruby Electric Viola da Gamba is a seven-string bass viol. Plucked Strings | Guitar | more ... sounds an octave below written pitch Lute | more ... The archlute is a lute with two pegboxes, the first being used for the main courses of strings (6 to 8 in number) that were played with the fingers of the left hand, and the second holding the longer strings, either courses or single strings, that were only played as open strings in the bass register. The archlute was particularly well adapted to continuo work, but nevertheless had a repertoire of solo pieces written for it. The archlute was the Italian baroque lute by definition. The theorbo was apparently an extension of the archlute, its body being larger and the neck containing the second pegbox for the lower strings being even longer. The theorbo could reach a total of two metres in length. There were, however, various other differences, the theorbo often being strung with single strings and not in courses. Its tuning was also individual in that the first two strings were tuned an octave lower, this occurring because the main neckpiece was approximately 20 centimetres longer than the archlute's. The third string was therefore the highest. Even though the instrument seems to have been almost specifically used for continuo work, there are some instances of its use as a solo instrument. Mandolin | more ... sounds at written pitch Ukelele/Ukulele | more ... sounds at written pitch Five String Banjo | more ... sounds an octave below written pitch Early Plucked & Fretted Instruments | more... Harp | Orchestral Harp | more ... written on two staves sounds at written pitch Celtic Harp | more... Baroque Harp | more... A History of the Harp Flutes | Piccolo in C | more ... sounds an octave above written pitch Flute | more ... sounds at written pitch Alto Flute in G | more ... sounds a perfect fourth below written pitch Bass Flute | more ... sounds an octave below written pitch Renaissance Flute | more... Baroque Flute | more ... Classical Flute | more ... Historical Flutes: general information Rick Wilson's Historical Flute Page Clarinets | Clarinet in E flat | more ... sounds a minor third higher than written pitch Clarinet in B flat | more ... sounds a major second below written pitch Clarinet in A | more ... sounds a minor third lower than written pitch Alto Clarinet in E flat | more ... sounds a major sixth lower than written pitch Bass Clarinet in B flat | more ... sounds one octave below the Clarinet in B flat Contra Alto Clarinet in E flat | more ... sounds one octave below the Alto Clarinet in E flat Contra Bass Clarinet in B flat | more ... sounds one octave below the Bass Clarinet in B flat Saxophones | Sopranino Saxophone in E flat sounds a minor third above written pitch Soprano Saxophone in B flat sounds a major second below written pitch Alto Saxophone in E flat sounds a major sixth below written pitch Tenor Saxophone in B flat sounds a major ninth below written pitch Baritone Saxophone in E flat sounds one octave plus a major sixth below written pitch Bass Saxophone in B flat sounds one octave plus a major ninth below written pitch Saxophone Family The saxophone was originally patented as two families, each of seven instruments. The "orchestral" family consisted of instruments in the keys of C and F, and the "band" family in Eb and Bb. Each family consisted of Sopranino, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass and Contrabass although some of these were never made (Sax also planned - but never made - a subcontra). Of these the orchestral family are now rarely found, and of the band family only the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone are in common use (these form the typical saxophone sections of both military and big bands). The C-melody saxophone, a non-transposing instrument, was popular in the 1920s and could be played from sheet music for guitar and piano. The soprano has regained a degree of popularity over recent decades, and the bass, sopranino and even contrabass are still manufactured. Sopranino, bass and contrabass are rarely used except in large saxophone ensembles and saxophone orchestras. The wide bore of the saxophone means that the larger saxes are extremely large and heavy, and recently (1999) an alternative contrabass, the "tubax," has been developed with a narrower bore. Although not a true saxophone, its bore leads to a more reasonable size and weight. At the other end of the spectrum, construction difficulties mean that only recently has a true sopranissimo saxophone been produced. Nicknamed the "soprillo," this piccolo-sized saxophone is an octave above the soprano, and its diminutive size necessitates an octave key on the mouthpiece. Double Reeds | Oboe sounds at written pitch The baroque oboe as it was used at the end of the 17th century had its origin in such Renaissance instruments as the bombards, the shawms and the pifferi. Originally one of a family of instruments, the soprano oboe was the principal oboe that was still in use at the end of the 17th century. As was also the case with practically every other woodwind instrument at that time, its conical bore became narrower and its exterior became increasingly elaborate (cf. the recorder) with decorative mouldings and circlets. It was at first an orchestral instrument, particularly so in France but it soon went on to establish its own repertory in chamber music and sacred music. The oboe was also very popular in Italy, while J.S. Bach was to make it one of the instruments he used most frequently for obbligato lines in his cantata arias. The two keys are used to overcome a limitation of fingering (for the low C) and to improve the quality of a note in the lower register (for the E flat). Oboe d'amore in A | more ... sounds a minor third below written pitch This is a typically German instrument that dates from the first half of the 18th century, it being an oboe in A that sounds a third lower than the normal oboe. It also possesses a bell shaped bulge at its lower end that gives the instrument its characteristically warm timbre. It was mainly used as a solo instrument in chamber music although J.S. Bach also used it as an obbligato instrument in cantata arias. Cor Anglais in F (English Horn) sounds a perfect fifth lower than written pitch The baroque equivalent of the cor anglais was the alto oboe known in France as the taille de hautbois. It was first used in the second half of the 17th century in the French ensembles known as the bandes de hautbois, in which it played the inner lines of polyphonic compositions. J.S. Bach was also to make use of it when a low pitched oboe was needed to double the viola parts in the cantatas. The oboe da caccia, always referred to by its Italian name, appears frequently in works by J.S. Bach. It is also quite probable that Bach himself caused this particular type of oboe to be built. Several years ago various pieces of an instrument were discovered in the collections of the Copenhagen Instrumental Museum; these were carefully assembled and this enigmatic instrument was the result. It had a double reed, it was bigger than the normal oboe and had a curved body whose separate components were held together by a strip of leather, the whole ending in a metallic bell. What was more, it was noted with great surprise that the instrument had been first made by Eichentopf, the most well-known instrument maker of Leipzig of Bach's time. The puzzle over exactly what type of instrument Bach's oboe da caccia was had finally been solved. The oboe da caccia sounds a fifth lower than the normal oboe and can thus be linked with the alto oboe in F. Heckelphone in C | more ... sounds one octave below written pitch The heckelphone was a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and introduced in the late 19th century. It is similar to a oboe but with a wider bore and a deeper sound. Richard Strauss's 1905 opera Salome calls for a heckelphone. The piccolo heckelphone is a very rare woodwind instrument. It is a variant of the heckelphone, that is pitched in F, a fourth above the oboe. It was developed and produced by the Wilhelm Heckel GmbH in Biebrich, Germany Bassoon It sounds at written pitch The precursor of the modern bassoon, the dulcian (meaning soft and sweet in Latin) was invented about 500 years ago. It was built in one piece and had a double reed made from cane. In England the dulcian was called the curtal. In the period 1643 to 1715, French instrument makers developed a new curtal that had four separate pieces and between 4 and 8 keys. It is remarkably similar to the modern instrument. During the 1700s, more keys were added as the range was extended. The most important change came in 1820 when Carl Almenader and his partner, Adam Heckel, developed a bassoon with a better sound. Their design, the German bassoon, is the model most often used today. Contrabassoon sounds one octave below written pitch Trumpets | Piccolo Trumpet in A sounds a major sixth above written pitch Trumpet in F sounds a perfect fourth above written pitch Trumpet in E sounds a major third above written pitch Trumpet in E flat sounds a minor third above written pitch Trumpet in D sounds a major second above written pitch Trumpet in C sounds at written pitch Trumpet in B (rare) sounds a minor second below written pitch Trumpet in B flat (Cornet) sounds a major second below written pitch Trumpet in A sounds a minor third below written pitch Bass Trumpet in E flat sounds a major sixth below written pitch Bass Trumpet in C sounds one octave below written pitch Bass Trumpet in B flat sounds a major ninth below written pitch Trombones | Alto Trombone sounds at written pitch Tenor Trombone sounds at written pitch Bass Trombone sounds at written pitch Horns | French Horn in F sounds a perfect fifth below written pitch The two terms, Hunting Horn and Trompe de Chasse are both often used for the same instrument. The trompe de chasse first came to prominence at the end of the 17th century in France; the French court's behaviour was much imitated at the time and the instrument thus became part of European hunting tradition. The hunting horn came in various sizes, depending on how many concentric circles were formed by the body of the instrument. This instrument that is so characteristic of the hunt and the countryside began to be used in instrumental music at the beginning of the 18th century, as can be seen from French and German works of the period, Bach's 1st Brandenburg Concerto being one of the most famous examples. In this work and in many others for the instrument by Bach's contemporaries, the instrument is called the corno da caccia. Like the trumpet, the horn is limited in its melodic ability because of its reliance on the harmonic series, although a few more notes are nevertheless available; it has the same intonation problems as the trumpet in this respect. This problem was, however, solved during the 18th century around 1750 by one Anton Joseph Hampel, who discovered the stopped note technique. This consists of placing the hand into the bell of the horn, thus changing the length of the column of air and thereby correcting the tuning of certain notes and even obtaining several that do not form part of the natural harmonic scale. There is no mention of this technique in any source prior to this date, either in scores, essays, or paintings which could lead us to believe either that the players of Bach's, Handel's and Telemann's works had a special lip technique or that what appear to us today to be intonation faults were then accepted because they were an unavoidable part of the instrument. This being said, it seems that the instrument that was used for "learned" music then began slowly to differ from the hunting horn proper. The shape of the bell changed, its progressive widening making Hampel's technique possible. A system of crooks was also invented that enabled the instrument to be played in different keys (also sometimes used for the trumpet), these crooks being different lengths of tubing that were inserted between the mouthpiece and the body of the instrument, thereby varying the fundamental pitch of the instrument (C, D, E, F, G etc.) according to their length and allowing the horn to play many different types of music. It was undoubtedly for reasons of balance with other instruments that the horn's timbre softened and darkened in contrast to the brassy and brilliant colour of the trumpet, which had to keep its bright and loud tone for obvious reasons. Flugelhorn in B flat B flat Alto Horn (rare) sounds a major second below written pitch Alto Horn in A sounds a minor third below written pitch French Horn in G sounds a perfect fourth below written pitch French Horn in E sounds a minor sixth below written pitch French Horn in E flat sounds a major sixth below written pitch French Horn in D sounds a minor seventh below written pitch French Horn in C sounds an octave below written pitch Baritone Horn (Euphonium) Treble Clef sounds a major ninth below written pitch Baritone Horn (Euphonium) Bass Clef sounds at written pitch Tubas | B flat Tenor Wagner Tuba sounds a major second below written pitch F Bass Wagner Tuba sounds a perfect fifth below written pitch Tuba sounds at written pitch Tuned Percussion | Timpani sounds at written pitch         Glockenspiel sounds two octaves above written pitch Xylophone sounds one octave above written pitch Vibraphone sounds at written pitch Tubular Bells sounds at written pitch Marimba sounds at written pitch Voices | Soprano sounds at written pitch (see music dictionary for information about different kinds of soprano voice) Mezzo-soprano with a range from A below middle C to F an eleventh above middle C, mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of an alto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, after the names of famous singers. A castrato with a mezzo-soprano voice was called a mezzo-soprano castrato Alto (Contralto) sounds at written pitch (see music dictionary for information about different kinds of contalto voice: alto here refers to the lowest female voice) Castrato a male voice with the same range as a female soprano (see music dictionary for more information) Countertenor a falsetto male voice with the same range as a female alto (contralto) (see music dictionary for more information) Tenor sounds one octave below written pitch (see music dictionary for information about different kinds of tenor voice) Baritone sounds at written pitch (see music dictionary for information about different kinds of baritone voice) Bass sounds at written pitch (see music dictionary for information about different kinds of bass voice) Recorders | Sopranino in F sounds one octave above written pitch Descant (Soprano) in C sounds one octave above written pitch Treble (Alto) in F sounds at written pitch Tenor in C sounds at written pitch Bass in F sounds one octave above written pitch Instrument Names in Other Languages | top English Italian German French Recorder Flauto dolce Blockflöte Flûte à bec Flute Flauto Flöte Flûte Piccolo Flauto piccolo Kleine Flöte Petite Flûte Alto Flute Flauto contralto Altflöte Flûte en sol English Horn (U.S.) or Cor anglais Corno inglese Englischhorn Cor anglais Oboe d'amore Oboe d'amore Liebesoboe Hautbois d'amour Clarinet Clarinetto Klarinette Clarinette Bass Clarinet Clarinetto basso Bassklarinette Clarinette basse Bassoon Fagotto Fagott Basson Contrabassoon Contrafagotto Kontrafagott Contrebasson French Horn Corno Horn Cor Natural Horn Corno naturale Waldhorn Cor simple Valve Horn Corno ventile or Corno cromatico Ventilhorn Cor à pistons or Cor chromatique Trumpet Tromba Trompete Trompette Cornet Cornetta Kornett Cornet à pistons Trombone Trombone Posaune Trombone Tuba Tuba Tuba Tuba Drum Tamburo Trommel Tambour Kettle Drums Timpani Pauken Timbales Side Drum Tamburo piccolo Kleine Trommel Tambour militaire Bass Drum Cassa Grosse Trommel Grosse Caisse Cymbals Piatti Becken Cymbales Castanets Castagnette Kastagnetten Castagnettes Triangle Triangolo Triangel Triangle Tambourine Tamburino Tamburin Tambour de Basque Glockenspiel Campanelli Glockenspiel Jue de timbres Xylophone Xilifono Xylophon Xylophone Vibraphone Vibrafono Vibraphon Vibraphone Celesta Celesta Celesta Célesta Harp Arpa Harfe Harpe Strings Archi Streicher Cordes Violin Violino Violine Violon Viola Viola Bratsche Alto Cello Violoncello Violoncello Violoncelle Double Bass Contrabasso Kontrabass Contrebasse Harpsichord, Harpsicon, Harpsical, Cymbel, Clavicymbal Arpichordo, Cembalo, Clavicembalo, Claricembalo, Gravicembalo Flügel Clavecin Virginals   Tafelklavier Épinette Spinet, Triangle   Tafelklavier Épinette Clavichord       Instrument Names & Their Abbreviations | top Instrument Name Abbreviation Piccolo Picc. Flute Fl. Alto Flute (in G) Alto Fl. Oboe Ob. English Horn E. Hn., (E. H.) Eb Clarinet Bb Clarinet Clarinet Cl. Alto Clarinet Alto Cl. Bass Clarinet B. Cl. Contrabass Clarinet Cb. Cl. Bassoon Bn. Contra Bassoon C. Bn. Double Bassoon D. Bn. Saxophone Sax. Eb Alto Saxophone A. Sax. Bb Tenor Saxophone T. Sax. Eb Baritone Saxophone Bar. Sax. Horn Hn. Trumpet Tpt. Cornet Cor. (Crt., Cnt.) Bass Trumpet B. Trumpet Trombone Trb. (Tbn., Tenor) Bass Trombone B. Tbn. Baritone/Euphonium Bar. Tuba Tb. Percussion Perc. Timpani Timp. Kettle Drums K. Dr. Bass Drum B.D. (B. Dr. ) Snare Drum S.D.(S. Dr., Sn. Dr.) Tenor Drum T.D. (T.Dr., Ten. Dr.) Cymbals Cym. Antique Cymbals Ant. Cym. Finger Cymbals fing. Cymbals Gong G. Tambourine Tamb. Triangle Trgl. Castanets Casts. Chimes/Bells Bells (Tubular) Glockenspiel/Chime-Bells Glock. (Glsp.) Bongos Bong. Claves - Guiro/Rasper - Maracas - Rattle/Ratchet - Sandpaper Blocks Sand Bl. Siren - Slapstick/Whip - Sleighbells - Temple Blocks Temp. Bl. Wind Machine - Wood Block Wd. Bl. Xylophone Xyl. Vibraphone Vib. Marimba - Harp Hp. (Hrp.) Celesta Cel. Harpsichord Hpscd. Organ Org. Piano P. (Pn., Pft.) Violin Vn. (Vln.) Viola Va. (Vla.) Violoncello/Cello Vc. (Vcl.) Bass B. Double Bass Db. Contrabass Cb. String Bass St.B. Soprano S. Alto A.. Tenor T. Baritone Bar. Guitar Gtr. Orchestral Layout | top Conductors and orchestras today tend to follow the disposition of instruments established in the 1930s by Leopold Stokowski. He broke with the arrangment that Toscanini, Koussevitzky, Klemperer, Kubelik and Boult had grown up with and were to continue to use to the end of their conducting careers. We illustrate an earlier, pre-Stokowski layout below. Always innovative, Stokowski changed the layout of an orchestra to suit different halls' acoustics. In the change that was most copied by other orchestras at the time and is still used widely today, Stokowski moved the 2nd violins next to the 1st violins, and placed the violas and cellos sequentially to the 2nd violinist's left. The double-basses were positioned behind and between the violas and cellos. In addition, the percussion was moved to the back of the orchestra. We illustrate this revised layout below. Stokowski changed his orchestra's layout in particular to overcome problems experienced during early monoaural recording. The higher strings tended to play the tune while the lower strings were restricted to the accompaniment. By physically separating the higher and lower strings, Stokowski's recordings emphasised more clearly the role within the musical score that each of different string sections played. Today, however, when recording is invariably in stereo, the Stokowski layout is thought, by some, to create a lopsided effect drawing the listener's attention to the left where the high strings are sitting so spoiling the overall balance. There has been some interest in returning to the earlier pre-Stokowski layout. For this reason. it should not be assumed that today there is only one standard orchestral layout. Stokowski interest in optimal orchestral layouts in the recording studio led to some remarkable results. Robin Maconie in Gossip: The Fantastical Fictions of Baron Stockhausen (1999) writes: "Despite claims to the contrary, avant-garde music did not erupt spontaneously in 1950. The generation of Boulez, Berio, and Stockhausen was born in a decade of rapid and significant technological innovation. Public radio started up in 1922, electrical recording came on stream in 1925, and sound film in 1927. Already by 1931, when Stockhausen was three years old, conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra were assisting RCA and Bell Labs in experimental hi-fi stereo broadcasts, and with the arrival of optical sound in 1932 the same team began movie-related experiments in stereo and surround-sound recording. In England at this time Alan Blumlein working for His Master's Voice was single-handedly developing microphone and disc-cutting technology for two-channel 'binaural' sound, some 25 years before stereo was launched commercially in 1956. In the mid-1930s a chance meeting between Stokowski and Walt Disney in a Beverly Hills restaurant led to the commercial development of Fantasound surround-sound technology for the movie Fantasia which eventually premiered with surround-sound in 1941, an incredibly short ten years after the first stereo experiments, and a full fifty years before Dolby Pro-Logic came on the home theatre market." "These Stokowski sessions throughout the thirties involved experiments in new orchestra layout for optimum balance in front of a microphone, techniques of multiple orchestras, multi-speaker sound systems, and systems of recording and reproducing sounds that appear to rotate around the heads of an audience. The main stumbling-block to reproducing sounds in rotation is preserving phase information which varies with spatial movement according to frequency. There is a kind of Doppler effect that on a sliding scale from low to high stretches or compresses the individual frequencies of a musical sound from a moving source. To reproduce the sound of a moving trumpet for example one has to find a way of reproducing a pattern of frequency alteration that is different for each individual harmonic. A seemingly impossible task, but the team who created Fantasound claimed to have achieved it, perhaps by rotating the microphone and not the player. Now that the remastered original sound-track is freely available on double CD (DSTCD-452 D) it is open to the public to hear and evaluate the surround-sound effect for themselves using an appropriate decoder. The music really does fly. So when Stockhausen in 1971 tells his Cambridge (England) audience an amusing story about asking whether the Cologne chapter of the musicians' union in 1955 would allow players to be suspended in chairs from the auditorium ceiling and rotated over the audience's heads, what the anecdote is really saying is that the audio technicians of North West German Radio had heard about the rotational movement of instrumental sounds in space actually happening in the movie Fantasia but that they couldn't tell him how it was done." "Radical inventions and discoveries in the field of audio have ways of impacting on musical consciousness even though the relevant technologies remain a mystery to the composers involved. Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta of 1936 and Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion of 1937, as well as Bohuslav Martinu's Concerto for Double String Orchestra, Piano and Timpani of 1938 form a cluster of compositions sharing the distinction of being laid out in triptych formation, with central percussion flanked by carefully balanced forces (string orchestras or pianos) to left and right. The deliberately symmetrical layout conforms in a very obvious fashion to the practical requirements of the RCA-Bell three-channel stereo system of 1932. Stokowski does not seem to have been involved in performances of any of these works at this time. In fact both orchestral works were commissioned by the conductor Paul Sacher for his Basel Chamber Orchestra, giving rise to the intriguing question of whether Sacher might have had plans to make a concert film in stereo, perhaps as a counter to Disney's Fantasia, the idea of which was not warmly received in the best musical circles." When the Royal Festival Hall in London was being designed a lot of time was spent finding the orchestral layout best suited to the players and the audience. We quote below from The Acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall "The acoustics team from BRS carried out detailed studies of platform design and orchestral layout, in discussion with various musicians including Malcolm Sargent. It was decided that the platform should be as compact as possible, to avoid time delays between the sounds of different instruments reaching the audience, and thus aid definition. Special music stands were designed, which moved on wheels in grooves along the fronts of the tiers, rather than taking up floor space." "In keeping with the ‘hill and lake' scheme, the original height of the platform was only 9 inches above the level of the front stalls, with the players arranged on tiers on the platform. After a few years the platform was raised to its present height, largely because soloists did not like performing on such a low stage. It was also realised that a higher platform would assist the projection of sound to the seats under the balcony, by reducing the absorption of direct sound by the audience in the stalls." "Wooden reflecting surfaces were placed around and behind the platform to assist the players in hearing each other, thereby contributing to the balance and blend of the orchestra. These surfaces also produced short reflected sound paths to the audience, to increase definition of the sound heard. The ‘little lake' required by Bagenal, to reflect sound from the orchestra to the audience, is provided by an area of green slate embedded in the auditorium floor between the stalls and the stage." "In examining different orchestral layouts, the BRS team considered that placing all the strings on the left, enabling as much string tone as possible to be projected into the hall, would be a successful arrangement." The public's response was, initially, enthusiastic. "When the hall opened it was widely praised by audiences, critics, conductors and performers for its clarity, although there was some disquiet over its lack of ‘warmth'. The violinists Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin thought it had the best acoustics of any hall they had played in; Joan Hammond the singer ‘found the acoustics excellent'; and the pianist Denis Matthews enjoyed both playing and listening in the hall." "Among conductors Leopold Stokowski said it was the finest hall in the world; Malcolm Sargent thought the acoustics were excellent; Adrian Boult ‘liked it very much indeed'; and Josef Krips said it was the most perfect hall he knew. Other conductors, however, were more critical. For example, Otto Klemperer cancelled a performance of Elgar's Enigma Variations as he felt the acoustics of the hall were ‘not suited to the sonorities of Elgar's masterpiece.'" "The hall's extreme clarity allowed even minor errors by players to be heard easily. Bill Allen reported that when he later asked Adrian Boult what he thought of the hall he replied that ‘Malcolm loves it because he is a disciplinarian', whereas he himself preferred York Minster where ‘it doesn't matter if a player is a bar late'!" "On 9 June 1951, Leopold Stokowski conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring with the orchestra arranged as suggested by BRS, with all the strings to one side. The music critics present were unanimous in their praise for the sound, commenting on the ‘ideal balance between blend and definition', ‘the richness of the string tone', and the ‘clarity and fullness of tone' of the strings." "Over the years, criticism by the public and musicians about the lack of warmth, increased. In the early 1960s Peter Parkin invented the system of assisted resonance. Inspiration for the assisted resonance system came from his work in the 1950s on the speech reinforcement system in St Paul's Cathedral. The AR system was tested in the hall in 1964 and installed in 1965, in time for the hall's reopening following major refurbishment. With the system fully operational conductors, performers, critics and audiences agreed that the problem of lack of warmth had been overcome, and that the hall had become one of the best in the world. The system was in use for 30 years before being switched off permanently in the late 1990s." Contemporary composers have changed the layout of orchestras to clarify the structure of their works. The Sheffield-born composer Bernard Rands, interviewed on a work commissioned by Carnegie Hall in honor of its centennial and given its premiere there under Riccardo Muti's baton on March 18, 1991, comments on the enormous potential in spacing them, reseating or regrouping them "if intelligently handled." An example of these 'special' layouts is that chosen by Andrzej Panufnik for his symphony entitled Sinfonia Rustica and written in 1948. The composer decided to emulate symmetrical paper-cuts. The orchestral layout is symmetrical with flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and trumpet in the middle of the concert platform, flanked by two string orchestras engaged in ‘stereophonic’ dialogue. Again with his Sinfonia di Sfere (Symphony no 5) written in 1975, Panufnik utilizes a spherical concept that even affected the composer’s instrumentation. Drums became the dominant force in the orchestration. Three percussionists, each with four drums, are placed around the outside of the platform, arranged so that the sound constantly orbits the orchestra, clockwise or anti-clockwise. Four brass soloists with their circular bells stand as soloists at the centre front of the stage. Orchestral layout is also something that concerns those keen to give 'historically informed' performances. Jay Nordlinger, reviewing a concert given in the Carnegie Hall February 28, 2001, writes: "On the stage the following night was a much different orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, under Roger Norrington, its former chief conductor. Norrington is a leader of the “original instruments” movement, which is also devoted to “original performance practices.” He is usually a stirring musician, and his program at Carnegie was an appetizing one: a Mahler arrangement of various movements from Bach’s Orchestral Suites; a great and beloved Bach cantata (sung by Emma Kirkby); and the Mahler Fourth (with Kirkby as soloist)." "Before beginning, Norrington made a little speech to the audience, explaining the links between the pieces to be performed, and offering a little apology, or defense: he is now interested, not only in original instruments and original performance practices, but in “original size,” and original everything else. He and the orchestra would attempt to perform all of these works just as they were done at the time of their debuts. Such things as the layout—the physical layout—of the orchestra would be the same. Most significantly, the strings would use no vibrato (called “the V word” by Norrington). The conductor regretted that we could not know for sure, how the pieces sounded at the moment they were unveiled, in such matters as dynamics. You at times have to wonder whether Norrington and his comrades consider themselves real flesh-and-blood musicians or museum curators. The museum mentality seems to have taken over much of music." Note: The descriptions above are schematic. That is, they show the general layout for modern orchestras. The exact layout will vary according to the forces required and the space available on the concert platform. reference: Seating Plans from various Philharmonia concerts during the 2001/2 season 'The Sound Orchestras Make' by Sir Roger Norrington; published in Early Music, Vol. XXXII/1 February 2004 (Oxford University Press) 'Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra', edited by Colin Lawson; published Cambridge University Press 2003)