Wednesday, October 28, 2015

ORGANUM SELECTIVUM


One of the reasons Elektra inevitably makes such an impact, even on the novice or first time hearer, is the almost pummeling auditory effect of the huge, brass-heavy orchestral forces. Combine that with the hurtling pace and harmonic richness of the score, and Elektra is inherently designed to pack a wallop to the solar plexus.

I've been pondering the loss of this gut impact created by the massive sonic weight of Strauss’s orchestra in my edition for lighter forces.  Does Elektra lose some of its effect without some kind of background sonic reinforcement or emphasis?

Then there’s the issue of my reduced instrumental palette, compared to the breadth of instrumental color Strauss has at his disposal. Our smaller group will have a much more limited aural spectrum and range of color. Some sort of compensation for that seems called for.

The issue has bothered me to the extent that I began contemplating following the musical theater route of utilizing one or two electronic keyboards programmed to provide wind, brass, and string reinforcement in block chords.  Not an ideal solution given the otherwise entirely acoustic nature of the orchestra.

But in one of those happy instances of cosmic serendipity, just as I was beginning to do some tests pages along these lines, Chris Fecteauout of the blue and completely unsolicitedsuggested the inclusion of a harmonium in the instrumental list.  Strauss himself initiates this very idea in his Ariadne auf Naxos, indicating in a preface note in the opera’s harmonium part - though oddly not in the full scorethat he expects the instrument to cover for the smaller wind and horn sections than were his norm.

Good acoustic harmoniums are a rarity, and my own (admittedly) limited experience with the instrument has so far left me unimpressed: I find them generally thin and wheezy.  Still, following Strauss’s own example, why not add an organ component to the orchestra? Not a real organthough depending on the performing space I wouldn’t necessarily rule this out, if coordination with the conductor and the rest of the orchestra in this particularly intricate work could be reliably worked out.  My intention is an electronic realization of an limited spectrum, pitch-defined organ role: no doublings, no extra registrations, no octave couplings, just the written, concert pitches.

DAW tests along these lines have been very successful.  The organ can provide not just the aforementioned extra sonic heft but also some of the lost palette diversity, especially standing in for the Wagner tubas who, when played by top players on quality instruments, provide an almost organ sound anyway.  And given the gruesome, macabre nature of Elektra, there’s a nightmare quality to this timbre that seems to suit many parts of this operaas long as it isn’t over-indulged. Otherwise one risks the soundscape devolving into camp.

So with the addition of this organ component, the instrumentation of this reduced orchestra version of Elektra is complete. Now the real work begins.