Posted by Chuck on May 04, 2001 at 14:20:43:
In Reply to: Re: Contra-Octave in band playing posted by Dave Zerkel on May 04, 2001 at 07:19:06:
What about the Dies Irae in Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony? I know that Opheclides were not capable of playing the lower octave, but shouldn't we play the pitches that he wrote? I think that we can all agree that the lower octave in the Dies Irae is a good interpretation that adds to the affect that Berlioz was trying to achieve.
How is this different than making a musical decision to add some majesty or power to a noble chord at the end of a band piece? Or adding some sinister-ness to a dark minor chord?