Posted by Barry Guerrero on January 16, 2003 at 00:13:42:
In Reply to: Re: Re: symphonie fantastique posted by Pat. on January 15, 2003 at 12:51:37:
Easy (I own this recording also): two tubas in the upper octave, and four bassoons in the lower octave. This is precisely how the piece is scored, only substitute "ophecleide" (however it's spelled) for "tuba". Four bassoons are usually going to have trouble keeping up with two modern tubas. Therefore, IMHO, you should either increase the number of bassoons to six, or try to get them seated farther forward - something to compensate, anyway. The two tuba blast-a-thon, with tubas in divided octaves, is not what Berlioz wrote. However, that certainly doesn't mean that he might not have liked hearing it done that way, if he had lived long enough. It's simply a question of then vs. now. The way it's done on the Paavo Jarvi recording is a comprise, but one that presents a genuine balance problem.
Barry Guerrero