The Dissertation Chronicles, Op. 9

After a long period of time collecting sources, pilfering through sources, listening to symphonies, reading along with scores, and analyzing scores, actual dissertation writing will begin. I decided to start with instrumentation and orchestration because it should be a fairly easy place to start. That was the thinking anyway. But as it often occurs, more laid beneath the surface, and things began spiraling out. The question one must ask is, "At what point do I stop and say enough is enough?" Well, I have finally drawn a line in the sand. I have a wealth of topics and information to discuss, so much so that a chapter that was going to be dedicated to instrumentation and orchestration will now become two separate chapters, one devoted to instrumentation and the other to orchestration. I am starting on the instrumentation chapter first because it should be the easier of the two. The basic distinction between instrumentation and orchestration is the former simply examines the instruments called upon by the composer for a specific work, and the latter is how this instrumentation interacts among the different instruments.

A Not-So-Tangled Web

I wandered outside late at night last night (okay, maybe not exactly wandered, but I went out on my patio behind the house) and saw someone working the late shift.