
Re: Orchestration Questions
Old thread. Anyone want to pick it back up? I remember having tons of fun discussing orchestration with you guys. Since a few years have passed, I have gotten access to more materials and hopefully could provide more insight!
I'll start by picking up where we left off with recorders used in OFC and 25th Anniversary. We now have confirmation that real recorders were indeed used in the 25th anniversary orchestration by Christopher Jahnke (see below). The keyboards do not play with them. Also note that alto recorders are in F (transposing), the score is in concert pitch.
I guess it's hard to start conversation again, so I'll start with a question:
1) What do you think of the new Jahnke orchestration vs. the old Cameron orchestration?
Some things to think about:
[*] Jahnke's orchestration is much smaller, but sounds
louder, how and why?
[*] Are there songs or parts of the musical that work better with the new orchestration or vice-versa?
[*] Are there parts of the musical you wish were orchestrated a certain way?
[*] With Jahnke's new orchestration, the musical is cut even shorter, but is it for the better or worse?
In my understanding, nowhere in the world is John Cameron's orchestration still being used, except for the School Edition (if you count that). Why do you think the producers decide to change this? This change also means hiring and firing musicians from the show while the show is still on (West End Production)! What do you guys think of this?
I hope this thread picks back up!

(P.S. I already pm'ed mas888)