| David
J Brown
Notes on the volumes and
page numbers appear here
Note that there are discrepancies between the six orchestral movements, extracted from the
opera by Brian in the 20s and listed on The tigers title page, and the opera
itself as shown here.
AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF FULL SCORE
VOLUME ONE
Prologue scene 1 (but
not so described in the full score) pp 1-58
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum,
cymbals, tambourine, triangle, gong, whip, sleigh bells, crier's bell, glockenspiel,
xylophone, harp, strings (including solo violin)
Prologue scene 2 - Wild Horsemen - Pantalon
and Columbine pp 59-110
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon), 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, euphonium, 2 tubas, timpani (2
players), bass drum, side drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, gong, police bell,
glockenspiel, celesta, 2 harps, strings
Act 1 scene 1 pp 111-116
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets (E clarinet), bass clarinet, 3
hassoons (contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets (one on-stage), bass drum, triangle, gong,
glockenspiel, xylophone, 2 harps, strings
Act 1 scene 2 pp 117-152
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons,
contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, euphonium. 2 tubas, timpani, bass drum,
side drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, glockenspiel, xylophone, 2 harps, organ, strings
VOLUME TWO
Act 2 scene 1 - prelude
pp 1-29
2 flutes, piccolo, 3oboes (cor anglais), 3 clarinets (bass clarinet), 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum,
cymbals, tambourine, celesta, harp, strings
Act 2 scene 2 pp 30-38
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum,
cymbals, bell in C, harp, strings
Andante pastorale (interlude) pp
39-47
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons,
contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, gong,
triangle, 2 vibraphones, tubaphone, celesta, glockenspiel, harp, strings
Act 2 scene 3 pp 48-80
3 flutes (2 piccolos), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet (Bb clarinet), 3
bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani (3 players), bass drum, side
drum, cymbals, triangle, long drum, tambourine, 2 vibraphones, tubaphone, celesta,
glockenspiel, xylophone, harp, ship's siren, strings (including solo violin)
Act 2 scene 4 - Green Pastures
(not so entitled in the full score) pp 81-116
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets (clarinet in A), bass clarinet, 3
bassoons (contrabassoon), bugle in C, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani,
bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta, harp, strings
(including 2 solo violins and solo viola, also one desk from each section plays
independently of the rest in one passage)
Act 2 scene 5 pp 116-130
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons,
contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, 7 timpani, bass drum, side drum,
cymbals, triangle, gong, thunder machine, bell in D, 2 vibraphones, tubaphone,
glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta, harp, organ, strings
VOLUME THREE
Gargoyles pp 1-18
3 flutes (2 piccolos), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani (2 players), bass drum,
side drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, gong, glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta, harp,
strings
Lacryma pp 19-37
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals,
tambourine, glockenspiel, xylophone, harp, strings
Act 3 scene 1 pp 1-13
3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 4 horns,
3 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum, cymbals, triangle,
tambourine, bells in Eb and D, 'telephone bell', 'police whistle', strings
Act 3 scene 2 pp 14-76
3 flutes (piccolo) (plus 4 or more flutes and 2 or more piccolos 'in the distance'), 2
oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets (bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3
trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum (plus bass drum and 3 or more
side drums 'in the distance'), cymbals, triangle, tambourine, gong, bell in D, 'motor
horn', glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta, harp, organ (ad lib), strings (including 2
violins, viola, cello and bass soli)
Act 3 scene 3 - Shadow Dance (not
so entitled in the full score) pp 77-92
2 flutes, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons (contrabassoon), 3 horns,
strings
Act 3 scene 4 pp 93-137
3 flutes (piccolo), 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, bassoons (contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3
trombones, tuba, 4 tubas, timpani (3 players), tambourine, gong, thunder machine, bells in
Eb Bb and D, fire bells, glockenspiel, xylophone, bass drum, side drum, cymbals, triangle,
celesta, harmonica celesta, harp, organ, strings
I should make clear that the following notes do not
necessarily represent my own ideas or researches but are a conflation of comments by those
who so far have examined the score. It can immediately be seen that, whilst the wind
and brass sections are smaller than in any of Brian's first four symphonies, apart from
the extra flutes, piccolos and tubas in Act 3, he employs a breathtakingly huge battery of
resources in the percussion department, both tuned and untuned. In fact, The
tigers is probably Brian's most sheerly iridescent score, perhaps approaching Symphony
No 3 most closely in its textures. The many sound effects could doubtless be coped
with by a modern opera house, but the scoring does contain some utterly unexpected
elements, as well as some mysteries. The use of the vibraphones and tubaphone is discussed
here. ('Grove' has the first use of the tubaphone in a
serious score as being Khachaturian's Gayaneh in 1943.)
The tigers also includes Brian's only known use of
the whip. As to the 'mysteries', it is by no means clear what Brian intended by
'long drum' - as it occurs concurrently with 3 timpani being played simultaneously he
presumably intended a much weightier sound than is possible with the Indian tabla as used
in English Suite No4. He may have had in mind a now rare type of bass drum
which had a much deeper body than the instrument commonly used nowadays.
Also, we should not assume that the quartet of tubas
which functions independently of the bass tuba in the finale of Act 3 is necessarily made
up of Wagner tubas. Brian did not so designate them in the score and the way in
which they are notated does not seem to conform to normal practice with these instruments,
beloved of Bruckner as well as their inventor. More research is needed in these
cases, whilst at present we just do not know what the composer meant by 'harmonica
celesta'. Possibly he is referring to the glass harmonica, used in the 18th century
and apparently popular in English music-halls; equally it could be some kind of
experimental sustaining celesta.
[Addition by Harold Truscott:
One cannot be positive as to what Brian intended as a 'harmonica celesta'
(specified in the opera's final scene), but it may be that he was referring to the keyed
harmonica, an instrument Berlioz describes on page 225 of his Treatise on
instrumentation. This was an improvement by Rollig of Benjamin Franklin's
improvement of the original musical glasses, the invention of which is sometimes wrongly
attributed to Gluck; wrongly, because this instrument was in existence at least a
hundred years before 1746, when Gluck used it.
Rollig's improvement, in the 1780's, was to add a
keyboard which operated, in piano fashion, hammers which struck strips of glass. It
was noted in Frankfurt in 1792 that Haydn had played a 'newly invented instrument, the
"Harmonica Celestina" ',which was almost certainly Rollig's keyboard harmonica.
It was a very popular instrument for a time but has obviously long been obsolete.
That, we know, would not have prevented Brian from resuscitating it. But its
place seems to have been taken by the celesta, which arrived in 1880, and Brian also uses
the celesta in The tigers, actually in the same scene as the harmonica celesta.
Without more evidence, which may not exist, I cannot see that one can come closer
than this.]
NL14(,15)
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