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Instruments of the Orchestra

Fellow classical music buffs, can any of you recommend a CD (or couple of CDs) that provide a good introduction to the instruments of the orchestra? What I have in mind would be a well-recorded demonstration of each instrument, from its highest to its lowest pitch, and possibly a brief musical example. Doesn't need to be long or elaborate. Also, here's a related question: can any of you recommend a musical reference book that gives the full frequency range of the fundamental tones of each instrument of the orchestra? Thanks.
texasdave
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
Dave, I assume you're familiar with the 7-CD Naxos "Instruments of the Orchestra" set:
http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/NaxosCat/Naxos_Cat.asp?item_code=8.558040-46
I don't know anything about it other than what I've stumbled across on the Naxos web site, but it looks like it might contain some of what you're looking for.
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lousyreeds1's avatar
lousyreeds1
286 posts
 
If you really want to get a serious introduction to the ranges and idiosyncracies of each instrument, you might consider buying some of the orchestral excerpt CDs, intented as a guide for young instrumentalists. There's a series with the principal players from the Chicago Symphony. Could be useful.
pmotz
412 posts
 
There's always the old standby, Benjamin Britten's "Young persons guide to the orchestra". Probably not as comprehensive as you would like, but easier to get through than a seven CD set!
pragmatist
336 posts
 
To answer your second question,there are such charts in Psychology of Music by Carl Seashore.
gaudio_eek
312 posts
 
I second the recommendation of Britten's Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra.
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