A wide range of instruments were used in this piece -- violins, violas, cellos, double basses, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, horns, oboes, trumpets, trombones, timpani, and alternative percussion instruments – the musical ensemble that performed this piece is called a symphony orchestra. The stringed instrumentalists were set up at the front of the stage just in front of Michael Stern, the woodwinds directly behind them, brass behind the woodwinds, and the percussionists in the back left corner next to the …show more content…
The section is played louder and livelier, in contrast to the first section. The middle section is also in quadruple meter, but the tempo speeds up slightly to a moderato tempo marking. As the B section comes to a close and the A section is repeated, the tempo decrescendos back to a largo, broad and reverent. The melody in the B section is conjunct with fast moving rhythmic passages played in the stringed instrument parts. There isn’t a second melodic line in this section, as there wasn’t in the A section. Some of the B section is in unison, so no harmony is being played. When harmony is being played, the harmony is constant and there is very little dissonance played. The instruments play in thirds and fifths often, while the low brass instruments play a descending or ascending bass line below the melodic idea. The B section of “Hymn to the Fallen” is in the same key as the A section, major, and there are no key changes. Contrasting to the first section, the texture of this section is strictly polyphonic without