Timbral Revelations

Timbre and Orchestration Blog | Timbre Stories

Timbral Revelations

By Anonymous Awed Timbres
December 2nd, 2021

The moment I decided to study timbre was when I first heard the finale of Mahler's 8th symphony. As someone who does not speak German, I did not know what the words meant. But upon hearing the music for the first time, I had a religious experience. That is to say, I experienced frisson, I experienced something that I could not describe, but it was magical. Upon reading the lyrics a few days later, I was struck by them: I had literally felt what the words were saying. Mahler was able to translate the meaning of the words into music. This is no small task. Hearing and feeling what Mahler created made me want to understand more about what timbre is. What does timbres signify? How is timbre used and sculpted by composers to create these amazing experiences?!