Page:The story of the flute (IA storyofflute1914fitz).djvu/108

 Though usually played along with the flute in orchestral works, the piccolo is often used alone very effectively. Two piccolos are occasionally used, either in addition to the flutes or without them. Spohr has a passage in his overture Jessonda for two piccolos in F without flutes. Berlioz, in his Faust ("Evocation"), uses three piccolos (without flutes), playing separate parts. This is the only instance I know of three being used. I don't think any composer has introduced four separate parts for

, Faust, "Evocation."

piccolos in any orchestral work. Spontini (Nourmahal) was apparently the first to discover the combination of the piccolo with the cymbals. "It cuts and rends instantaneously like the stab of a poignard," says Berlioz. Modern composers have frequently used it along with the cymbals, bells, triangle, or glockenspiel; Saint-Saens produces a ghastly effect in his Danse Macabre by combining it with the xylophone.

Owing to its great agility, the piccolo is frequently used as a solo instrument, chiefly to imitate birds or