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well, I can answer maybe the "why no contrabass" question.
If you notice, the register of that first beat isn't very low. So it's a relatively "medium seated" sound on that first accent.
The contrabass comes in on the second sfz, where the register has deepened somewhat.
Had the double bass played on the 1st sfz, the sound would have been deeper, and left nowhere to go with the second sfz. Or at least, LESS places to go with the 2nd sfz.
Some of the divisi/non-divisi decisions are related to a sort of sonority I'm looking for. When you use octave doublings you are reinforcing certain partials and creating a particular sound. When the part is more divided (ie not simply octave doublings) then the sound has more complexity.
One of the reasons for leaving out the contrabass from SOME notes of a phrase is to lighten to general sonority, and then to allow it to deepen and darken when the contrabass returns.
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"Those that know, do;
Those that understand, teach."
-Aristotle-
"toute audace engendrée par l'ignorance cesse d'être une audace et devient une maladresse"
-Debussy-
In musical criticism, when issues of craft and technical consideration are set aside, what remains is more subjective. However, until technical issues are dealt with, the subjective portion bears considerably less weight.
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