by Berlioz, Meyerbeer, and others, and for some time
retained their position as _extras_, to become, later on,
permanent orchestral factors, first in the theatre, then in
the concert room. Very few attempts have been made to
introduce the small clarinet into the orchestra (Berlioz
etc.); this instrument together with the bass flute is used
in my opera-ballet _Mlada_ (1892), and also in my most
recent compositions, _The Christmas Night_, and _Sadko_; the
bass flute will also be found in _The Legend of the
Invisible City of Kitesh_, and in the revised version of
"_Ivan the Terrible_".

Of late years the habit of muting the wood-wind has come into fashion.
This is done by inserting a soft pad, or a piece of rolled-up cloth
into the bell of the instrument. Mutes deaden the tone of oboes, Eng.
horns, and bassoons to such an extent that it is possible for these
instruments to attain the extreme limit of _pianissimo_ playing. The
muting of clarinets is unnecessary, as they can play quite softly
enough without artificial means. It has not yet been discovered how to
mute the flutes; such a discovery would render great service to the
piccolo. The lowest notes on the bassoon,

[Music: B1] and on the oboe and Eng. horn [Music: B3]

are impossible when the instruments are muted. Mutes have no effect in
the highest register of wind instruments.

Brass.

The formation of the group of brass instruments, like that of the
wood-wind is not absolutely uniform, and varies in different scores.
The brass group may be divided into three general classes
corresponding to those of the wood-wind (in pair's, in three's, and in
four's).

----------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
Group corresponding | Group corresponding | Group corresponding |
to the wood-wind | to the wood-wind | to the wood-wind |
in pair's | in three's | in four's |
----------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------|
| | (II--Small trumpet). |
2 Trumpets I, II. | 3 Trumpets I, II, III. | 3 Trumpets I, II, III. |
| (III--Alto trumpet | (III--Alto trumpet or |
| or: | Bass trumpet.) |
| {2 Cornets I, II. | |