Over the centuries a standard was created concerning the set up of a philharmonic orchestra, specially the string sections. From left to right = from high to low.
At the orchestras around the world where this is not the case they still have a regular set up and everyone is used to that. Enough space has been created for everyone to be comfortable and see what one needs to see (conductor, principal players, from your own section or other sections, etc…) and hear the instruments you need to hear (for us mostly low brass, bassoons and celli).
So all in all no issue with where the basses are sitting to my opinion, left 👀 or middle 😳 or right 😏 as long as the orchestra players are used to it.
In Cape Town the bass section can be found standard on the right side of the stage during concerts on stage and in the pit we move to behind te first violins, on the left side of the pit. In the pit it has proven to be the best for us to be there for space issues and logistics like the stair case on that side is much more bass friendly than the other side of the pit and next to that the brass and percussion are situated on the other side and for us to have to make our way through their sections with our instruments is a hazard on it’s own.🫣 I have good vision of the celli and we have contact with the woodwinds and for the ballet stuff it’s nice to provide the ‘rhythm section’ for the violins. We also don’t sit on top of them in the pit. 😅
So all good and we’re all happy until that one conductor…
That one conductor that comes with the brilliant idea to stage the basses behind the first violins on stage for a symphony concert …. Or make us worm our way through the percussion and brass in the pit … 🤦🏼♀️
On stage this normally means the celli also move to next to the 1st violins and the 2nd violins move across from the 1sts where the celli normally sit. So you move around you’d say? What is the issue you’d say??
Well … firstly 2/3 of the orchestra now sit on 1/2 of the stage so it’s a tight squeeze. For the bass section to sit in a line where the section can be in touch with the principal is only a possibility if said principal ( that would be me indeed 😉) is squeezed in the 1st violin section having no contact with anyone other than the last 2 desks of the violins. They play so loud I cannot hear anything else and there are so many violins still in front of them that I cannot see the principal cello or concertmaster.
There’s a conductor to look at right?? Mmmm… well … for some stuff absolutely, but I rely very much on timing with my principal colleagues for those delicate moments.
All in all it always proves to be a huge inconvenience for the orchestra and to my humble opinion does not do any favours for quality so why do it 🤷🏼♀️ One of the main reason I get is ‘because that’s how they did it how ever many years ago’ … yes, we get you, but circling back to my 2nd alinea … they probably always sat like that!
So the ‘wrong side’ to me is: the side that inconveniences musicians, creates poor connection with other sections of the orchestra and therefor creates a less quality performance. So if you see the bass section on the left know it was not our choice!
Let’s end with a positive! We got to hang out and enjoy our horn section from up close again 🙌🏻
To be continued … 🙂
Roxane Steffen 