Cecil Forsyth
Cecil Forsyth (November 30 1870 - December 7, 1941) was a British composer and musicologist. He wrote G minor Viola Concerto (1903) and Chanson Celtique (1906). His work Old King Cole (1912) is humorous in nature. In 1927, he wrote an orchestral suite based on Alice in Wonderland.
Forsyth wrote the book Orchestration (1914), which has frequently been reprinted, in 1935 and 1982. The book looks at orchestration from both a historical and practical perspective, detailing the playing techniques and idioms of some 57 different orchestral instruments. In the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, it is marked as "for its time the most comprehensive treatment of the subject". "I have not ever found a subsequent orchestration manual to be anywhere near its equal", William Bolcom (pianist / composer / teacher) wrote in the introduction. [1]
Frank Zappa mentioned Cecil Forsyth (misspelled as Forsythe) in the sleeve of Freak Out! (1966) as one of his influences, under the heading: "These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them".
