One thing to note here before we dive into the details is that there are only 3 or 4 things happening at any point in this passage. I wrote in Life Tips Philosophy of Theory Tip no. 3 (How to Read a Score) that even when you have 15+ lines in the score, you rarely have more than about 4 things happening at once, and this is one example of that in action. That’s what the colors refer to in my analysis - the melody (pinkish purple), the counterline (bluish purple), the chord accompaniment (blue), and the bass line (turquoise). I chose these colors related to each other deliberately - the counterline goes with the melody, and the bass line goes with the chords.

Now, here’s my written analysis:

Hymn Section Formal Analysis:

Andante Maestoso after VIII (call that m. 1, with 8th note pickups - note that they look like quarters due to tempo change):

Eb major Chorale

Phrases:

m. 1 - 4, deceptive cadence (V - vi)

m. 5-8, (melodic PAC, but actually ii6/4 - I somehow)

m. 9-10 HC (short mini-phrase)

m. 11-12 I-IV?

m. 13-16 HC

m. 1-8 A period, parallel symmetric period

m. 9-16 B period, contrasting symmetric period (if you combine m. 9-12)

Next section is back to A period, which feels like the end of the first statement of the theme, with A an octave higher (m. 17-24). But then he goes straight on to B 8va as well, so now A feels like it was the beginning of the next statement of a theme that never really resolves. He ellides the first two statements of the theme.

Finally, A is stated another octave higher, and this one ends on Vsus4 without resolution going into the next section, so the theme never really does end (and it doesn’t have to since it isn’t the entire piece).

Orchestration Analysis:

m. 1-8:

It starts out nice and mellow, but very full. For the melody, we have the entire string section (except the basses, but violin 1, 2, viola and cello), all in actual unison in the alto range mf, doubled by all 6 horns mf at the unison. Very lush sound. The background consists of a chordal chorale style accompaniment (block chords) in the 3 clarinets doubled at unison by 3 bassoons and 2 harps, all in the same general range as the melody, and then a bass line that rhythmically matches the chords, played by double basses and contrabassoon in unison with a bass clarinet an octave higher. The basses are pizzicato in this section, which makes the sound a little lighter than it otherwise would be, though the contrabassoon is still a very heavy sound. These are the three primary elements of the passage.

m. 9-12:

As we move into the B period, the orchestration doesn’t change. The range is higher, taking the cellos and the horns into their upper register.

m. 13-16:

Orchestration changes slightly here. The horns break off into what I’m calling a counterline. It’s rhythmically almost identical to the melody, but it does stick out to me as a line and not just as more notes of a chord (particularly horn 1 for m. 13-14, and horn 3+4 for 15-16 which are actually playing the melody for a bar then the bass line for a bar).

One trumpet takes over the melody from the horns as the range goes slightly higher than you’d want for the horn here. It’s within the textbook range of the horn, but it will sound very strained that high up, and that’s the wrong sound for this type of passage. Note that your sample libraries may or may not reflect this - many of them are more readily controllable in the extreme ranges of instruments than the acoustic instruments themselves would be. The trumpet is much better in that range, but will sound slightly more direct and cutting, so the timbre noticeably shifts. The three clarinets also join the melody at this point, which somewhat smooths out the trumpet sound, and we’re in the very intense high range of the cellos (lush, but not harsh or strained like the horns might be). Violins and violas are probably also playing this line on the D string, so it’s high on the string (see below for more on that).

The bassoons stop for a couple bars before all 3 join the bass line as we descend back to the next A period. The basses also switch to arco here, as the passage gets a little bigger going into the next pass through the theme.

m. 17-24 (A period, 2nd time):

Continue with a similar orchestration, except the horns fully start playing the chord line, the trumpet joins them. The violins continue the melody in the new octave we have reached now, while the violas and cellos drop back to the original octave, expanding the range of the melody through octave doubling. The clarinets stay with the violins. So now we have:

Melody: 3 Clarinets + Violin 1+2 in unison; violas and cellos one octave lower (in unison with each other).

Chords: 6 horns, 1 trumpet, 2 harps

Bass line: Bass clarinet + 3 bassoons in unison; C. Bassoon + double basses one octave lower (in unison)

m. 25 - 32 (Rehearsal IX) (B period, 2nd time):

Now the flutes join in with the violins as the line rises higher (an octave above the first B period). For the first four bars (25-28), 2 flutes and 2 oboes are in unison with both violin sections, and then english horn and 3 clarinets are in unison an octave lower, with the violas and cellos (cellos back in their high range again). In m. 29, oboes drop down to match the lower octave, while flutes stay up with the violins. The solo trumpet joins in on the melody again for four bars at m. 29 (with the lower line), as does the top note of the harp chords (with the upper line).

Chords: Horns drop out for four bars, 4 trumpets take over the chords. At m. 29, the horns come back with the same counterline passage they had the first time around, as the trumpets drop the chords.

Bass line: same as previous section, but add bass trombone m. 25-32, with Tenor tuba (euphonium) joining at m. 29. Also, timpani begin playing bass line at m. 25. Timpani are the most noticeable addition here.

m. 33 - end of passage - full tutti, 2 octave melody spread, super lush.

Melody: ff, with highest octave (8va from second time, 15va from first time) played by violin 1+2 and 2 flutes in unison; middle octave covered now by violas (8va from the first two passes) doubled at unison by 3 oboes, english horn, 3 clarinets; lowest octave (original octave) cellos and all six horns. Trumpet one is playing with the rhythm of the chords, but playing the notes of the melody at those locations (in middle octave range).

Chords: 4 trumpets, 2 tenor trombones, 2 harps.

Bass line: octaves, upper octave covered by bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, bass trombone, timpani; lower octave covered by contrabassoon, bass tuba, double basses.

End of passage.

Violin string assignments: one thing that’s cool about this passage is how neatly it maps onto the four strings of the violin. m. 1-8 are played sul G (all on the G string, not switching to D even when the range would allow that), going somewhat high on the G string for that really dark and intense sound, but not at all difficult for a university level violinist (even a non-performance major). 

m. 9-16 will be played on the D string as much as possible (except when it drops to Bb and it can’t be played on the G string any more. You might also play the first 2 bar phrase mostly on the G string to avoid shifting, or you can shift for that). Even the high notes up to Eb will probably be played on the D string, very high.

m. 17-24: As we move into the next octave, the D string will become the norm and we can add the A string to move the timbre to a higher sound - I stay mostly in 3rd position and play on the D or A strings accordingly. Stay on the D and A string for these bars, even as it goes into E string range. Then:

m. 25-32 can add the E string as appropriate. Many notes will still be on the A string anyway, either for range or for fingering, but adding the E string once again increases the brightness. Finally,

m. 33 - end of passage will largely be on the E string for maximum brightness as the piece achieves its climax in this section with the full tutti (and ff dynamic).

Viola will follow the same guidelines for the range it has - it never gets to the highest octave, so the lack of E string isn’t a problem.