This resource seeks to demonstrate what specific instrumental combinations have intrigued composers of the past and present and to suggest other groupings that may prove to be of equal validity and tonal interest. The book is designed to be a thesaurus of orchestral combinations, a lexicon of the science and art of fusing timbre and sonority in symphonic scoring. Few standard manuals devote such attention to this fascinating question as it directly relates to the imaginative deployment of the orchestral instruments.