A history of the orchestra and the development of the symphony - Essay Example

Introduction For the music lovers out there, the orchestra has become one of the most d sources of enjoyment. An orchestra is a musical ensemble used most often in classical music. Even if the orchestra is classical, this has transcends the passage of time for until now, many people are still enjoying going, watching and listening to the orchestra. But who are really are the initiators of this famous musical enhancement Moreover, what are the specific qualities of orchestra that makes it interesting attracting more and more listeners Orchestra at a Glance The word orchestra originally signified the section in ancient Greek theaters between the stage and the audience that was used by dancers and instrumentalists. Orchestra can also refer to various specialized ensembles, such as a balalaika orchestra, a jazz orchestra, or a gamelan (Indonesian tuned-percussion orchestra). In a modern theater the part of the auditorium reserved for musicians is called the orchestra pit, and the term orchestra often also designates the part of the ground floor used for audience seating (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra, 2006). Opera and ballet orchestras share with symphony orchestras on the size and structure but they differ in their ancestry and function. The symphony orchestra performs symphonies, concerti, and other concert music and is normally placed on a stage. Opera and ballet orchestras are part of theatrical performances and are seated in the orchestra pit of a theater. Orchestra can be classified into two, with which the basis of classification is the number of staff and/or musicians. A full size orchestra, also known as the "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra usually have over eighty musicians on its staff, in some cases over a hundred, but the number of musicians used in a performance varies according to the work being played. A leading chamber orchestra, on the other hand, might have forty or fifty members; some are much smaller than that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra, 2006). Meanwhile there are also different sections in an orchestra. The string section, which forms the backbone of orchestral sound, is divided into four parts, much like a vocal choir: first violins, second violins, violas, and cellos and double basses. The woodwind and brass sections, unlike the strings, normally have only one player per part. Until the late 19th century, the woodwind section consisted of two oboes, two flutes, two bassoons, and two clarinets; the two members of each pair played different musical parts. By the late 19th century three of each instrument was common, with the third player sometimes switching to a related instrument. The brass section typically consists of two trumpets, four horns, three trombones, and a tuba. These are sometimes augmented by other brass instruments, such as the bass trombone or the Wagner tuba designed by the German composer Richard Wagner and used in his scores. The percussion section employs one or. The basic percussion group consists of a pair of timpani, a side drum, a bass drum, cymbals, and a triangle (http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/ahugill/manual/intro.html, 2006). History of Orchestra Orchestral playing started in Italy and Germany on 15th and 16th centuries when the households of nobles had musicians to provide music for dancing and the court, however with the emergence of the theatre, particularly opera, in the early 17th century, music was increasingly written for groups of players in combination. Dresden, Munich and Hamburg successively built opera houses. When the 17th century came, opera flourished in England under Henry Purcell, and in France under Lully, who with the collaboration of Molire also greatly raised the status of the entertainments known as ballets, interspersed with instrumental and vocal music (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra, 2006). As nobility began to build retreats from towns, they began to hire standing bodies of musicians. Composers such as the young Joseph Haydn then fixed body of instrumentalists to work with. At the same time, traveling virtuoso performers wrote concerti that featured their skills, and travelled from town to town, arranging concerts from whoever was there. The aristocratic orchestras worked together over long periods of time, making it possible for ensemble playing to improve over time (http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/ahugill/manual/intro.html, 2006). Throughout the late 18th century composers continued to have to assemble musicians for a performance, often called an "Academy", which naturally, featured their own compositions. In 1781, however, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was organized from the merchants concert society, and it began a trend towards the formation of civic orchestras accelerated into the 19th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra, 2006).. There had long been standing bodies of musicians around operas, but not for concert music: this situation changed in the early 19th century as part of the increasing emphasis in the composition of symphonies and other purely instrumental forms (Orchestra, Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, 2000). The creation of standing orchestras also resulted in a professional framework where musicians could rehearse and perform the same works over and over again, leading to the concept of a repertoire in instrumental music (Berlioz and Barzun, 1999). The effect of the invention of valves was felt at once: instrument-makers in all countries helped with each other in making use of the newly refined instruments and in bringing them to perfection; and the orchestra was before long enriched by a new family of valve instruments having a chromatic scale and a full sonorous tone of great beauty and immense volume, forming a magnificent bass. This also made possible a more uniform playing of notes or intonation, which lead to a more and more "smooth" orchestral sound that peak in the 1950s (Orchestra, Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, 2000). During the transition to using these instruments, which made the performance of more difficult works easier, many composers notated the brass parts for some of their compositions for "natural" instruments rather than the newer valve instruments. This practice made it possible for players to perform from the same sheet music as players with valve instruments. However, over time, use of the valve instruments became universal, until the revival of older instruments in the contemporary movement towards authentic performance (Orchestra, Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, 2000). New orchestral effects also became possible. Winds and brass had been expanded and had an increasingly easy time playing in tune with each other. The next major expansion of symphonic practice came from Wagner's Bayreuth orchestra, founded to play his musical dramas. Wagner needed to have a series of composers and notators for the complex scores he wrote, and had a specific role for the conductor of an orchestra that he described in his influential work "On Conducting". This led to a revolution in orchestral practice, and set the style for orchestral performance for the next eighty years. Wagner's theories changed tempi, dynamics, bowing of string instruments and the role of principals in the orchestra. Conductors who studied his methods went on to be influential themselves (Berlioz and Cairns, 2002). As the early 20th century dawned, symphony orchestras were larger, better-funded, and better-trained than ever before; consequently, composers could compose larger and more ambitious works. With the recording era beginning, the standard of performance reached a pinnacle. In recordings, small errors in a performance could be "fixed," but many older conductors and composers could remember a time when simply "getting through" the music as best as possible was the standard. Combined with the wider audience made possible by recording, this led to a renewed focus on particular conductors and on a high standard of orchestral execution (Berlioz and Barzun, 1999). With the advent of the early music movement, orchestras where players worked on execution of works in styles derived from the study of older treatises on playing became common (Berlioz and Cairns, 2002). The late 20th century saw a crisis of funding and support for orchestras in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. The size and cost of a symphony orchestra, compared to the size of the base of supporters, became an issue that struck at the core of the institution. The drastic falling-off of revenues from recording, tied to no small extent to changes in the recording industry itself, began a period of change that has yet to reach its conclusion (Berlioz and Cairns, 2002). Conclusion Italy, as most romantics would say, is the land of love of romanticism. It is where creativity really flourishes. This is probably one of the reasons why it is also in this country where Orchestra started. And until now, being part of an orchestra is still being looked up to in this area, despite the emergence of modern bands and other musical instruments. Simple, yet cultured and astounding is describes what orchestra and symphony is. And for the many years to come, orchestra and symphony will still be part of the music industry. Work Cited: Berlioz,Hector and Barzun, Jacques (Translator) (1999). "Evenings with the Orchestra". University of Chicago Press. Berlioz, Hector and Cairns, David. (2002). "The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz". Every Man's Library. "Orchestra" (2002). Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. "Classifications of the Orchestra". February 21, 2006 Read More