An orchestra
is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra
derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the twentieth century.
A smaller-sized orchestra for this time period (of about fifty players or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra
.
A full-size orchestra (about 100 players) may sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra
" or "philharmonic orchestra
"; these prefixes do not necessarily indicate any strict difference in either the instrumental constitution or role of the orchestra, but can be useful to distinguish different ensembles based in the same city (for instance, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra). A symphony orchestra will usually have over eighty musicians on its roster, in some cases over a hundred, but the actual number of musicians employed in a particular performance may vary according to the work being played and the size of the venue. A leading chamber orchestra might employ as many as fifty musicians; some are much smaller than that.
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SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TICKETS
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Instrumentation
The typical symphony orchestra consists of four proportionate groups of similar
musical instruments called the
woodwinds,
brass,
percussion, and
strings. The orchestra, depending on the size, contains almost all of the standard instruments in each group. In the history of the orchestra, its instrumentation has been expanded over time, often agreed to have been standardized by the classical period and Beethoven's influence on the classical model.
Beethoven's influence
The so-called "standard complement" of double winds and brass in the orchestra from the first half of the 19th century is generally attributed to the forces called for by
Beethoven. The exceptions to this are his
Symphony No. 4,
Violin Concerto, and
Piano Concerto No. 4, which each specify a single
flute. The
composer's instrumentation almost always included paired flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets. Beethoven carefully calculated the expansion of this particular timbral "palette" in Symphonies 3, 5, 6, and 9 for an innovative effect. The third horn in the
"Eroica" Symphony arrives to provide not only some harmonic flexibility, but also the effect of "choral" brass in the Trio. Piccolo, contrabassoon, and trombones add to the triumphal finale of his
Symphony No. 5. A piccolo and a pair of trombones help deliver storm and sunshine in the
Sixth. The
Ninth asks for a second pair of horns, for reasons similar to the Eroica (four horns has since become standard); Beethoven's use of piccolo, contrabassoon, trombones, and unpitched percussion – plus
chorus and vocal soloists – in his finale, are his earliest suggestion that the
timbral boundaries of "symphony" might be expanded for good. But for several decades after his departure,
symphonic instrumentation
was faithful to Beethoven's well-established model, with few exceptions.
Expanded instrumentation
Apart from the core orchestral complement, various other instruments are called for occasionally. These include the
classical guitar,
heckelphone,
flugelhorn,
cornet,
harpsichord, and
organ.
Saxophones, for example, appear in a limited range of 19th and 20th century scores. While appearing only as featured solo instruments in some works, for example
Ravel's orchestration of
Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition
and
Rachmaninoff's
Symphonic Dances, the saxophone is included in other works, such as Ravel's
Bolero
and
Walton's
Belshazzar's Feast, as a member of the orchestral ensemble. The
euphonium is featured in a few late
Romantic and
20th century works, usually playing parts marked "tenor tuba", including
Holst's The Planets
, and
Richard Strauss's
Ein Heldenleben
. The
Wagner Tuba, a modified member of the
horn family, appears in
Richard Wagner's cycle
Der Ring Des Nibelungen
and several other works by
Richard Strauss,
Bela Bartok, and others; it has a prominent role in
Anton Bruckner's
Symphony No. 7 in E Major
.
[1] Cornets appear in
Tchaikovsky's ballet
Swan Lake
,
Debussy's
La Mer
, and several orchestral works by
Hector Berlioz. Unless these instruments are played by members doubling on another instrument (for example, a trombone player changing to euphonium for a certain passage), orchestras will use
freelance musicians to augment their regular rosters.
The 20th century orchestra was far more flexible than its predecessors. In composers such as
Beethoven's and
Mendelssohn's time, the orchestra was composed of a fairly standard core of instruments which was very rarely modified. As time progressed, and as the Romantic saw changes in accepted modification with composers such as
Berlioz, followed by
Brahms and eventually
Mahler, the 20th century saw that orchestration could practically be hand-picked by the composer.
With this history in mind, the orchestra can be seen to have a general evolution as outlined below. The first is a classical orchestra (i.e. Beethoven/late Haydn), the second an early/mid- romantic (i.e. Brahms/Dvorak/Schumann), late romantic/early 20th century (i.e. Wagner/Mahler/Richard Strauss), modern (i.e. Stravinsky to present day, although as explained above this was far more flexible than the list implies and often forces would surpass the romantic/transition orchestra).
Classical Orchestra
;Woodwinds:
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in B-flat, A
2 Bassoons
;Brass:
2 or 4 Horns (in any key)
2 Trumpets (in any key)
;Percussion:
Timpani
;Strings:
6 Violins I
6 Violins II
4 Violas
3 Violoncellos
2 Double basses
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Early Romantic Orchestra
;Woodwinds:
(Piccolo)
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
(English Horn)
2 Clarinets in B-flat, A
2 Bassoons
(Contrabassoon)
;Brass:
4 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in F
(2 Cornets in B-flat)
3 Trombones
(Tuba)
;Percussion:
Timpani
Snare Drum
Bass Drum
Cymbals
Triangle
Tambourine
Glockenspiel
;Strings:
Harp
14 Violins I
12 Violins II
10 Violas
8 Violoncellos
6 Double basses
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Late Romantic Orchestra
;Woodwinds:
Piccolo
4 Flutes
4 Oboes
English Horn
Clarinet in E-flat
4 Clarinets in B-flat, A
Bass Clarinet
4 Bassoons
Contrabassoon
;Brass:
8 Horns in F
4 Trumpets in F, C, B-flat
4 Trombones (3 tenor, bass)
(Euphonium)
(Wagner Tuba (2 tenor, 2 bass))
Tuba
;Percussion:
Timpani
Snare drum
Bass drum
Cymbals
Tam-tam
Triangle
Tambourine
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Chimes
;Keyboards:
Celesta
Organ
;Strings:
2 Harps
16 Violins I
16 Violins II
12 Violas
12 Violoncellos
10 Double basses
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Modern Orchestra
;Woodwinds:
Piccolo
3 Flutes
3 Oboes
English Horn
Clarinet in E-flat
3 Clarinets in B-flat, A
Bass Clarinet
3 Bassoons
Contrabassoon
;Brass:
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in C
3 Trombones (2 tenor, bass)
Tuba
;Percussion:
Timpani
Snare Drum
Tenor Drum
Bass Drum
Cymbals
Tuned gongs
Tam-tam (gong)
Triangle
Wood block
Tambourine
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Vibraphone
Chimes
Castanets
Congas
Bongos
Güiro
Whip
;Keyboards:
Celesta
Piano
;Strings:
Harp
16 Violins I
14 Violins II
12 Violas
10 Violoncellos
8 Double basses
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Organization
Among the instrument groups and within each group of instruments, there is a generally accepted hierarchy. Every instrumental group (or section) has a principal who is generally responsible for leading the group and playing orchestral solos. The violins are divided into two groups, first violin and second violin, each with its principal. The principal first violin is called the
concertmaster (or "leader" in the UK) and is considered the leader of not only the string section, but of the entire orchestra, subordinate only to the
conductor.
The principal trombone is considered the leader of the low brass section, while the principal trumpet is generally considered the leader of the entire brass section. Similarly, the principal oboe is considered the leader of the woodwind section, and is the player to whom all others tune. The
horn, while technically a brass instrument, often acts in the role of both woodwind and brass. Most sections also have an assistant principal (or co-principal or associate principal), or in the case of the first violins, an assistant concertmaster, who often plays a
tutti part in addition to replacing the principal in his or her absence.
A section string player plays
unison with the rest of the section, except in the case of divided (
divisi
) parts, where upper and lower parts in the music are often assigned to "outside" (nearer the audience) and "inside" seated players. Where a solo part is called for in a string section, for example in the violins, the section leader invariably plays that part. Tutti wind and brass players generally play a unique but non-solo part. Section percussionists play parts assigned to them by the principal percussionist.
In modern times, the musicians are usually directed by a
conductor, although early orchestras did not have one, using instead the
concertmaster or the
harpsichordist playing the
continuo for this role. Some modern orchestras also do without conductors, particularly smaller orchestras and those specializing in historically accurate performances of
baroque music and earlier.
The most frequently performed repertoire for a
symphony orchestra is Western
classical music or
opera. However, orchestras are sometimes used in
popular music, used extensively in
film music, and sometimes used in
video game music.
History of the orchestra
Early history
The history of the modern orchestra that we are familiar with today goes all the way back to
Ancient Egypt. The first orchestras were made up of small groups of musicians that gathered for festivals, holidays or funerals. During the time of the
Roman Empire, the government suppressed the musicians and informal
ensembles were banned, but they reappeared after the collapse of the Empire. It was not until the 11th century that families of instruments started to appear with differences in tones and octaves. True modern orchestras started in the late 16th century when composers started writing music for instrumental groups. In the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy 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, which is the origin of orchestral playing. Opera originated in Italy, and Germany eagerly followed.
Dresden,
Munich and
Hamburg successively built opera houses. At the end of the 17th century opera flourished in England under
Henry Purcell, and in France under
Lully, who with the collaboration of
Molière also greatly raised the status of the entertainments known as
ballets, interspersed with instrumental and vocal music.
In the 17th century and early 18th century, instrumental groups were taken from all of the available talent. A composer such as
Johann Sebastian Bach had control over almost all of the musical resources of a town, whereas
Handel would hire the best musicians available. This placed a premium on being able to rewrite music for whichever singers or musicians were best suited for a performance—Handel produced different versions of the
Messiah
oratorio almost every year.
As nobility began to build retreats away from towns, they began to hire musicians to form permanent ensembles. Composers such as the young
Joseph Haydn would then have a fixed body of instrumentalists to work with. At the same time, travelling virtuoso performers would write concerti that showed off their skills, and they would travel from town to town, arranging concerts along the way. The aristocratic orchestras worked together over long periods, making it possible for ensemble playing to improve with practice.
Mannheim School
This change, from civic music making where the composer had some degree of time or control, to smaller court music making and one-off performance, placed a premium on music that was easy to learn, often with little or no rehearsal. The results were changes in musical style and emphasis on new techniques.
Mannheim had one of the most famous orchestras of that time, where notated dynamics and phrasing, previously quite rare, became standard (see
Mannheim school). It also attended a change in musical style from the complex
counterpoint of the
baroque period, to an emphasis on clear
melody, homophonic textures, short phrases, and frequent cadences: a style that would later be defined as
classical.
Throughout the late 18th century composers would continue to have to assemble musicians for a performance, often called an "Academy", which would, naturally, feature 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 that would accelerate into the 19th century. In 1815, Boston's
Handel and Haydn Society was founded, in 1842 the
New York Philharmonic and the
Vienna Philharmonic were formed, and in 1858, the
Hallé Orchestra was formed in Manchester. 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. This was encouraged by composer critics such as
E.T.A. Hoffmann who declared that instrumental music was the "purest form" of music. The creation of standing orchestras also resulted in a professional framework where musicians could rehearse and perform the same works repeatedly, leading to the concept of a repertoire in instrumental music.
Performance standards
In the 1830s, conductor
François Antoine Habeneck, began rehearsing a selected group of musicians in order to perform the symphonies of Beethoven, which had not been heard of in their entirety in Paris. He developed techniques of rehearsing the strings separately, notating specifics of performance, and other techniques of cuing entrances that were spread across Europe. His rival and friend
Hector Berlioz would adopt many of these innovations in his touring of Europe.
Instrumental craftsmanship
The invention of the piston and rotary valve by
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel and
Friedrich Blühmel, both
Silesians, in 1815, was the first in a series of innovations, including the development of modern keywork for the flute by
Theobald Boehm and the innovations of
Adolphe Sax in the woodwinds. These advances would lead
Hector Berlioz to write a landmark book on
instrumentation, which was the first systematic treatise on the use of instrumental sound as an expressive element of music.
[2]
The effect of the invention of valves for the brass was felt almost immediately: instrument-makers throughout Europe strove together to foster the use of these newly refined instruments and continuing their perfection; and the orchestra was before long enriched by a new family of valved instruments, variously known as
tubas, or
euphoniums and
bombardons, 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 would lead to a more and more "smooth" orchestral sound that would peak in the 1950s with
Eugene Ormandy and The
Philadelphia Orchestra and the conducting of
Herbert von Karajan with The
Berlin Philharmonic.
During this transition period, which gradually eased the performance of more demanding "natural" brass writing, many composers (notably Wagner and Berlioz) still
notated
brass parts for the older "natural" instruments. This practice made it possible for players still using natural horns, for instance, to perform from the same parts as those now playing valved instruments. However, over time, use of the valved instruments became standard, indeed universal, until the revival of older instruments in the contemporary movement towards
authentic performance (sometimes known as "historically informed performance").
At the time of the invention of the valved brass, the
pit orchestra of most operetta composers seems to have been modest. An example is
Sullivan's use of two flutes, one oboe, two clarinets, one bassoon, two horns, two cornets (a piston), two trombones, drums and strings.
During this time of invention, winds and brass were expanded, and had an increasingly easy time playing in tune with each other: particularly the ability for composers to score for large masses of wind and brass that previously had been impractical. Works such as the
Requiem of
Hector Berlioz would have been impossible to perform just a few decades earlier, with its demanding writing for twenty woodwinds, as well as four gigantic brass ensembles each including around four trumpets, four trombones, and two tubas.
Wagner's influence
The next major expansion of symphonic practice came from Wagner's
Bayreuth orchestra, founded to accompany his musical dramas. Wagner's works for the stage were scored with unprecedented scope and complexity: indeed, his score to
Das Rheingold calls for six
harps. Thus, Wagner envisioned an ever-more-demanding role for the conductor of the theater orchestra, as he elaborated in his influential work "On Conducting".
[3] This brought about a revolution in orchestral
composition, and set the style for orchestral performance for the next eighty years. Wagner's theories re-examined the importance of
tempo,
dynamics, bowing of string instruments and the role of principals in the orchestra. Conductors who studied his methods would go on to be influential themselves.
20th century orchestra
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.
[4] As sound was added to silent film, the virtuoso orchestra became a key component of the establishment of motion pictures as mass-market entertainment.
Counter-revolution
In the 1920s and 1930s, economic as well as artistic considerations led to the formation of smaller concert societies, particularly those dedicated to the performance of music of the avant-garde, including
Igor Stravinsky and
Arnold Schoenberg. This tendency to start festival orchestras or dedicated groups would also be pursued in the creation of summer musical festivals, and orchestras for the performance of smaller works. Among the most influential of these was the
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under the baton of Sir
Neville Marriner.
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. These include the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the
London Classical Players under the direction of Sir
Roger Norrington and the
Academy of Ancient Music under
Christopher Hogwood, among others.
Recent trends
The late 20th century saw a crisis of funding and support for orchestras. 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. Critics such as
Norman Lebrecht were vocal in their diagnosis of the problem as the "jet set conductor" and the problems of orchestral repertory and management, while other music administrators such as
Michael Tilson Thomas and
Esa-Pekka Salonen argued that new music, new means of presenting it, and a renewed relationship with the community could revitalize the symphony orchestra.
Conductorless orchestras
The post-revolutionary symphony orchestra
Persimfans was formed in the
USSR in 1922. The unusual aspect of the orchestra was that, believing that in the ideal
Marxist state all people are equal, its members felt that there was no need to be led by the dictatorial baton of a
conductor; instead they were led by a
committee. Although it was a partial success, the principal difficulty with the concept was in changing
tempo. The orchestra survived for ten years before
Stalin's cultural politics effectively forced it into disbandment by draining away its funding.
[5]
Some ensembles, such as the
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, based in New York City, have had more success, although decisions are likely to be deferred to some sense of leadership within the ensemble (for example, the principal wind and string players).
Others have returned to the tradition of a principal player, usually a violinist, being the artistic director and running rehearsals (such as the
Australian Chamber Orchestra and the
New Century Chamber Orchestra).
Multiple conductors
The techniques of
polystylism and music have recently led a few composers to write music where multiple orchestras perform simultaneously. These trends have brought about the phenomenon of polyconductor music, wherein separate sub-conductors conduct each group of musicians. Usually, one principal conductor conducts the sub-conductors, thereby shaping the overall performance. Some pieces are enormously complex in this regard, such as
Evgeni Kostitsyn's Third Symphony, which calls for nine conductors.
Charles Ives often used two conductors, one for example to simulate a marching band coming through his piece.
Realizations for Symphonic Band
includes one example from Ives.
One of the famous example in the late century orchestral music is
Karlheinz Stockhausen's
Gruppen, for three orchestras placed around the public. This way, the sound masses could be spacialized, as in an eletroacoustic work. Gruppen was premiered in Cologne, in 1958, conducted by Stockhausen,
Bruno Maderna and
Pierre Boulez. Recently, it was performed by
Simon Rattle, John Carewe and
Daniel Harding.
Other meanings of orchestra
In
Ancient Greece, the orchestra was the space between the
auditorium and the
proscenium (or
stage), in which were stationed the
chorus and the
instrumentalists. The Greek word for
orchestra
literally means "a dancing place".
In some theaters, the orchestra is the area of seats directly in front of the stage (called
primafila
or
platea
); the term more properly applies to the place in a theatre, or
concert hall reserved for the musicians.
See also
- List of symphony orchestra concert halls
- List of symphony orchestras
- *List of symphony orchestras in Europe
- *List of symphony orchestras in the United States
- List of youth orchestras in the United States
- Orchestral enhancement
- Orchestration
- Radio orchestra
- Shorthand for orchestra instrumentation
- Typical instrument layout
Notes
- The Wagner Tuba, [1]
- Hector Berlioz. ''Traite d'instrumentation et d'orchestration'' (Paris: Lemoine, 1843).
- Richard Wagner. ''On Conducting (Ueber das Dirigiren), a treatise on style in the execution of classical music'' (London: W. Reeves, 1887).
- See Lance W. Brunner, "The Orchestra and Recorded Sound", in ''The Orchestra: Origins and Transformations'', ed. Joan Peyser (New York: Scribner's Sons, 1986), 479-532.
- John Eckhard, "Orchester ohne Dirigent", ''Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik'' 158, no. 2 (1997): 40-43.
References
- The Wagner Tuba, [1]
- Hector Berlioz. ''Traite d'instrumentation et d'orchestration'' (Paris: Lemoine, 1843).
- Richard Wagner. ''On Conducting (Ueber das Dirigiren), a treatise on style in the execution of classical music'' (London: W. Reeves, 1887).
- See Lance W. Brunner, "The Orchestra and Recorded Sound", in ''The Orchestra: Origins and Transformations'', ed. Joan Peyser (New York: Scribner's Sons, 1986), 479-532.
- John Eckhard, "Orchester ohne Dirigent", ''Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik'' 158, no. 2 (1997): 40-43.