Francais | English | Espanõl

Chamber music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Chamber music (disambiguation).

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any "art music" that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part. The word "chamber" signifies that the music can be performed in a small room, often with an intimate atmosphere. However, it usually does not include, by definition, solo instrument performances.

Contents

[edit] Resources

Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music, edited by Walter Willson Cobbett in 1923, and updated and reprinted in 1963, is a comprehensive guide to chamber music compositions and composers up to that time.

Sir Donald Francis Tovey, British pianist and musicologist, wrote many insightful essays on the subject of chamber music, some of them available in the volume of his Essays in Musical Analysis that he devotes to it.

[edit] Performance

Many classical musicians enjoy playing chamber music. In most cases, chamber music is performed without a conductor, so each performer has greater artistic freedom. For organizing a performance, the expense is lower and the logistics simpler than that for even a modest orchestra. While the repertoire is not suitable for beginners, there are pieces within the technical and artistic capabilities of most serious amateurs.

Music lovers and 250 renowned musicians travel far and wide each summer to attend the world’s largest chamber music festival. The Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival presents over 100 concerts using an affordable pass system. Discover more at www.chamberfest.com.

[edit] Ensembles

This is a partial list of the types of ensembles found in chamber music.

Number of Musicians Name Common Ensembles Instrumentation Comments
2 Duo Piano Duo 2 piano
Instrumental Duo any instrument and piano Found especially as instrumental sonatas; i.e., violin, cello, viola, horn, bassoon, clarinet, flute sonatas).
any instrument and basso continuo Common in baroque music predating the piano. The basso continuo part is always present to provide rhythm and accompaniment, and is often played by a harpsichord but other instruments can also be used.
Duet Piano Duet 1 pno, 4 hands
Vocal Duet voice, pno Commonly used in the art song, or Lieder.
Instrumental Duet 2 of any instrument
3 Trio String Trio vln, vla, vc
Piano Trio vln, vc, pno
Voice, Viola and Piano sop, vla, pno William Bolcolm's trio Let Evening Come for Soprano, Viola and Piano, and Johannes Brahms' Zwei Gesänge für eine Altstimme mit Bratsche und Pianoforte, Op. 91, for Alto, Viola and Piano
Clarinet, Viola and Piano cl, vla, pno Mozart's trio K498, other works by Robert Schumann and Max Bruch
Voice, Clarinet and Piano voice, cl, pno Franz Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D965 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Schon Lacht Der Holde Fruhling, KV 580
Flute, Viola and Harp fl, vla, hrp Famous works by Debussy and Arnold Bax
Clarinet, Violin, Piano cl, vln, pno Largely a 20th century invention, but growing in popularity; famous compositions by Béla Bartók, Milhaud and Khachaturian
Horn Trio hrn, cl, pno 19th century works; specifically the Trio in Eb Op. 40 by Brahms
Soprano, Horn and Piano sop, hrn, pno Franz Schubert's Auf Dem Strom
4 Quartet String Quartet 2 vln, vla, vc Very popular form. Numerous major examples by Mozart, Beethoven and many other leading composers (see article).
Piano Quartet vln, vla, vc, pno
Violin, Clarinet, Cello and Piano vln, cl, vc, pno Rare; famous example: Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps; less famous: Hindemith (1938), Walter Rabl (Op. 1; 1896).
Saxophone Quartet s. sax, a. sax, t. sax, b. sax
5 Quintet Piano Quintet 2 vln, vla, vc, pno
vln, vla, vc, cb, pno An uncommon instrumentation used by Franz Schubert in his Trout Quintet.
Woodwind Quintet fl, cl, ob, bsn, hrn
String Quintet 2 vln, vla, vc with additional vla or vc
Brass Quintet 2 tr, 1 trm, 1, tuba, 1 hrn
6 Sextet String Sextet 2 vln, 2 vla, 2 vc Important among these are Brahms' Op. 18 and Op. 36 Sextets.
Piano Sextet 2 vln, vla, vc, cb, pno
Piano and Wind Quintet fl, ob, cl, bsn, hrn, pno Such as the Poulenc Sextet.
cl, 2 vln, vla, vc, pno An example is Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes Op. 34.
7 Septet cl, hrn, bsn, vln, vla, vc, cb Popularized by Beethoven's Septet Op. 20.
8 Octet cl, hrn, bsn, 2 vln, vla, vc, cb Popularized by Schubert's Octet D. 803, inspired by Beethoven's Septet.
String Octet 4 vln, 2 vla, 2 vc Popularized by Mendelssohn's String Octet Op. 20.
Double Quartet 4 vln, 2 vla, 2 vc Two string quartets arranged antiphonically.
Wind Octet 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 hrn, 2 bsn
9 Nonet
Key: vln - violin; vla - viola; vc - cello; cb - double bass; pno - piano; fl - flute; ob - oboe; cl - clarinet; s. sax - soprano saxophone; a. sax - alto saxophone; t. sax - tenor saxophone; b. sax - baritone saxophone; bsn - bassoon; hrn - horn; tr - trumpet; trm - trombone

The standard repertoire for chamber ensembles is rich, and the totality of chamber music in print in sheet music form is nearly boundless. See the articles on each instrument combination for examples of repertoire.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

ca:Música de cambra da:Kammermusik de:Kammermusik et:Kammermuusika es:Música de cámara fr:Musique de chambre it:Musica da camera he:מוזיקה קאמרית nl:Kamermuziek ja:重奏 no:Kammermusikk nn:Kammermusikk simple:Chamber music sl:Komorna glasba fi:Kamarimusiikki sv:Kammarmusik zh:室内乐

Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Chamber_music"
Personal tools