Other Definitions
chamber music (dict)
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Chamber MusicChamber 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. Definition The phrase chamber music suggests a piece for at least two instruments, but there is no theoretical upper limit to the number of instruments. In practice, chamber works for more than five instruments are unusual, and works scored for more than eight are rare. Chamber works exist for many different combinations of instruments, with the string quartet often seen as the most important. Popular chamber groups other than the string quartet include the string trio, the piano trio, the piano quintet and the string quintet. Woodwind instruments and brass instruments are used less often. Several composers have written works for mixed groups of wind and strings, and some have written for wind instruments alone, but with the exception of the French horn, brass instruments are very rarely used. This is probably in part due to the fact that at the time chamber music was first being written, brass instruments did not have valves, and so could only produce a limited number of notes. While chamber music is frequently played in public concerts, it is usually heard in halls much smaller than those used for orchestral concerts. The more intimate acoustics of a smaller space, imitating the drawing rooms in which such music was originally played, are more suitable for a small group of instruments. History While the term is most often applied to instrumental performances, the madrigals of the Renaissance period in the 16th century may be considered chamber music. The most prominent Baroque form of this type is the trio sonata. In the Classical period, new forms were developed, most importantly the string quartet. These pieces were often written for amateurs, and not intended to be played in public. Many of the string quartets of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for example, were written to be played for fun and in private, by a string quartet of which they were both members. One of the composers responsible for bringing chamber music to the concert hall is Ludwig van Beethoven. He wrote chamber music for amateurs, such as the Septet of 1800, but his last string quartets are very complex works which amateurs would have struggled to play. They are also seen as pushing the boundaries of acceptable harmony of that time, and are regarded as some of his most profound works. Following Beethoven in the romantic period, many other composers wrote pieces for professional chamber groups. 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. 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. Ensembles This is a partial list of the types of ensembles found in chamber music. Number of Musicians> | Name | Common Ensembles | Instrumentation | Comments | | owspan=5| 2 | rowspan=2| Duo | Piano Duo | 2 pno | | Instrumental Duo> | any instrument and pno | Found especially as an instrumental sonatas; i.e., violin, cello, viola, horn, bassoon, clarinet, flute sonatas). | |rowspan=3| 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 | | owspan=2| 3 | rowspan=2| Trio | String Trio | vln, vla, vc | | Piano Trio> | vln, vc, pno | | owspan=3| 4 | rowspan=3| Quartet | String Quartet | 2 vln, vla, vc | |rowspan=2| Piano Quartet> | vln, vla, vc, pno | | vln, cl, vc, pno> | Rare; famous example: Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps; less famous: Hindemith (1938), Walter Rabl (Op. 1; 1896). | | owspan=4| 5 | rowspan=4| Quintet | rowspan=2| 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 | | owspan=4| 6 | rowspan=4| 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. | | Other Sextets> | cl, 2 vln, vla, vc, piano | 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. | | owspan=4| 8 | rowspan=4| Octet | cl, hrn, bsn, 2 vls, 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 cln, 2 hrn, 2 bsn | | 9 | Nonet | | olspan=5 border="0"| Index: vln - violin; vla - viola; vc - violincello or cello; cb - contrabass, string bass, or double bass; pno - piano; fl - flute; ob - oboe; cl - clarinet; bsn - bassoon; hrn - French horn | 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. External links - The Amateur Chamber Music Players publishes a contact list of musicians worldwide who play chamber music for their own enjoyment. They also publish lists of repertoire.
- http://www.composerplanet.com/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi?ChamberMusic
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