I have included this partial citation about the historical development of the orchestra, for those of us who have students in youth symphonies and for those teachers and adults who may also play in local community orchestras.
How the Orchestra Grew
Taken From: Instruments of the Orchestra Pp. 65-72
By Madeau Stewart with a forward by Yehudi Menuin
“The modern orchestra has grown up (a)round the string family. At first there was no regular method of dividing up the strings, but by 1700 the basic pattern of the string orchestra was set: first violins, second violins, violas and cellos with the double basses playing the same part as the cellos an octave lower. This grouping of the strings has lasted down to the present day, except that during the last 200 plus years the cellos have been allowed to leave the bass part occasionally and use their expressive tenor voices much more.
The early string orchestra was always grouped (a)round a keyboard instrument, usually a harpsichord. The harpsichord player gave the lead to the group and filled out the harmonies of the music. It could also play the part of any instrument that might not be available.
Other instruments played with the strings and harpsichord. Between about 1680 and 1750 there were no hard and fast rules about which instruments they should be. Oboes and bassoons often did and so did the trumpets and horns. Composers wrote music for the instruments that happened to be at hand, and they were not fussy if a flute played an oboe part, or the other way round.
When J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750) was working for Prince Leopold, he had a small band of eighteen musicians, of which the harpsichord and the strings were the main section. Besides the strings, Bach had other instruments at his disposal. If a piece were made up of several movements, he would often add different wind instruments to each movement for a change of color”.
Orchestra History Time Line –
- Time: Up to 1700
- Where it played: Mainly in churches and theaters; concerts were usually given in private houses of noblemen
- Directed from the keyboard
- Instrumentation: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, keyboard instrument and often oboes or flutes, bassoons, trumpets and drums
- Average number of players: 20
- Time: 1700 – 1750
- Where it played: churches, theaters (operas); private houses of noblemen; music in public gardens
- Directed from keyboard or violin desk
- Instrumentation: strings, harpsichord, oboes and /or flutes, bassoons, horns, trumpets and drums
- Average number of players: 20 – 40
- Time: 1750 – 1800
- Where it played: public concerts; private houses of noblemen; opera houses; theaters
- Directed from keyboard or violin desk
- Instrumentation: Strings, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and drums
- Average number of players: 30 – 50
Classical Orchestra –
Up to the end of the eighteenth century, a composer was usually a musical servant in an aristocratic household; and he was expected to provide musical entertainment when it was needed. During the eighteenth century, at a princely court, the composer would have an orchestra of anything from twenty to sixty players at his disposal, in which he would play the harpsichord or sometimes the violin, conducting at the same time. One of the chief jobs for him and his orchestra would be to accompany singers; for until about 1760 people generally preferred to listen to vocal music. Another job the orchestra had to do was to provide pleasant background music for dinner parties and receptions. In these circumstances people would not pay much attention to the orchestra itself and the composer would not be very particular about which instruments played as long as there was a reasonable sound.
During the course of the eighteenth century, however, a new kind of music called the symphony was developing which was played by the orchestra on its own. People listened to this music for its own sake and, as the orchestra became the center of attention, composers began to take a great deal of trouble over the way the orchestra was made up. The greatest composers of orchestral music in the eighteenth century were Mozart and Haydn.
- Time: 1800 – 1850
- Where it played: Public concerts; opera houses; theaters
- Conducted with a stick
- Instrumentation: Strings, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and very often – piccolo, cor anglais ( English Horn) bass clarinet, double bassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 1 tuba and percussion
- Average number of players: 60 – 80
- Time: 1850 – 1900
- Where it played: Public concerts, opera houses
- Conducted with a stick
- Strings, woodwinds and brass as before, but horns and trumpets with valves and much extra percussion
- Average number of players: 80 – 100
History of the Orchestra Links:
History of the Orchestra from the Phoenix Symphony website.
“People have been putting instruments together in various combinations for millennia, but it wasn’t until about 400 years ago that musicians started forming combinations that would eventually turn into the modern orchestra.”
Short video by Oliver Condy, Editor of BBC Music Magazine
From the New World Encyclopedia
