=Causeway Performing Arts=
GCSE Music AoS 2: Shared Music (Vol. 7)
Baroque and Classical
Chamber Music
in conjunction with www.musicdepartment.info
1 EE 5
5
5
Violin I G 55 5 55
Presto
pp
Violin II
EE 5
G 555 5555
pp
Viola
E
E 55 5
pp
E
B
E
Violoncello
2
pp
B
5
MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The label ʻChamber Musicʼ comes from the fact that this type of music was originally
performed in a chamber or small room, rather than a large building such as a cathedral or
concert hall. Chamber music is instrumental music written for a small group of players (often
between two and eight). The groups are labelled according to the number of performers ʻtrioʼ for three, ʻquartetʼ for four, ʻquintetʼ for five and so on. To begin with, chamber music was
performed in front of private audiences in aristocratic or royal households. Today it is usually
performed in concert rooms or small concert halls.
A string quartet in concert
Chamber music is like an intimate musical conversation. It is an opportunity for performers to
work together with precision. There is no conductor and so a close relationship between the
players is vital if the music is to be interpreted with style. The ability to communicate to an
audience is also important, and because chamber music involves only a handful of players
and is usually performed in a small room, the ensemble and audience are often quite close to
each other.
While rehearsing, a chamber ensemble will usually sit in a circle or semi-circle so the players
are all facing each other. This means that visual signals are easy to see, such as a quick
glance up or a lift of a bow to change the tempo of the music.
When performing, the players still have to be able to see each other, but they also need to be
aware of whom they are performing to. You are unlikely to see a chamber performance where
the musicians are sitting in a circle, as they do in rehearsal as they would have their backs to
the audience!
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BAROQUE AND CLASSICAL MUSIC
There are a number of differences between Baroque and Classical music. The following
section explains a few of the main differences that you are likely to come across in your study
of chamber music.
Texture
In chamber music each player has their own individual part that is not doubled by anyone
else. This means that in a quartet, for example, there will be four different lines in the music,
none of which will be exactly the same. Looking at how these different lines fit together gives
us an understanding of texture.
BAROQUE
The term contrapuntal is used to describe one type of texture commonly found in Baroque
music.
In contrapuntal music, each line in the music is independent from the others. Sometimes
each line will have a separate melody, made up of different notes and rhythms. So in a
quartet, for example, four different melodies could be heard at the same time.
At other times each line will have the same or similar melody, but they will be heard slightly
apart from each other. So in a string trio, the ʻcello might enter with the melody first, then the
viola a bar later, and the violin a bar after that. This is called imitation, and is illustrated in the
example below:
1 Violin G Allegro
0
0
0
= 5 5M 5 5 5 5 5 5M
Viola
5M
M M
mp
M E5 :
5
5M
5
5
=
5
5
M
'Cello
2 5M M 5M 5 5 5 5:
M
mp
p
The viola part in the music
example above uses the
alto clef. The alto clef
looks as though it is
formed from two ʻCʼs
facing backwards. The line
where these Cs meet is
middle C. So the first note
the viola starts on is an A,
2 notes below middle C.
= 5M 5M 5M 5 5 5 5 5M 5
M
mp M
5E5 :
5M
5:
p
5M M 5 = 5M 5M 5M
5
mp
5:
5M
5M
5
5M 5 :
p
5M
M M
= 5 5 5M
5 555555 55 5555555
Although the emphasis in contrapuntal music is on the melody,
composers also have to make sure that the notes heard at the
same time create good harmony. This technique of composing is
called counterpoint.
If four people were talking at the same time there would be a
complete confusion of sound, but the wonderful thing about
music is that several ideas can be played at the same time and
the overall effect makes sense!
Another type of texture often found in Baroque music is homophony. In homophonic music,
each person usually plays the same rhythm at the same time. Often one part has the main
melody and the other parts accompany with chord notes. In music such as this, when
everyone is playing the same rhythm, the musicians have to take extra care to make sure
they are always together. Chamber music players usually look at each other to pick up subtle
signs such as wave of the bow, nod of the head, breathing in time to keep everyone together.
Here is an example of homophony:
1 Violin G :
5
Largo
Viola
'Cello
5 :
2 5:
f
f
f
5M
5M
5M
5M 5:
5M 5 :
5M 5 :
5:
5
5:
5 B
E5
B
5 B
CLASSICAL
A characteristic texture of Classical music is melody with accompaniment. One part has a
clear melody and the others provide an accompaniment. The accompanying parts are made
up of broken or block chords, rather than independent melodies.
Sometimes the melody can be shared out between the parts, allowing each instrument to
demonstrate itʼs own character and sound. This next example shows how players can work
together in pairs. In each two-bar phrase, one part has the main melody and another has a
supporting bass line with the same rhythm, while the other two parts play accompanying
chords in quavers. Frequent changes of role within the texture (as players swap from having
an accompanying part to the main melody) means that the musicians have to be alert and
sensitive to the other parts, making quick adjustments in terms of when to lead and when to
be in the background.
1 B
Violin I G Moderato
mf
5
5
EB
B
= 5 5 = 5 = 5 = 5 5 = 5 5
5
5
5
mp
5 = 5 5 = 5 5 5 = 5 5 5
Violin II G = 5
5
5
5 5 EB
B
B
mp
mf
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
= = = 5 = 5 5
B
B
B
Viola = 5
mp
mf
B
5 5 5 = 5 = = 5 5 5 = 5 5 5
B
5
=
5
'Cello
B
5
2 mf
mp
Notice the question-and-answer phrasing in the example. Violin I and ʻCello ask the
question, which is answered by Violin II and Viola. There is clearly a different type of musical
conversation in this extract from the contrapuntal example earlier on.
Dynamics
BAROQUE
Volume contrasts in Baroque music tend to be
sudden rather than gradual. For example, loud
phrases are often immediately echoed by quiet
ones. There are several reasons for this, one of
which is to do with the sound made by the
Harpsichord, an instrument used in a large
amount of Baroque chamber music. The
harpsichord is similar to the piano, except that
the strings are plucked rather than hit. Unlike the
piano the harpsichord cannot sustain sounds or
create gradual changes in volume, so this limited
Baroque composers in how they could use
dynamics in their music. The blocks of loud and
quiet sound they create as a result are known as
terraced dynamics.
A Harpsichord
CLASSICAL
The invention of the piano (with its touch
sensitive keys) and developments in other
instruments meant that it became easier for
composers to include more subtle dynamic
changes in Classical music. Because of this, there are more crescendos and diminuendos
in Classical music that in Baroque music.
Ornaments are
small musical
additions that
decorate a
melody. Grace
notes and trills
are two types of
ornaments.
A continuo is an
accompanying
part in
instrumental
music of the
Baroque period.
Ornaments
Ornaments are a characteristic of Baroque music, especially in any
repeated sections of a piece. Even though you might not see many
ornaments written out in the music itself, they are usually added in by
performers to decorate the melody. Ornaments are used much less in
Classical music.
Instruments
In the Baroque period, chamber music was written for many different
combinations of instruments. In a Baroque trio, for example, there are
usually two melody instruments and a continuo part. The continuo part
is usually played by a keyboard or ʻCello, but the two melody instruments
could be almost anything, for example, two flutes, an oboe and a
bassoon, or a recorder and a violin. A lot of the time, composers didnʼt
actually specify which instruments they had in mind to play their music so it could be played
by any suitable combination of instruments.
In the Classical period, chamber ensembles became more fixed in terms of which
instruments were used. The string quartet (two Violins, Viola and ʻCello) became very popular
and a great deal of music was written for this combination. Another ensemble used by
Classical composers was the piano trio. A piano trio does not contain three piano as you
might expect, instead it has one piano, one violin and one ʻcello.
PACHELBEL: CANON IN D MAJOR
You may recognise this famous piece by the Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel, which
demonstrates the Baroque love of counterpoint. It has been performed on and arranged for a
great variety of instruments over the centuries, but was originally written for just three violins
and continuo.
In a canon the melody is imitated by the other parts exactly, just like when you sang
Londonʼs burning at Primary school, that is a canon. In Pachelbelʼs Canon, the melody is first
played by Violin I. The other two Violins both play exactly the same melody but they start two
bars after each other. The beginning of the piece is printed below for you to see how the
violin parts are all playing the same melody and hopefully to help you hear that they are as
well.
Violin 1
1 EE G E
G E Violin 2
Violin 3
Continuo bass
Vln. 1
Vln. 2
Vln. 2
Vc.
2
E
G E 0
0
0
0
0
0
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5
5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 5 5 5 5
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
EE 5 5
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
7
1 EE
55 5
:
5
5
5
5 555555 5
G 55555555 5 555 55 555
5
E
GE5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 55555555 5 555555
5
E 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
GE
2
EE 5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
You might also have noticed that the continuo part repeats the same two bars over and over
again. This repeated pattern is called a ground bass. You might remember doing a whole
topic on ground bass in year 9. We looked at Michael Nymanʼs ʻTime Lapseʼ. The continuo
part clearly outlines the harmony of the music - the ʻCello plays the tonic note of each chord,
while the harpsichord fills out the other chord notes.
Listen to how the layers of sound build up as each part enters, creating a contrapuntal
texture. As the piece progresses after this printed extract, the note lengths get shorter and
the rhythms busier. Towards the end of the piece, the note lengths become longer again and
all the parts come together on the final chord.
In this type of texture where all parts are of equal importance, no one player should stand out
more than the others. However, to create variety and interest, the musicians in the ensemble
might decide that the ʻcellist should stand out at certain times while the violin 1 should
dominate at other times, and so on. These are decisions that musicians often have to make
in all styles of music.
In a busy contrapuntal texture the musicians have to work hard to make sure that the music
doesnʼt sound like a muddle. By sensitively bringing certain parts out, varying the dynamics
and adding in phrasing, the musicians can work together to make this sustained contrapuntal
texture sound musical and interesting.
HAYDN: STRING QUARTET OP. 76, NO.2
This string quartet by Haydn uses a greater variety of textures. You should be able to pick
out examples of the three types of textures discussed so far. To help you, lets look at the start
of the first movement. The first four bars are:
Violin I
1 G B
f
G = f5
M 5M
Viola 5M 5M 5M
f
55
Violoncello
2 5 M M
fM
Violin II
B
B
5M
5M
5M
= 5M 5M
= 5 5
M M
= 5M 5M
5M
5M
5M
= 5M 5M
= 5 5
M M
= 5M 5M
5M
5M
5M
B
= E 5M 5M
= 5 5
M M
= 5M 5M
5E 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5
5
!5 5 5E5 5 4
M
4
5
5M 5E 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5M 5M E 5M
4
5:
5M B
E 5 5 5 5 5 5M
5M 5M 5M 5M E5M 5M 5
B
5 4
M
Here the melody is played by Violin 1 and the other parts accompany, first with short quaver
chords (bars 1-2) and then with more melodic phrases (bars 3-4). This texture can be
described as melody with accompaniment, although you could argue that the last two bars
are contrapuntal? Even though all parts are marked f , the violin melody should stand out
and the other musicians should be careful not to play too loud.
This is soon followed by a homophonic passage in bar 27:
27
M 5 5M M M B
5
5
5 55 55
B
1 Violin I G
p
Violin II
Viola
5 5M 5 5M 5 5M 5 5M 5
B B
G 5 5M 5
M
5 5
p
5M 5 5M
= B B
p
M 5 5M 5 5M B B
5
5
5 5M =
Violoncello
2 p
M M
EB 5 E5 5 5 5M 5 5M!5 5M 5 5M 5 5
= =
4
M M 5 5M 5 5M 5 5M
5
5
5
5
=
55 =5 5 4
EB 5 5 5M 5 5M 5 5M 5 5M 5M 5M
B 5 = 5 5
= 4
!B 5
5 5 M 5 5M M 5 5M 55
= 55
= 5M 5M 4
Haydn has added a lot of articulation marks to these five bars. There are slurs that join the
minims together in bars 28-29, informing us that they should be played smoothly. There are
small crescendos underneath each of the tied quavers and staccato dots on top (bars 27
and 30). This means that every pair of tied quavers start quietly and get louder, and each pair
should be slightly separated from the next. In any homophonic music chamber players have
to work hard to stay together, but here they also have to be careful to achieve the same
dynamics and phrasing.
1 = G
55 55 55 = 5M 5M 5M
M M M
= Violin II G = 5M 5M 5M 5M 5M 5M
Viola =
E5M 5M 5M = 5M 5M 5M
Violoncello
B
2 B
At bar 58 we can see an example of a melody being shared between different instruments:
Violin I
When a melody is
inverted the intervals
between the notes are
turned upside down. For
example, a rising 5th (D
to A) becomes a falling
5th (D to G)
B
= = B
B
5M 5M 5M 5M 5M 5M
B
= = 0
0
5M 5M 5M 5M 5M 5M
= 5 5 5 = E5 5 5 = 5 5 5 = 5 5 5 = E5 5 5 = 5 5 5
M M M M M M
M M M M M M
M M M M M M
B
= 5M 5M 5M = 5M 5M 5M = 5M 5M 5M = 5M 5M 5M
B
The first two bars of the melody are heard in the cello part and the
second two bars in violin I. Even though there are no dynamics to
indicate so, this quick role swap means that the violinist will have to
play the first two bars (the accompanying quavers) slightly quieter
than the second two bars (the main melody). Equally the cellist will
play louder in the first two bars and quieter in the second two.
Notice that the violin melody is an inversion of the cello melody.
These three example illustrate how musicians have to vary how they work together when
performing different textures. Listen to the rest of the first movement and think about how the
texture changes, and how the roles of the musicians change as a result.
Listening ideas
Listen to and compare as much chamber music as you can. Here are a few suggestions
of further Baroque and Classical chamber pieces that you could listen to:
•
•
•
•
•
Telemann: Tafelmusik (a collection of chamber music pieces for a variety of
different instrument combinations)
Corelli: Trio Sonatas op. 1-4 (for two violins and continuo)
Mozart: String quartet No. 4 in G minor K. 516
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581
Schubert: String quartet No. 14 in D minor (known as ʻDeath of the Maidenʼ
quartet)
Ask yourself these questions as you listen to the music:
•
•
•
•
Who has the main melody? Is it passed around the other payers?
What is the texture like? How are the parts balanced?
Are the dynamic changes gradual or sudden? Does everyone always play at
the same dynamic, or are some parts louder while others play quieter?
Are there any changes in tempo? How do you imagine these changes of
tempo might have been led or decided on in the performance?
Test yourself
1.
Describe the following musical textures:
•
Contrapuntal
•
Homophonic
•
Melody with accompaniment
2.
Describe three differences between chamber music in the Baroque and Classical
periods.