Origins of Chamber Music
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Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Origins of Chamber Music Neil Thompson Shade Acoustical Design Collaborative, Ltd Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Ancient Period – Before 500 A.D. Music – derived from goddess Muse – and had divine origins for Greeks –Music actively performed in Greek culture –Public concerts common between 6th & 4th centuries B.C. Greeks developed formalized music theory –Modes (precursor to scales) –Musical Musical intervals based on frequency ratios –Concepts of harmony Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Greek Cults Related to Music Apollo – Apollonian music – lyre (stringed instrument); accompaniment to singing Dionysus – Dionysian music – aulos (read instrument); accompaniment to choruses in great dramas Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Lyre Aulos Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 P f Performance Spaces S Music performed indoors & outdoors • Amphitheaters • Residences of wealthy and politicians • Legislative chambers (bouleuteria) – – – – – Seated less than 1250 Column-free spaces Upper pp walls had openings p g for daylight y g and ventilation Steeply raked seating High ceilings Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Bouleuterium at Termessus • • • • • 22 m by 22 m by 12 m high 850 seating ti capacity it 10 m sightline distance Stone walls and timber ceiling Occupied T60 – 3.7 37s Lyre and Voice Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Bouleuterium at Termessus Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Early Christian Period – 100 to 900 M i rejected Music j d as lleisure i entertainment i – Instrumental music considered pagan Singing became accepted form of musical expression – Liturgical Lit i l purposes only l No written tradition – music p passed down orally y – 9th century shaped note writing in use Not known if music a part of secular functions Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Late Medieval Period – 900 to 1400 Period of minstrels and troubadours Minstrels – societal outcasts played to village commoners – Little known of their music since not written down Troubadours (France) and Meistersingers (Germany) – Poet-composers played to landowners and royalty • Over 4000 poems and 1400 melodies were written down • Pastourelle – dramatic ballad and estampie – dance tune Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Musical Instruments Wide variety of instruments • Lyre – evolved into harp • Vielle Vi ll – evolved l d iinto t viol i l and d violin i li • Psaltery – evolved into clavichord • Lute, flute, horn, bagpipe, percussion Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Medieval Musicians Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Instrumental Ensembles Organized by loudness loudness, not pitch, pitch and contrasting tone quality • Haut – loud instruments • Bas – quiet instruments Viol,, lute,, drum,, horn,, and psaltery p y common grouping g p g Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Spaces Secular music performed in variety of spaces • • • • Taverns Guildhalls Landowner & royal residences Outdoor fairs and village greens No extant record of acoustic conditions in these spaces Medieval Tune Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Renaissance Period – 1400 to 1600 Music more important as art form • Increase in public and private performances • Musicians became professional class • Rise of wealthy amateur players • Patron – composer relationship Printing press – major impact on music • “How-to” “H t ” books b k for f teaching t hi music i • Part books for musicians • Eliminated hand manuscripts p – music more available Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Ensemble Types Two common ensembles • Sonata da camera (chamber sonata) • Sonata da chiesa ((church sonata)) Ensembles used up to 5 musicians • Ideal was homogenous sound for ensemble • Musical consort developed – Included I l d d allll iinstruments t t iin th the iinstrument t t ffamily il ffrom bass to soprano – Most p popular p were recorder and viol consorts Consort of Viols Soprano to Bass (left to right) Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Advances in Instruments Keyboards y • Clavichord (1300) – Originally for organ practice; used later as solo and accompaniment instrument • Origins of harpsichord (1440) – Replaced clavichord as accompaniment instrument due to greater acoustic power Woodwind and brass instruments • • • • Shawm – evolved into oboe and clarinet Recorder – evolved into flute Sackbutt – evolved into trombone Valveless horn – evolved into trumpet and French horn Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Clavichord Harpsichord Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Spaces Secular music played in variety of places • Patron’s villas • Dedicated salons for music performance • Large rooms with stone and tile finishes; tapestries common Occupied T60 exceeded 2 s Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Medici Music Room Medici House Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Representative Composers • • • • William Byrd John Dowland Michael Praetorius Henry y Purcell Purcell The Queen's Dolour Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Baroque Period – 1600 to 1730 B Baroque music i h had d origins i i iin IItaly l – style l very ornate • Patronage system defined musical style Impro ed m Improved musical sical skill res resulted lted in more comple complex compositions Two new instruments • • Violin – became prominent solo instrument Pianoforte – became primary composing and accompaniment instrument Violin development (1530 – 1744) • Cremona and Brescia home of master makers • Gasparo da Salò • Amati • Guarneri • Stradivari Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Stradivarius in His Workshop Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Piano Development Pianoforte (1700) • Pi Piano ((soft) ft) F Forte t (l (loud) d) • Developed by Bartolomeo Christofori • Replaced clavichord as main keyboard instrument – Greater acoustic power – Wider tonal compass p Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Cristofori’s Pianoforte Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Formats • • • • Dance suite Concerto grosso Fugue T i sonata Trio t – 3 or 4 movements – Basso continuo (lower pitched instrument) – Melodic instruments (higher pitched instruments) Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Spaces Courtly palaces • Small instrumental room • Larger instrumental room • Opera performance room Small Performance Space Handel’s Music Room Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Representative Composers • Johann Sebastian Bach • Archangelo Corelli • George Frederick Handel Bach Trio Sonata Corelli Sonata Handel Oboe Sonata Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Classical Period – 1730 to 1820 Referred to as First Viennese School Music not as ornate as Baroque q p period • Style involved repeated (call and response) phrases by different instruments P t Patronage system t less l important i t t for f many composers Some composers directly employed by wealthy • Haydn – Count Nikolaus Esterházy • Mozart – Frederick William II • Beethoven – Count Andry Razumovsky and Price Joseph Lobkowicz Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Composers Composers became more self-reliant for livelihood • Sold music to publishers • Promoted P t d their th i own concerts t • Paid for musician’s rehearsal time – As a result music became simpler Joseph Haydn • “Father” “ ” off string quartet • Created four movement format • Wrote 83 string quartets Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Expanded E d d on compositional iti l fformatt off Haydn • Wrote for larger ensembles • Included woodwinds notably y clarinet Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Composers Ludwig van Beethoven • 16 string quartets considered pinnacle of the form • Divided Di id d iinto t early, l middle, iddl and d llate t period i d quartets • Middle period quartets stretched to abilities of players Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Musical Instruments Musical instruments advanced in Classical era • Larger performance spaces required instruments with ith more carrying i power • Violins modified to produce greater acoustic power – Convex violin bow by François Tourte enabled greater acoustic power • Piano Pi replaces l h harpsichord i h d Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Spaces Variety V i off public bli and d private i spaces • Taverns – open to public • Public music rooms – membership only • Palaces of patrons • Public concert halls Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt Eisenstadt, Hungary • Haydn court composer 1761 to 1791 Empire p Hall • Small chamber hall • 10 m by 20 m by 6 m high • Seats 180 • Occupied T60 1.5 s Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Empire Hall Haydnsaal Esterhazy Palace Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Spaces Holywell Music Room in Oxford, UK • Oldest purpose built public concert hall (1742) • 10 m by 20 m by 8 8.5 5 m high • Seats 200 • Occupied T60 1.5 s Beethoven Archduke Trio Mozart String Quartet Schubert Trout Quintet Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Holywell Music Room Holywell Music Room - Interior Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Romantic Period – 1820 to 1910 Music making at amateur and professional levels advanced • Era of the public concerts • Music performance societies in major cities • Professional chamber music touring groups and soloists Schism between “absolute” and “programmatic” music • Absolute music did not have a thematic program – Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann • Programmatic music needed an extra-musical theme – Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner • Chamber music was considered absolute music Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 P f Performance Spaces S Public symphony halls fixture in major cities Chamber music performed in small halls, lecture rooms, and piano showrooms. Wigmore Hall in London, UK • Considered to be the finest chamber music hall • Built in 1901 as a piano performance room – Bechstein Piano Company (Germany) – Taken over by British during WW I • 26 m by 14 m by 12 m high • Concave ceiling • Seats 540 on flat floor and balcony • Small S ll alcove l shaped h d stage t Franck Piano • Occupied T60 1.5 s Quintet Dvorak Dumky Piano Trio Debussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Wigmore Hall Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 M d Modern P Period i d – 1910 tto presentt Chamber music became increasingly divergent Five distinct periods p • • • • • • New Music (1910-1930) – Second Viennese School • Arnold Schoenberg Neo-Classicism (1930-1950) – Igor Stravinsky – Aaron Copeland – Dmitri Shostakovich Absolute Serialism (1950-1960) – Pierre Boulez – Karlheinz Stockhausen – Olivier Messiean Indeterminism (1950-1970) – Charles Ives – John Cage g Minimalism (1960 to present) – Terry Riley – Steve Reich – Philip Glass p Specializing p g in 20th Century y Music Performance Groups – Kronos Quartet (USA) – Arditti Quartet (England) – Ensemble Researche (Germany) Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Performance Spaces • • • • • • • • Coolidge Auditorium at Library of Congress in Washington, DC Built in 1924 Paid for by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge – Amateur pianist and philanthropist Seats 500 Steeply raked floor 24 m b by 24 m b by 9 m hi high h Occupied T60 1.5 s Premiered many 20th century chamber pieces Shostakovich String Quartet Schoenberg String Trio Prokofiev Concertino for Cello Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Coolidge Auditorium Concert Hall Research Group Summer 2010 Questions?
