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Chamber Music America defines chamber music as music for small ensembles,
whose members generally perform one to a part without a conductor.
At the heart of chamber music lies the spirit of collaboration and the
role of the individual performer. Chamber music places the highest order
of responsibility upon the individual to engage in a close musical
dialogue with the other performers in the ensemble without the aid of a
conductor. As a collaborative expression, as in an ideal democracy,
chamber music relies upon the collective musical instincts, experience,
knowledge, and talents of its participants to guide the process of
interpreting, rehearsing and performing.
Historically, chamber music has referred to western classical music
written for small ensembles such as the string quartet. Today, however,
many different kinds of musical styles and ensembles thrive in the diverse
world that is chamber music.
It is serious music performed by a small group of musicians.
The phrase chamber music is now used to mean a piece of music written by a
composer for a small musical ensemble in which no two instruments play the
same music. It is opposed to orchestral music or opera, for example.
It is ensemble music for up to about ten players, with one player to a part.
It is music written to be performed by one player to a part - such as
trios, quartets, and quintets. The string quartet is the principal form of
chamber music.
chamber music is ensemble music for small groups of instruments, with only
one player to each part. Its essence is individual treatment of parts and
the exclusion of virtuosic elements. Originally played by amateurs in
courts and aristocratic circles.
The string quartet remained the principal combination in chamber music.
The string quartet, consisting of two violins, a viola and a cello, was
written with four movements, closely resembling the structure of a
symphony. Its defining characteristic was the balanced equality of each
part. All parts were separate with no instrument doubling with another or
adopting a subservient supportive role. Each delicately constructed part
was crucial as an individual component within a precision machine. To
write with such precision meant that only composers of true greatness were
capable of mastering the complex technical requirements. Haydn, Mozart
and Beethoven were the three greatest exponents of the string quartet.
The string quartet remained the principal combination in chamber music but
other combinations also became available. Trios, quartets and quintets
were assembled in various combinations:
String trio: violin, viola, and cello
Piano trio: piano, violin, and cello
Mixed quartet: piano (say) and three bowed instruments
String quintet: two violins, two violas and cello (sometimes two
violins, viola and two cellos)
Mixed quintet: piano/clarinet/flute (say) and two violins, viola and
cello.
It should be noted that 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.
2003/08/30
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