Symphonies Flashcards
Developments within the orchestra during the Classical Era were…
Abundant
New instruments such as the… were developed and the number of instruments employed…
Clarinet , increased
What did the symphony grow out of?
The Baroque Italian Overture, a piece in three sections: quick-slow-quick
What were the Baroque Italian overtures for?
The overtures, sometimes called “sinfonia”, were originally written to precede an opera or oratorio performance, but later played on their own
What was Haydn known as?
Often called “father of the symphony”
Why was Haydn known as “the father of the symphony”
Wrote at least 104, refining enriching and expanding the form and creating a template used by other composers
What did Mozart add to the symphony?
Much shorter life, wrote over 40 symphonies, taking the form from Haydn, by adding his own touches of orchestration and melody.
How many symphonies did Beethoven write?
9, moving quickly from symphonies in the classical style (No1 and No2) to large romantic pieces, expanding on depth of emotion
What is a symphony?
Is really a sonata for an orchestra, usually in 4 movements. The larger ensemble gave the composers even more opportunity to contrast timbres and to expand ideas
How big was the symphony orchestra?
At the time of Mozart and Haydn was not the large ensemble of today. When Haydn began working for Prince Esterházy he had about 20 musicians, with the possibility of hiring more for special occasions
What was the basis of the orchestra?
The string section with one or two players per part
How was the orchestra built, what were the order of added instruments?
- strings (1 or 2 per part)
- oboes / and or horns
- overtime other woodwind : 1 or 2 flutes and bassoons
- then trumpets and timpani
- the newly invented clarinet was also a possibility
What was the clarinet alternative to?
Haydn and Mozart viewed clarinets as an alternative to oboes and did not usually include both
During Haydn’s time working for Prince Esterházy, how large did the orchestra grow?
To about 25 musicians
When did Haydn write for a large ensemble?
In his six ‘Paris’ symphonies composed in 1785-1786
Who were the Paris symphonies written for?
For a Masonic lodge orchestra, with up to 40 violins and corresponding large wind and brass sections
When was another opportunity for Haydn to write for a larger orchestra?
London symphonies (numbers 93-104), performed during his visit there
By the end of the Classical Period what was the standard orchestra?
Comprised of pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets, timpani and strings (this is the orchestra Beethoven began his career)
What was the string section like?
Used instruments very similar looking to violins, violas, cellos and double basses played today, but with lighter and shorter bows and gut rather than metal strings
What were the flutes like?
Made of wood, with holes covered by fingers, rather than pads, which were a later invention, and had a smaller dynamic range and would be more difficult to keep in tune
What were oboes,clarinets and bassoons like?
Did have some keys but not as many as in modern instruments
Clarinets are transposing instruments ‘in A’ meaning that…
They play sound a minor third lower than written
How were brass instruments very different?
Both trumpets and horns would not have had any valves (used to alter the length of tubing and to play different notes) but would’ve been “natural” instruments. This meant they could play the notes of the harmonic series in a particular key by changing air and lip pressure, but other notes were unplayable. For this reason, brass instruments often do not play when the music has modulated or if a movement is in a different key . Sometimes brass players used crooks: sections of tubing inserted into the instruments to change the key. However this took time and was not possible during a movement, only between movements or different pieces
What are the order of instruments in scores?
- Woodwind (flutes, oboes,clarinets, bassoons)
- Horns (sometimes used with woodwind)
- other brass instruments
- percussion (in the middle of the score)
- string section (1st, 2nd violins, violas, then cellos and basses sharing a stave)
Trombe (sometimes instruments named in another language other than English)
Trumpets
What are “historically informed” performances?
The conductor and performers have tried to emulate how music sounded when it was first performed, these latter recordings use “period” instruments ( ie found specifically at the time of Haydn), such as natural brass instruments with crooks rather than valves, wooden flutes and string instruments with gut strings and an orchestra of about 41 players - the size of the orchestra in the first performance of Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement.
What are “authentic recordings”?
The pitch of recordings can also vary, Today a1 (A above middle C) = 440Hz, but in Haydn’s time there was no standard pitch and a1 was generally a little lower. The dynamics and articulation used can be a matter of personal taste
What is Monothematicism?
Means “one theme” and was a technique used by Haydn and Mozart (in his later works). It can be seen in Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement
What sort of phrasing is assumed in the Classical Era?
Assumed that there are “balanced” two or 4 bar antecedent-consequent phrases
What was the reality of phrasing?
Composers such as Haydn and Mozart delighted in writing unequal antecedent consequent phrases and sometimes merged the end of one phrase with the start of the next
