Chamber Music
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ScribdTranslationsChamber Music
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ScribdTranslationsChamber music is that which is composed for a small group of instruments, in
contrasting with orchestral music. The name comes from the places where they rehearsed.
small groups of musicians during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. To those rooms,
not very large, they were called chambers.
Relegated until then to the parlors of the aristocracy, chamber music began little by little.
little by little spreading in small concert halls and in private homes. This is induced by
due to the access of the bourgeoisie to instrumental practice and musical knowledge
also because, economically, a chamber ensemble was much more profitable than na
orchestra.
There are two details that allow us to properly characterize a chamber work: 1) each musician
play a different part and 2) there is no conductor; the musicians must be positioned in such a way that
they can look at each other, to achieve the best coordination. Works are not included for
solo instruments (this leaves aside all the literature for solo piano and compositions such as
the sonatas and partitas for violin or the suites for cello, by Bach). The word chamber
it implies that music can be played in a room, with an atmosphere of intimacy.
The chamber orchestra (in English chamber orchestra) is a small orchestra, and therefore
with the possibility of playing music inside a small room; it is not merely an orchestra
of string, because there can also be wind instruments.
Theoretically, there is no maximum limit to instruments, but in practice, most of the
compositions range from two to twenty.
There are many instrumental combinations, the most important of which is the quartet of
strings. Other common chamber groups are the string trio, the piano trio, the quintet
with piano and the string quintet. Wind and brass instruments are less common.
Some composers have written works for mixed groups of winds and strings, and some
they have been written for solo wind instruments, although the brass instruments (with
fallopian tube exception) have hardly been used. This may be because their
The loud sound is not suitable for the intimate atmosphere characteristic of the genre.
The most important Baroque form of this type is the sonata trio. In the classical period, it
they developed new forms, the most important being the string quartet. These works were
they generally wrote for amateurs, and it was assumed that they would not be performed in public. Many
of the string quartets by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for example, were
to be performed as entertainment and in private, for a string quartet of which they
they were part of.
In chamber music, each part is performed by a different musician; in music
orchestral, on the contrary, there are groups of musicians who perform the same part (all the
first violins, all the second violins, as well as the violas, the cellos and the
double basses). Many great soloists enjoy playing chamber music. Generally not
there is a visible conductor, but there is always a musician who leads the group and towards whom it
they direct the gaze of others; in the case of the string quartet, it is the first violin. Although
the repertoire is not suitable for beginners, there are pieces that are found within the
range of technical and artistic capabilities of the most prepared amateurs.
Chamber music groups
The sonata duo: a soloist accompanied by a piano.
The trio: the piano accompanies string instruments.
String trio: violin, viola, and a cello
Piano trio: piano, violin, and a cello
String quartet: two violins, one viola, and one cello
Piano quartet: piano, violin, viola, cello.
String quintet: two violins, viola, cello, and double bass.
Piano quintet: string quartet and piano.
Woodwind quintet: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn.
Brass quintet: one or two trumpets, French horn, trombone, and tuba.
Chamber orchestra: a small orchestra that typically has twenty to twenty-five musicians.
instrumentalists. This was the usual size of orchestras in the 18th century.
