Chamber Music
Chamber music is music
written for small combinations of instruments, expressing intimate and personal
emotions. Originally it was meant to be performed inside a room with friends
and not in the concert hall. From the room or chamber this music gets its name
Chamber Music. Almost all the composers have written beautiful music in this
form. But the best chamber music has come from Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. Chamber music starts with the combination of
two instruments, a "duo" as it is called and goes right up to nine
instruments or "Nonet". More than nine instruments become music for
small orchestra or chamber orchestra. For these small orchestras the composers
have also written works and these are known as sinfonias, or sinfonettas, or
concertinas, in other words small symphonies and concertos.
Given below are the
different categories of chamber music.
The Duo :
This can be in various combinations, two violins, violin and piano, piano and
oboe, piano and clarinet,
piano and flute, piano and horn. The most common is the violin and piano
combination and in this, the works of Mozart and Beethoven are the momentous.
The Trio Sonata:
This is virtually a duo because the third instrument merely holds on to the
note like the Indian Tanpura. Bach and Handel wrote a lot of Trio Sonatas. The
form really existed in the Baroque Age (1600-1740).
The Trio: Very popular
chamber music form. The most Popular combination is violin, piano and cello.
There are other combinations, violin, viola and cello (known as string trio).
Beethoven wrote some wonderful string trios. Then there is clarinet trio or clarinet,
cello and violin in which combination Mozart wrote and so did Brahms. but the
most famous trios are the piano trios of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and
Brahms. Dvorak's "Dumky" trio is also a lovely work;
The Quartet: most important is the string quartet
in which some of the greatest music of the composers have been written. This
consists of two violins, viola and cello. The string quartets of Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven and Schubert arc the most important. The string quartet like the symphony
can be called the backbone of western classical music. By dropping one
instrument of the string quartet usually the second violin and adding either
piano, horn or clarinet, the composers have obtained unique patterns of sound.
The two piano quartets of Mozart, written for piano, violin, viola and cello,
are very great works. Brahms wrote three piano quartets and so did Beethoven
and Dvorak. Mozart also wrote flute quartets and oboe quartets and also a horn
quartet where a fourth instrument outside the string family is added onto a
string trio.
Quintet:
The addition of a fifth instrument either a viola in case of Mozart and cello
in case of Schubert creates the form of
the string quintet. Mozart's string quintets are great works and so is the
string quintet of Schubert. If the fifth instrument is a piano it is known as a
piano quintet as in the case of Schubert's popular Trout Quintet. Schumann, Brahms
and Dvorak wrote piano quintets. Mozart and Beethoven also wrote a quintet for
a combination of a wind quartet, that is clarinet, oboe, bassoon and horn and
the piano as the fifth instrument. The piano and wind quintets of Mozart and
Beethoven are utterly ravishing works. Mozart, Brahms and Weber also wrote
clarinet quintets, where the clarinet takes the place of the piano.
Sextet:
The addition of two more instruments to the string quartet makes it a sextet.
Brahms wrote two beautiful string sextets. He also wrote string quintets like
Mozart. Mendelssohn and Dvorak also wrote string sextets.
Septet:
A combination of seven instruments makes it a Septet. The most famous work in
this category is the Septet by Beethoven. It is a product of Beethoven’s youth
full of passion and feeling.
Octet:
A combination of eight instruments, strings and winds makes it an Octet.
Schubert wrote a famous Octet for winds and strings while Mendelssohn wrote an
Octet only for strings Both are captivating works.
Nonet:
Nine instruments is a rare combination and only some contemporaries of
Beethoven like Spohr used it. Chamber music ends with the Nonet. After that it
becomes orchestra.
Practical reasons made
composers write for small groups for it was not always possible to get a large
orchestra. Sinfonias and Sinfonettas could be also performed easily. One can mention
Mozart's serenade for thirteen wind instruments, a masterwork that remains
unsurpassed in charm and beauty. Most of Mozart's divertimentos and serenades,
which contain some of his most vivacious music is written for a small orchestra
of ten to fifteen players.
Chamber music is the key
to feeling the pulse of the composers. The greater the composer the better his
chamber music output.
List of Chamber Music
1.
Haydn String Quartet ‘Lark’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNN_Kbuf7_U
2.
Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds in E
flat K452
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC9Qp6wKWsg
3.
Mozart Clarinet quintet K581 in A major
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTNbclgU3h4&t=380s
4.
Mozart: Oboe Quartet KV 370
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwTmzmi4AkQ
5.
Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No.
14, Op. 131
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlFYC1U5viw
6.
Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No.
15, Op. 132
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVbMB6iLPc
7.
Beethoven - Piano Trio, Op. 97 (Archduke
Trio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mrfy_D9JVE
8.
Franz Schubert String Quintet in C Major,
D. 956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3iX7x73JY
9.
Franz Schubert - Piano Quintet in A major,
D. 667, "Trout"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMr4pDGo0KE
10.
Johannes Brahms - Piano Quintet in F
minor, Op. 34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-DqO_D1g1g
