Modern orchestra can be considered originating from the Baroque period which started in the year 1600 and ended in 1750. The higher role in shaping the orchestral tradition was played by such composers as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frideric Handel.
Role of Orchestras in Baroque Music
From the mid nineteenth century, orchestras were gradually starting to assume a more familiar shape. Groups usually comprised strings, harpsichords, and a few numbers of wind and brass instruments. To keep these musicians together, the concept of a conductor or the principal violinist, or the composer increased.
The Baroque orchestra put concentration on opposition and elaboration, and pieces were designed with a complicated line and counterline. Concertos, overtures and suites emerged as some of the common forms each of which underlined the developing possibilities of the orchestra.
Key Composers: Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel
- Johann Sebastian Bach: Even simple music forms such as orchestral suites and the Brandenburg Concertos were authored by Bach and his music was paradigmatic of the Baroque era with rich and intricate textures and exacting structures .
- Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons is a masterpiece of Baroque music; Vivaldi was an excellent violin player, who combined a solo violin with an orchestra.
- George Frideric Handel: Messiah, and all of Handel’s operas, and oratorio works demonstrated how orchestras could effectively be dramatic in their presentation, utilizing both voice and instruments effectively.
Classical Period
The Classical era (1750-1820) can be called an epoch of the formation of the orchestral tradition as an organized form.
Standardization of the Orchestra
This era saw the formalization of orchestral sections: Strings (violins, violas cellos, double basal strings), woodwind instruments(flutes, clarinets,oboes,bassoons) ,brass (horns, trumpets and lastly percussion instruments (timpani). The composers started writing symphonies and concertos in which these differentiated sections were set as equal providing a balanced and harmonic musical structure to the performance.
Contributions of Haydn and Mozart
- Joseph Haydn: This Mozart was referred to as the “Father of the Symphony” composed over 100 symphonies and laid down the format as well as formation of an orchestra. Those works of his were notable for the clear, elegant form, and effective contrasts.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: As a child protege and a musical virtuoso Mozart enriched the expressiveness and the virtuosity of an orchestra. His orchestrating capability was well evident in his compositions like Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”) and operas like The Magic Flute.