An orchestra is an enlarged group of musicians, where many instrumental parts are joined together to form groups and play together in unison with the conductor. It is one of the most acclaimed kinds of music, which is characterized by its capability to make complex and rather powerful sound. Everyone associated orchestras with classical music, but they perform many types of music from jazz to movie soundtracks and contemporary pieces.
The word “orchestra” stems from the Greek word; orkhestra meaning the circular platform which the chorus singers used in ancient theaters. In centuries the idea was transformed to mean a single collective of performers on instruments and the evidence of human ingenuity through music.
Historical Roots and Evolution of Orchestras
Today’s orchestra has gone through numerous changes throughout the centuries. It has its origin in some of the earliest societies, which man invented. To the ancient Greek and Roman, music was very integral part of worship and drama. These early ensembles were primitive involving flutes, lyres, percussion instruments and formed the basis of the later established orchestras.
playing instruments occurred in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance where musicians performed in groups in courts and churches. During this period, there was development of the so called instrumental families, for example strings and woodwinds. In the late renaissance people started to have the concept of grouping together different and various instruments to form an ensemble more or less similar to proto orchestras.
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1600–1750), which belong to the Baroque epoch, can be considered the formative years of orchestras. The use of ensembles developed with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi writing pieces for string instruments, harpsichords and a few instruments of wind. An additional person, often the composer or one of the leading musicians, was selected as a conductor beginning around this time.
The next development and refinement came with the so called Classical period (1750–1820). Pioneering composers like Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart standardized the orchestra, defining its structure with distinct sections: vowels, consonants, timber and drums. This period also focus on the balance, clarity and formal structure of compositions and it further established the role of the orchestra as a significant part of the Western music.
During the Romantic period (1800-1899) orchestras saw growth both in size and in purpose. Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner began to incorporate dramatic, intense music, usually for a big group of musicians. In this period, new instruments like the tuba and the piccolo were added to the orchestra and therefore enhancing on the emotive tools of the orchestra.
In the twentieth century orchestras began to change with the newer styles of music, and began embracing the new and the hi-tech. Some of the prominent composers of the 20th century such as Igor Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein come together with radical ideas of rhythm, harmony and instrumentation. Orchestras are still present today, and have incorporated traditional elements with new forms to create music.