Classical Music: Orchestra, String Quartet, Composers, and Vocal Styles
Classical Orchestra
The word orchestra comes from the Greek and means “place to dance.” This definition goes back to about the 5th century BC when representations were made in outdoor theaters. Opposite the main area of activity was a space for singers and instruments. This space was named “orchestra”. Today, orchestra refers to a group of musicians playing together, with a more or less standard formation of instruments (the exact number depends on the type of music).
String Quartet
The String Quartet is widely seen as one of the most important forms of chamber music, given that many renowned composers from the 18th century wrote works for string quartet. A musical composition for four performers of stringed instruments can be of any type, but traditionally has four movements within a large-scale structure, similar to that of the symphony.
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn (Rohrau an der Leitha, March 31, 1732 – Vienna, May 31, 1809), a classical composer, is one of the leading representatives of the Classical period in addition to being known as the “Father of the Symphony” and the “Father of the String Quartet.” His brother Michael was also a composer, though less known.
Gluck
Christoph Willibald von Gluck, a German-Bohemian composer of Germanic origin, was born in Erasbach, Oberpfalz on July 2, 1714, and died in Vienna on November 15, 1787. He premiered his first opera, Artaxerxes, in Milan in 1741, stayed in Italy until 1745, then traveled to London, Dresden, and Vienna.
Musical and Vocal Styles
Zarzuela
La Zarzuela is a form of theatrical music or stage musical genre that emerged in Spain with instrumental parts, vocal parts (solos, duets, chorus, etc.), and spoken parts. It differs from opera in that it is sung in Spanish and includes spoken parts instead of the sung recitative of opera. It is also cultivated in Cuba and Venezuela, where composers Ernesto Lecuona and Jose Angel Montero, respectively, have excelled.
Bel Canto
Bel canto (Italian for “beautiful singing”) in opera is a vocal style that developed in Italy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It features perfect legato production along the entire vocal range, as well as the development of virtuosic coloratura features like the trill, the brilliance of the treble and high notes, and the perfect handling of breathing.
Leitmotiv
A leitmotiv is a short, recurring musical phrase associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is a sound or tonal sequence, recurring throughout the work, to be sung (as in opera) or instrumental (as in a symphony). By association, it is identified with a certain poetic content and refers to it every time it occurs. Thus, a certain melody can represent a character, an object, an idea, or a feeling.
Lied
Lied is the German word for “song.” In the history of European classical music, the term refers to a composition typical of Germanic countries and written for one singer with piano accompaniment. This type of composition, which emerged from the Classical era (1750-1820), flourished during the Romantic period and evolved during the 20th century. Typically, it is characterized by the brevity of the form, the waiver of bel canto virtuosity, the close relationship with the poem, and the strong influence of German folk songs.