Chapter 11 Musical Ensembles

Homogenous Sound: Chorus

Large body of singers

Choir

Smaller group of singers

Voice ranges

Soprano, alto, tenor, bass SATB

a cappella (“in the chapel”)

unaccompanied singers

Smaller ensembles

Madrigal choir, chamber choir (smaller ensembles)

Chamber music

Two to twelve players, one player per part

String quartet

Two violins, viola, cello

(Chamber music) duo sonata

solo instrument with piano

piano trio, quartet and quintet

Piano and string instruments

Large groups

String quintet, sextet, septet, octet

Wind combinations

Woodwind and brass quintets

Standard chamber ensembles

(Heterogenous performing body) diverse instruments

gongs, xylophone-like instruments, and drums

Gamelan orchestra

Balinese and Javanese

Symphony orchestra: western ensemble

Strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion

A symphony orchestra has

More than one hundred musicians

The Orchestra

Band: American institution

Winds and percussion at core

Wind, or concert band has

Forty to eighty players

Marching band

Sports events, parades

Marching band military origins

Drum majors, majorettes, flags, and rifles

Jazz bans instrumentation

Saxophones, clarinet, trumpets trombones

Jazz band cont.

percussion, piano, double bass, and electric guitar

The role of the conductor

Group leader for larger ensembles

The conductor

Interprets music, decides tempo, and dynamics

Baton

Stick used to beat standard metric patterns

Basic conducting patterns

Duple, Triple, Quadruple, and Sextuple meter

Concertmaster

First-chair violinist

Benjamin Brittens Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra was written to

Illustrate instrument timbres (polyphonic form, Baroque era)