What type of orchestra does not exist. Types of orchestras

An orchestra is a large number of musicians who simultaneously play different musical instruments. An orchestra differs from an ensemble by the presence of entire groups of individual types of musical instruments. Quite often in an orchestra, one part is performed by several musicians at once. The number of people in the orchestra may vary, the minimum number of performers is fifteen, the maximum number of performers is not limited. If you want to listen to a live orchestra in Moscow, you can order tickets for the concert on the website biletluxury.ru.

There are several types of orchestras: symphony, chamber, pop, military and folk orchestra. They all differ from each other in the composition of their musical instruments.

A symphony orchestra must have strings, winds and percussion instruments. Also in a symphony orchestra there may be other types of musical instruments that are necessary for the performance of a certain piece. A symphony orchestra can be large or small, it all depends on the number of musicians.

In a chamber orchestra, musicians play wind and string instruments. This orchestra can perform musical works even while moving.

In addition to the instruments used in a symphony orchestra, the variety orchestra includes electronic musical instruments. For example, synthesizer, rhythm section, etc.

A jazz orchestra uses wind and string instruments, as well as special rhythm sections that perform only jazz compositions.

The folk music orchestra uses ethnic musical instruments. Russian groups use the balalaika, button accordion, zhaleika, domra, etc.

The military orchestra includes performers who play percussion, as well as wind musical instruments, namely brass and wood. For example, on trumpets, trombones, serpents, clarinets, oboes, flutes, bassoons and others.

Today, almost every musical theater on the planet has its own orchestra pit. But there were times when it simply did not exist. Having wondered about the history of its origin, this is what we managed to find out.

Is it true that the orchestra pit was invented by Richard Wagner?

No. The great German composer Richard Wagner was indeed a reformer in the field of music, but he did not invent the orchestra pit. He only made some adjustments to its location, moving it deeper under the stage and hiding it with a special canopy. The pit itself appeared at a time when even the concept of “ conductor"didn't exist yet.

When did the concept of “pit” appear?

During the Renaissance, a group of musicians of the European theater successfully found a language with the performers and without a special leader, being located on the same level with the audience of the lower tier until the third quarter of the 19th century. The place that we today call the ground floor began to be called the “pit” during the Renaissance. True, it did not have any signs of prestige, there were no chairs, the audience had to stand throughout the action, and the floor was often dirt, where the holders of the cheapest tickets threw everything they ate during the many-hour performances - nut shells and orange peels. And next to these " groundlings", making up the audience of the "pit" for 1 penny (the cost of a portion of cheap beef), there were also musicians playing along with the artists performing on a high platform. It was only in 1702 that this place for musicians at the playing platform began to be called by the ancient Greek word “ orchestra"(translated from Greek " place for dancing»).

Pit at the stage of Shakespeare's Globe Theater

How did the conductor appear?

By the beginning of the 18th century, the number of participants in the orchestra continued to grow, revealing a great problem in maintaining tempo. This is why there was a need for a leader who could lead the team during the game. They often became a musician who performed one of the parts. His main task was to maintain a strong share.

In the era of diversity of violin instruments (the last third of the 18th century), when viols of different sizes were replaced by viola, cello, and double bass, the leader of the orchestra was often the first violinist, using a sheet of white paper rolled into a tube for control. At the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries, the first conductors stood facing the auditorium in the center of the orchestra on a small elevation. And the orchestra was still located at the ramp, on the same level as the stalls. However, by the end of the 19th century, his situation changed. He stood next to the row of first violins, with his back to the audience, and could see everything that was happening on stage. This innovation belongs to Richard Wagner.

Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)

What else did Richard Wagner come up with?

In addition to a new instrument - the bass trumpet, moving the conductor's console and a number of reforms in composition, harmony, and action, he moved the orchestra to a special niche near the ramp, lowered below stage level and covered from above with a special device. Many researchers sacralize this act, seeing in it a manifestation of the will of the great Author to deal with the orchestra in the same way as with the Nibelungs, hiding them in the abyss of the dungeon. We’ll leave the interpretation to fans of Wagner’s talent; we got the real fact of the disappearance of an obstacle that distracts us from an interesting theatrical spectacle accompanied by magnificent music sounding from nowhere.

What instruments does an orchestra usually consist of?

The tradition developed during the period of the so-called “Viennese classics” (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), when the first symphonies were composed, which gave the name to its first performers - symphonic orchestras. Today such an orchestra for performing Western European music is called “ classic" or " Beethoven's"(as it was formed in the composer's scores) and consists of four instrumental groups: 1 ) string quintet (1st and 2nd violin, viola, cello, double bass); 2 ) paired woodwinds (pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons); 3 ) brass horns (a couple of trumpets and 2-4 horns) and 4 ) percussion (represented by timpani, but today large and small drums, triangle, orchestral bells, xylophone and even tam-tams are additionally used). Occasionally attract harp and representatives 5 ) keyboards (organ, harpsichord, piano) and others. Some works by composers of the late, romantic era required up to one hundred and fifty performers (Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss, Scriabin). At the same time, chamber groups with a strength of 4 to 12 people, which arose in the 17th century at the courts of royal and noble families, are still popular thanks to the activities before the symphonic period (Monteverdi, Handel, etc.). Sometimes they are not hidden in the orchestra pit, but are made into a stylish part of the stage action.

Are there any tools you can’t do without?

Each era had its own preferences, reflected in the composition of instruments and musical leaders. In Renaissance music it was impossible to do without keyboards - the organ and the harpsichord. Surprisingly, the exact composition of instruments in a musical work was first indicated in 1607 in the opera “ Orpheus» Claudio Monteverdi (15 viols of different sizes, 2 violins, 4 flutes - a pair of large and a pair of medium ones), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 4 trumpets, 5 trombones, a harp, 2 harpsichords and 3 mini-organs. In the middle of the 18th century, a clear division into chamber and orchestral music arose. Already at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, music composers reflected their instrumental preferences in their names. In the 19th century, the role of strings increased again and became a leading one. Composers began writing parts for each instrument, allowing one or the other to have a special sound.

How does the orchestra “check” with what is happening on stage?

With one eye looking at the notes, with the other the musicians follow the conductor who is leading them. No squint by the way. None of them usually has any idea what is happening on stage. True, everyone hears perfectly. And an unexpected roar or a wrong note will be noticed in a timely manner, but due to excellent upbringing and strict discipline they will not show it.

Conductor of the orchestra of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater. P. I. Tchaikovsky Teodor Currentzis

What is the “orchestra pit” today?

A recess in the dividing line between the audience and the stage action, intended to accommodate musicians whose accompaniment is necessary to accompany the plot.

Why is it placed below, what does it give?

For the sake of saving spectator and stage space and so as not to interfere with the viewer’s eye to see everything that is happening on the stage plane.

What are the standard dimensions?

A rectangular hole in the stage 1.2 to 1.8 meters wide, 6.1 to 12 meters long and 1.8 to 3.0 meters deep. This last value became the reason for the occasional injury to the public.

What is it equipped with?

The pits have the following equipment systems:
1 . A place for the conductor to face the stage space in order to see what is happening and organize a single musical organism.
2 . A backlight system that allows you to read notes from a sheet and see the conductor even in complete darkness.
3 . Acoustic protection of the box itself so that the musicians do not become deaf from each other, with a microphone system that transmits sound through translators located throughout the audience area.
4 . Hydraulic lift or screw jack, rack and pinion or scissor section raising and lowering system, or elevator.
5 . Covering - when the pit is not in use, it is covered with various kinds of materials.

James McBay. Violinist. 1932

Is it polite to look into the pit during intermission?

It is unlikely that you can see anything interesting there. The only known place where something extraordinary happens is the orchestra pit of the festival theater in Bayreuth (Germany), built during the lifetime and under the direction of R. Wagner (1872-76) and annually celebrating the holiday of his music with an opera festival in the summer. It is here that the pit is hidden by a canopy and descends in steps deep into the stage, so that it is completely invisible to the public. Due to the fact that the German composer's operas are considered the longest in the world, almost all musicians prefer light clothing - shorts and T-shirts - on the hot summer days of the forum. However, even those lucky ones who stood in a long line of ten years for tickets and got to see the festival performance will not see this. In all other cases, the dress code is mournful - everyone is in black, but there are situations when men are allowed to wear a white shirt under a jacket or tuxedo. During intermission, the musicians, like the audience, go to rest out of sight.

What happens if one of the musicians gets sick?

Nothing noticeable. The ranks are growing stronger and united. And with a mass epidemic, some works also end faster. Looking at the history of symphonic music, when the orchestra consisted of a small number of instruments, you sometimes begin to miss the laconicism and obvious differences in timbres and shades of voices. Although there are those who like it “to be louder and noisier.” For them there is a special joy - the march genre. Some people like military ones, some like wedding ones, and some like mourning ones, which, however, is also a big, albeit sad, thing. The main thing is not to listen to them often at night.

Is it possible to throw flowers and gifts into the hole?

This is about the same as throwing bulls onto the balcony below. Except that such behavior does not cause embarrassment among the rare, literate Gopniks. In the theater, such a thrower will certainly be noticed and beaten and enveloped in a withering gaze. It’s still not worth playing bowling or small towns, throwing a bouquet at the head of a gifted orchestra member. No need! Use the services of a conductor who knows a non-traumatic way to get into the orchestra pit. He can send your flowers and gifts with a card included in them " On whose behalf” into the hands of exactly the musician whom you wanted to scare with offerings. There is a time and place for everything.

An orchestra is a group of musicians playing various instruments. But it should not be confused with an ensemble. This article will tell you what types of orchestras there are. And their compositions of musical instruments will also be sanctified.

Types of orchestras

An orchestra differs from an ensemble in that in the first case, identical instruments are combined into groups that play in unison, that is, one common melody. And in the second case, each musician is a soloist - he plays his own part. "Orchestra" is a Greek word and is translated as "dance floor." It was located between the stage and the audience. The choir was located on this platform. Then it became similar to modern orchestra pits. And over time, musicians began to settle there. And the name “orchestra” went to groups of instrumental performers.

Types of orchestras:

Symphonic.
String.
Wind.
Jazz.
Pop.
Orchestra of folk instruments.
Military.
School.

The composition of the instruments of different types of orchestra is strictly defined. Symphonic consists of a group of strings, percussion and winds. String and brass bands consist of instruments corresponding to their names. Jazz bands can have different compositions. The pop orchestra consists of winds, strings, percussion, keyboards and

Types of choirs

A choir is a large ensemble consisting of singers. There must be at least 12 artists. In most cases, choirs perform accompanied by orchestras. The types of orchestras and choirs differ. There are several classifications. First of all, choirs are divided into types according to their composition of voices. These can be: women's, men's, mixed, children's, and boys' choirs. Based on the manner of performance, they distinguish between folk and academic.

Choirs are also classified according to the number of performers:

12-20 people - vocal and choral ensemble.
20-50 artists - chamber choir.
40-70 singers - average.
70-120 participants - a large choir.
Up to 1000 artists - consolidated (from several groups).

According to their status, choirs are divided into: educational, professional, amateur, church.

Symphony Orchestra

Not all types of orchestras include this group: violins, cellos, violas, double basses. One of the orchestras, which includes a string-bow family, is a symphony. It will consist of several different groups of musical instruments. Today there are two types of symphony orchestras: small and large. The first of them has a classic composition: 2 flutes, the same number of bassoons, clarinets, oboes, trumpets and horns, no more than 20 strings, and occasionally timpani.

It can be of any composition. It can include 60 or more string instruments, tubas, up to 5 trombones of different timbres and 5 trumpets, up to 8 horns, up to 5 flutes, as well as oboes, clarinets and bassoons. It can also include such varieties from the wind group as oboe d'amour, piccolo flute, contrabassoon, English horn, saxophones of all types. It can include a huge number of percussion instruments. Often a large symphony orchestra includes organ, piano, harpsichord and harp.

Brass band

Almost all types of orchestras include a family. This group includes two varieties: copper and wooden. Some types of orchestras consist only of wind and percussion instruments, such as brass and military. In the first variety, the main role belongs to cornets, bugles of various types, tubas, and baritone euphoniums. Secondary instruments: trombones, trumpets, horns, flutes, saxophones, clarinets, oboes, bassoons. If the brass band is large, then, as a rule, all the instruments in it increase in number. Very rarely harps and keyboards may be added.

The repertoire of brass bands includes:

Marches.
European ballroom dancing.
Opera arias.
Symphonies.
Concerts.

Brass bands most often perform in open street areas or accompany the procession, as they sound very powerful and bright.

Folk Instruments Orchestra

Their repertoire includes mainly folk compositions. What is their instrumental composition? Each nation has its own. For example, the Russian orchestra includes: balalaikas, gusli, domras, zhaleikas, whistles, button accordions, rattles, and so on.

Military band

The types of orchestras consisting of wind and percussion instruments have already been listed above. There is another variety that includes these two groups. These are military bands. They are used to voice ceremonies, as well as to participate in concerts. There are two types of military bands. Some also consist of brass instruments. They are called homogeneous. The second type is mixed military bands; they, among other things, include a group of woodwinds.

Music is, first of all, sounds. They can be loud and quiet, fast and slow, rhythmic and not very...

But each of them, each sounding note, in some certain way affects the consciousness of the person listening to the music, his state of mind. And if this is orchestral music, then it certainly cannot leave anyone indifferent!

Orchestra. Types of orchestras

An orchestra is a group of musicians who play music on musical instruments that are designed specifically for these instruments.

And depending on what this composition is, the orchestra has different musical capabilities: in timbre, dynamics, expressiveness.

What types of orchestras are there? The main ones are:

symphonic;
instrumental;
folk instrument orchestra;
wind;
jazz;
pop.

There is also a military orchestra (performing military songs), a school orchestra (comprising schoolchildren), and so on.

Symphony Orchestra

This type of orchestra contains strings, wind and percussion instruments.

There is a small symphony orchestra and a large one.

Maly is the one who plays the music of composers of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. There may also be modern variations in his repertoire. A large symphony orchestra differs from a small one by adding more instruments to its composition.

The small one must include:

violins;
alto;
cellos;
double basses;
bassoons;
horns;
pipes;
timpani;
flutes;
clarinet;
oboe.

The large one includes the following tools:

flutes;
oboes;
clarinets;
contrabassoons.

By the way, it can contain up to 5 instruments from each family. And also in the large orchestra there are:

horns;
trumpets (bass, snare, alto);
trombones (tenor, tenorbass);
tuba

And, of course, percussion instruments:

timpani;
bells;
snare and bass drum;
triangle;
plate;
Indian tom-tom;
harp;
piano;
harpsichord.

The peculiarity of a small orchestra is that there are about 20 string instruments in it, while in a large orchestra there are about 60.

The conductor leads the symphony orchestra. He artistically interprets a work performed by an orchestra using a score - a complete musical notation of all parts of each instrument of the orchestra.

Instrumental orchestra

This type of orchestra differs in its form in that it does not have a clear number of musical instruments of certain groups. And he can also perform any music (unlike a symphony orchestra, which performs exclusively classical music).

There are no specific types of instrumental orchestras, but conditionally they can include a pop orchestra, as well as an orchestra performing classics in modern arrangements.

According to historical information, instrumental music began to actively develop in Russia only under Peter the Great. She, of course, had Western influence, but she was no longer under such a ban as in earlier times. And before it got to the point where they banned not only playing, but also burning musical instruments. The Church believed that they had neither soul nor heart, and therefore they could not glorify God. And therefore instrumental music developed mainly among the common people.

They play in an instrumental orchestra the flute, lyre, cithara, pipe, trumpet, oboe, tambourine, trombone, pipe, nozzle and other musical instruments.

The most popular instrumental orchestra of the 20th century is the Paul Mauriat orchestra.

He was its conductor, leader, arranger. His orchestra played a lot of popular music of the 20th century, as well as his own compositions.

Folk Orchestra

In such an orchestra, the main instruments are folk ones.

For example, the most typical for a Russian folk orchestra are: domras, balalaikas, gusli, button accordions, harmonicas, zhaleikas, pipes, Vladimir horns, tambourines. Also additional musical instruments for such an orchestra are the flute and oboe.

The folk orchestra first appeared at the end of the 19th century, organized by V.V. Andreev. This orchestra toured a lot and gained wide popularity in Russia and abroad. And at the beginning of the 20th century, folk orchestras began to appear everywhere: in clubs, at palaces of culture, and so on.

Brass band

This type of orchestra assumes that it includes various wind and percussion instruments. It comes in small, medium and large.

Jazz orchestra

This type of orchestra was also called a jazz band.

It includes the following musical instruments: saxophone, piano, banjo, guitar, drums, trumpets, trombones, double bass, clarinets.

In general, jazz is a direction in music that was formed under the influence of African rhythms and folklore, as well as European harmony.

Jazz first appeared in the southern United States at the beginning of the 20th century. And soon it spread to all countries of the world. At home, this musical direction developed and was supplemented by new characteristic features that appeared in one or another region.

At one time in America, the terms “jazz” and “popular music” had the same meaning.

Jazz orchestras began to actively form already in the 1920s. And they remained so until the 40s.

Participants, as a rule, joined these musical groups in their teens, performing their specific part - memorized or from notes.

The 1930s are considered the pinnacle of glory for jazz orchestras. The leaders of the most famous jazz orchestras at that time were: Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and others. Their musical works were heard everywhere at that time: on the radio, in dance clubs and so on.

Currently, jazz orchestras and melodies written in the jazz style are also very popular.

And although there are more types of musical orchestras, the article discusses the main ones.

The symphony orchestra consists of three groups of musical instruments: strings (violins, violas, cellos, double basses), winds (brass and wood) and a group of percussion instruments. The number of musicians in groups may vary, depending on the piece being performed. Often the composition of a symphony orchestra is expanded, additional and atypical musical instruments are introduced: harp, celesta, saxophone, etc. The number of musicians in a symphony orchestra in some cases can exceed 200 musicians!

Depending on the number of musicians in the groups, there are small and large symphony orchestras; among the varieties of small ones, there are theater orchestras that participate in the musical accompaniment of operas and ballets.

Chamber

Such an orchestra differs from a symphony orchestra by a significantly smaller composition of musicians and a smaller variety of groups of instruments. The number of wind and percussion instruments in the chamber orchestra has also been reduced.

String

This orchestra consists only of string instruments - violin, viola, cello, double bass.

Wind

The brass band consists of a variety of wind instruments - woodwind and brass, as well as a group of percussion instruments. The brass band includes, along with musical instruments characteristic of a symphony orchestra (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba), and specific instruments (wind alto, tenor, baritone, euphonium, flugelhorn, sousaphone and etc.), which are not found in other types of orchestras.

In our country, military brass bands are extremely popular, performing, along with pop and jazz compositions, special applied military music: fanfares, marches, anthems and the so-called gardening repertoire - waltzes and ancient marches. Brass orchestras are much more mobile than symphony and chamber orchestras; they can perform music while moving. There is a special genre of performance - an orchestral fashion show, in which the performance of music by a brass band is combined with the simultaneous performance of complex choreographic performances by musicians.

In large opera and ballet theaters you can find special brass bands - theatrical bands. The gangs participate directly in the stage production itself, where, according to the plot, the musicians are acting characters.

Pop

As a rule, this is a special composition of a small symphony orchestra (pop symphony orchestra), which includes, among other things, a group of saxophones, specific keyboards, electronic instruments (synthesizer, electric guitar, etc.) and a pop rhythm section.

Jazz

A jazz orchestra (band) consists, as a rule, of a brass group, which includes groups of trumpets, trombones and saxophones expanded in comparison with other orchestras, a string group represented by violins and double bass, as well as a jazz rhythm section.

Folk Instruments Orchestra

One of the options for a folk ensemble is an orchestra of Russian folk instruments. It consists of groups of balalaikas and domras, includes gusli, button accordions, special Russian wind instruments - horns and zhaleikas. Such orchestras often include instruments typical of a symphony orchestra - flutes, oboes, horns and percussion instruments. The idea of creating such an orchestra was proposed by balalaika player Vasily Andreev at the end of the 19th century.

The orchestra of Russian folk instruments is not the only type of folk ensemble. There are, for example, Scottish bagpipe bands, Mexican wedding bands, which feature a group of various guitars, trumpets, ethnic percussion, etc.