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87-398: The flute has four finger holes and one thumb hole at the back. The playing range is two octaves, going from low G to high G. The lower sounds are made by just blowing, whereas the higher ones are made by difference in the strength of the blowing. The tone is clear, and it is also used as a solo instrument, but is mainly used for ensemble with other instruments in chamber music . The dan in

174-563: A 2 clav (two-keyboard version of Contrapunctus 13 ), Canon alla decima , and Canon alla duodecima . The autograph manuscript presents the then-untitled Contrapuncti and canons in the following order: [ Contrapunctus 1 ], [ Contrapunctus 3 ], [ Contrapunctus 2 ], [ Contrapunctus 5 ], [ Contrapunctus 9 ], an early version of [ Contrapunctus 10 ], [ Contrapunctus 6 ], [ Contrapunctus 7 ], Canon in Hypodiapason with its two-stave solution Resolutio Canonis (entitled Canon alla Ottava in

261-593: A completion. Douglas Hofstadter 's book Gödel, Escher, Bach discusses the unfinished fugue and Bach's supposed death during composition as a tongue-in-cheek illustration of the Austrian logician Kurt Gödel 's first incompleteness theorem . According to Gödel, the very power of a "sufficiently powerful" formal mathematical system can be exploited to "undermine" the system, by leading to statements that assert such things as "I cannot be proven in this system". In Hofstadter's discussion, Bach's great compositional talent

348-401: A conversation, often truly beautiful, often oddly and turbidly woven, among four people." Their awareness is exemplified by composer and virtuoso violinist Louis Spohr . Spohr divided his 36 string quartets into two types: the quatuor brillant , essentially a violin concerto with string trio accompaniment; and quatuor dialogue , in the conversational tradition. During the 19th century, with

435-410: A full orchestral section. J. S. Bach: Trio sonata on YouTube from The Musical Offering , played by Ensemble Brillante Baroque chamber music was often contrapuntal ; that is, each instrument played the same melodic materials at different times, creating a complex, interwoven fabric of sound. Because each instrument was playing essentially the same melodies, all the instruments were equal. In

522-567: A giant of Western music. Beethoven transformed chamber music, raising it to a new plane, both in terms of content and in terms of the technical demands on performers and audiences. His works, in the words of Maynard Solomon , were "...the models against which nineteenth-century romanticism measured its achievements and failures." His late quartets , in particular, were considered so daunting an accomplishment that many composers after him were afraid to try composing quartets; Johannes Brahms composed and tore up 20 string quartets before he dared publish

609-423: A hall and collecting the receipts from the performance. Increasingly, they wrote chamber music not only for rich patrons, but for professional musicians playing for a paying audience. At the beginning of the 19th century, luthiers developed new methods of constructing the violin , viola and cello that gave these instruments a richer tone, more volume, and more carrying power. Also at this time, bowmakers made

696-454: A hundred string quartets, and more than one hundred quintets for two violins, viola and two cellos. In this innovative ensemble, later used by Schubert , Boccherini gives flashy, virtuosic solos to the principal cello, as a showcase for his own playing. Violinist Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf and cellist Johann Baptist Wanhal , who both played pickup quartets with Haydn on second violin and Mozart on viola, were popular chamber music composers of

783-462: A list of errata by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for the first printed edition (pages 21–35). The first printed version was published under the title Die / Kunst der Fuge / durch / Herrn Johann Sebastian Bach / ehemahligen Capellmeister und Musikdirector zu Leipzig in May 1751, slightly less than a year after Bach's death. In addition to changes in the order, notation, and material of pieces which appeared in

870-734: A mathematical architecture of The Art of Fugue , based on bar counts, which shows that the whole work could have been conceived on the basis of the Fibonacci series and the golden ratio . Dominic Florence proposes that a concept he calls "opposition" governs all the methods that Bach uses in Contrapuncti 1, 2, 3, and 5 to create variety. These include changes in "melody (contrary motion), polyphony (contrapuntal inversion ), harmony ( dissonance ), [rhythmic] density ( texture ), rhythm ( syncopation ), and tonality ( modulation }". For example, Contrapuncti 1 and 2 both switch repeatedly between

957-467: A movement that contended that "pure music" had run its course with Beethoven, and that new, programmatic forms of music –in which music created "images" with its melodies–were the future of the art. The composers of this school had no use for chamber music. Opposing this view was Johannes Brahms and his associates, especially the powerful music critic Eduard Hanslick . This War of the Romantics shook

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1044-634: A music lover and amateur baryton player, for whom Haydn wrote many of his string trios. Mozart wrote three string quartets for the King of Prussia, Frederick William II , a cellist. Many of Beethoven's quartets were first performed with patron Count Andrey Razumovsky on second violin. Boccherini composed for the king of Spain. With the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of new social orders throughout Europe, composers increasingly had to make money by selling their compositions and performing concerts. They often gave subscription concerts, which involved renting

1131-453: A piece is notated once and then with voices and counterpoint completely inverted, without violating contrapuntal rules or musicality: Canons, labeled by interval and technique: Alternate variants and arrangements: Incomplete fugue: Both editions of the Art of Fugue are written in open score , where each voice is written on its own staff. This has led some to conclude that the Art of Fugue

1218-424: A strong connection with the community. Composers were in high favor with orchestral works and solo virtuosi works, which made up the largest part of the public concert repertoire. Early French composers including Camille Saint-Saëns and César Franck . Apart from the "central" Austro-Germanic countries, there was an occurrence of the subculture of chamber music in other regions such as Britain. There chamber music

1305-480: A type of music to be played as much as performed. Amateur quartet societies sprang up throughout Europe, and no middling-sized city in Germany or France was without one. These societies sponsored house concerts , compiled music libraries, and encouraged the playing of quartets and other ensembles. In European countries, in particular Germany and France, like minded musicians were brought together and started to develop

1392-659: A wealthy Jewish family in Hamburg, Mendelssohn proved himself a child prodigy. By the age of 16, he had written his first major chamber work, the String Octet, Op. 20 . Already in this work, Mendelssohn showed some of the unique style that was to characterize his later works; notably, the gossamer light texture of his scherzo movements, exemplified also by the Canzonetta movement of the String Quartet, Op. 12 , and

1479-434: A work that he felt was worthy of the "giant marching behind". Beethoven made his formal debut as a composer with three Piano Trios, Op. 1 . Even these early works, written when Beethoven was only 22, while adhering to a strictly classical mold, showed signs of the new paths that Beethoven was to forge in the coming years. When he showed the manuscript of the trios to Haydn, his teacher, prior to publication, Haydn approved of

1566-438: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments —traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers, with one performer to a part (in contrast to orchestral music, in which each string part

1653-432: Is a long, lyrical solo for cello in the second movement, giving the cello a new type of voice in the quartet conversation. And the last movement of Op. 18, No. 6, "La Malincolia", creates a new type of formal structure, interleaving a slow, melancholic section with a manic dance. Beethoven was to use this form in later quartets, and Brahms and others adopted it as well. Beethoven: Quartet, Op. 59, No. 3 , played by

1740-586: Is played by a number of performers). However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances. Because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as "the music of friends". For more than 100 years, chamber music was played primarily by amateur musicians in their homes, and even today, when chamber music performance has migrated from the home to the concert hall, many musicians, amateur and professional, still play chamber music for their own pleasure. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from

1827-460: The Baroque era , the harpsichord was one of the main instruments used in chamber music. The harpsichord used quills to pluck strings, and it had a delicate sound. Due to the design of the harpsichord, the attack or weight with which the performer played the keyboard did not change the volume or tone. Between about 1750 and the late 1700s, the harpsichord gradually fell out of use. By the late 1700s,

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1914-775: The Canon in Hypodiatesseron , under the title Canon p [ er ] Augmentationem contrario Motu crossed out. The manuscript contains line break and page break information for the engraving process, most of which was transcribed in the first printed edition. Written on the top region of the manuscript is a note written by Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach : N.B. Der seel. Papa hat auf die Platte diesen Titul stechen lassen, Canon per Augment: in Contrapuncto all octava , er hat es aber wieder ausgestrichen auf der Probe Platte und gesetzet wie forn stehet N.B. The late father had written on

2001-469: The Große Fuge , of the late quartets, as, "...this absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever." The string quartets 1–6, Op. 18 , were written in the classical style, in the same year that Haydn wrote his Op. 76 string quartets . Even here, Beethoven stretched the formal structures pioneered by Haydn and Mozart. In the quartet Op. 18, No. 1, in F major, for example, there

2088-620: The Joachim Quartet , led by Joseph Joachim , debuted many of the new string quartets by Brahms and other composers. Another famous quartet player was Vilemina Norman Neruda , also known as Lady Hallé. Indeed, during the last third of the century, women performers began taking their place on the concert stage: an all-women string quartet led by Emily Shinner , and the Lucas quartet, also all women, were two notable examples. The Art of Fugue The Art of Fugue , or The Art of

2175-672: The Modigliani Quartet Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 1, "Ghost" , played by the Claremont Trio In the years 1805 to 1806, Beethoven composed the three Op. 59 quartets on a commission from Count Razumovsky, who played second violin in their first performance. These quartets, from Beethoven's middle period, were pioneers in the romantic style. Besides introducing many structural and stylistic innovations, these quartets were much more difficult technically to perform – so much so that they were, and remain, beyond

2262-495: The contrabass . Beethoven: Septet, Op. 20 , first movement, played by the Ensemble Mediterrain In his 17 string quartets, composed over the course of 37 of his 56 years, Beethoven goes from classical composer par excellence to creator of musical Romanticism, and finally, with his late string quartets, he transcends classicism and romanticism to create a genre that defies categorization. Stravinsky referred to

2349-446: The pianoforte became more popular as an instrument for performance. Even though the pianoforte was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori at the beginning of the 1700s, it did not become widely used until the end of that century, when technical improvements in its construction made it a more effective instrument. Unlike the harpsichord, the pianoforte could play soft or loud dynamics and sharp sforzando attacks depending on how hard or soft

2436-493: The "Unfinished Fugue" and Contrapunctus 14, was contained in a handwritten manuscript bundled with the autograph manuscript Mus. ms. autogr. P 200. It breaks off abruptly in the middle of its third section, with an only partially written measure 239. This autograph carries a note in the handwriting of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , stating "Über dieser Fuge, wo der Name B A C H im Contrasubject angebracht worden, ist der Verfasser gestorben." ("While working on this fugue, which introduces

2523-669: The 18th century, tastes began to change: many composers preferred a new, lighter Galant style, with "thinner texture, ... and clearly defined melody and bass" to the complexities of counterpoint. Now a new custom arose that gave birth to a new form of chamber music: the serenade . Patrons invited street musicians to play evening concerts below the balconies of their homes, their friends and their lovers. Patrons and musicians commissioned composers to write suitable suites of dances and tunes, for groups of two to five or six players. These works were called serenades, nocturnes, divertimenti, or cassations (from gasse=street). The young Joseph Haydn

2610-544: The Fredonia Quartet Program, July 2008 Schubert's music, as his life, exemplified the contrasts and contradictions of his time. On the one hand, he was the darling of Viennese society: he starred in soirées that became known as Schubertiaden , where he played his light, mannered compositions that expressed the gemütlichkeit of Vienna of the 1820s. On the other hand, his own short life was shrouded in tragedy, wracked by poverty and ill health. Chamber music

2697-549: The Fugue (German: Die Kunst der Fuge ), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach . Written in the last decade of his life, The Art of Fugue is the culmination of Bach's experimentation with monothematic instrumental works. This work consists of fourteen fugues and four canons in D minor , each using some variation of a single principal subject , and generally ordered to increase in complexity. "The governing idea of

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2784-541: The German musicologist Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht suggested a possible religious interpretation of The Art of Fugue , which he agreed was impossible to prove: that the work illustrated in musical terms the Christian doctrine of redemption by God's grace alone, sola gratia , rather than by any action an individual can take. Eggebrecht noted the presence in fugue 3 of the presence of the composer's surname Bach in its theme,

2871-578: The Op. 59 quartets, Beethoven wrote two more quartets during his middle period – Op. 74 , the "Harp" quartet, named for the unusual harp-like effect Beethoven creates with pizzicato passages in the first movement, and Op. 95 , the "Serioso". The Serioso is a transitional work that ushers in Beethoven's late period – a period of compositions of great introspection. "The particular kind of inwardness of Beethoven's last style period", writes Joseph Kerman, gives one

2958-405: The artistic world of the period, with vituperative exchanges between the two camps, concert boycotts, and petitions. Although amateur playing thrived throughout the 19th century, this was also a period of increasing professionalization of chamber music performance. Professional quartets began to dominate the chamber music concert stage. The Hellmesberger Quartet , led by Joseph Hellmesberger , and

3045-411: The autograph, it contained two new fugues, two new canons, and three pieces of ostensibly spurious inclusion. A second edition was published in 1752, but differed only in its addition of a preface by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg . In spite of its revisions, the printed edition of 1751 contained a number of glaring editorial errors. The majority of these may be attributed to Bach's relatively sudden death in

3132-438: The chamber music instruments. Many of Schumann's chamber works, including all three of his string quartets and his piano quartet have contrapuntal sections interwoven seamlessly into the overall compositional texture. The composers of the first half of the 19th century were acutely aware of the conversational paradigm established by Haydn and Mozart. Schumann wrote that in a true quartet "everyone has something to say ...

3219-498: The chordal instrument would play the basso continuo part. During the Baroque period, chamber music as a genre was not clearly defined. Often, works could be played on any variety of instruments, in orchestral or chamber ensembles. The Art of Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach , for example, can be played on a keyboard instrument (harpsichord or organ) or by a string quartet or a string orchestra . The instrumentation of trio sonatas

3306-407: The copper plate the following title, Canon per Augment: in Contrapuncto all octava , but had struck it out again on the proof sheet and restored the title as it was formerly Mus. ms. autogr. P 200, Beilage 2 contains two-keyboard arrangements of Contrapunctus 13 inversus and rectus , entitled Fuga a 2. Clav: and Alio modo Fuga a 2 Clav. in the first printed edition respectively. Like Beilage 1,

3393-524: The development of cyclic structure. In his Piano Quintet in E ;flat, Op. 44 , Schumann wrote a double fugue in the finale, using the theme of the first movement and the theme of the last movement. Both Schumann and Mendelssohn, following the example set by Beethoven, revived the fugue, which had fallen out of favor since the Baroque period. However, rather than writing strict, full-length fugues , they used counterpoint as another mode of conversation between

3480-440: The elder composer to say to Mozart's father, "I tell you before God as an honest man that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by reputation. He has taste, and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition." Many other composers wrote chamber compositions during this period that were popular at the time and are still played today. Luigi Boccherini , Italian composer and cellist, wrote nearly

3567-649: The emerging romantic style. In his 31 years, Schubert devoted much of his life to chamber music , composing 15 string quartets, two piano trios, string trios, a piano quintet commonly known as the Trout Quintet , an octet for strings and winds , and his famous quintet for two violins, viola, and two cellos. Franz Schubert , Trout Quintet , D. 667, performed by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Schubert on YouTube : String Quintet in C, D. 956, first movement, recorded at

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3654-582: The end of the 18th century to the present. The analogy to conversation recurs in descriptions and analyses of chamber music compositions. From its earliest beginnings in the Medieval period to the present, chamber music has been a reflection of the changes in the technology and the society that produced it. During the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance , instruments were used primarily as accompaniment for singers. String players would play along with

3741-575: The ethereal, dreamlike effect of open intervals between the high E string and the open A string in the second movement of quartet Op. 132; the use of sul ponticello (playing on the bridge of the violin) for a brittle, scratchy sound in the Presto movement of Op. 131; the use of the Lydian mode , rarely heard in Western music for 200 years, in Op. 132; a cello melody played high above all the other strings in

3828-416: The feeling that "the music is sounding only for the composer and for one other auditor, an awestruck eavesdropper: you." In the late quartets, the quartet conversation is often disjointed, proceeding like a stream of consciousness. Melodies are broken off, or passed in the middle of the melodic line from instrument to instrument. Beethoven uses new effects, never before essayed in the string quartet literature:

3915-493: The fifth page, specifically on the 239th measure and ends with the note written by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach : " Ueber dieser Fuge, wo der Nahme BACH im Contrasubject angebracht worden, ist der Verfasser gestorben ." ("At the point where the composer introduces the name BACH [for which the English notation would be B ♭ –A–C–B ♮ ] in the countersubject to this fugue, the composer died.") The following page contains

4002-481: The final, vigorous Presto movement, he returns to the opening adagio to conclude the piece. This string quartet is also Mendelssohn's homage to Beethoven; the work is studded with quotes from Beethoven's middle and late quartets. During his adult life, Mendelssohn wrote two piano trios, seven works for string quartet, two string quintets, the octet, a sextet for piano and strings, and numerous sonatas for piano with violin, cello, and clarinet. Robert Schumann continued

4089-463: The finale of Op. 132. Yet for all this disjointedness, each quartet is tightly designed, with an overarching structure that ties the work together. Beethoven wrote eight piano trios, five string trios, two string quintets, and numerous pieces for wind ensemble. He also wrote ten sonatas for violin and piano and five sonatas for cello and piano. As Beethoven, in his last quartets, went off in his own direction, Franz Schubert carried on and established

4176-494: The first printed edition), [ Contrapunctus 8 ], [ Contrapunctus 11 ], Canon in Hypodiatesseron, al roversio [ sic ] e per augmentationem, perpetuus presented in two staves and then on one, [ Contrapunctus 12 ] with the inversus form of the fugue written directly below the rectus form, [ Contrapunctus 13 ] with the same rectus – inversus format, and a two-stave Canon al roverscio et per augmentationem —a second version of Canon in Hypodiatesseron . Bundled with

4263-502: The first two, but warned against publishing the third trio, in C minor, as too radical, warning it would not "...be understood and favorably received by the public." Haydn was wrong—the third trio was the most popular of the set, and Haydn's criticisms caused a falling-out between him and the sensitive Beethoven. The trio is, indeed, a departure from the mold that Haydn and Mozart had formed. Beethoven makes dramatic deviations of tempo within phrases and within movements. He greatly increases

4350-626: The fourth subject, including musicologists Donald Tovey (1931), Zoltán Göncz (1992), Yngve Jan Trede (1995), and Thomas Daniel (2010), organists Helmut Walcha , David Goode , Lionel Rogg , and Davitt Moroney (1989), conductor Rudolf Barshai (2010) and Daniil Trifonov (2021). Ferruccio Busoni 's Fantasia contrappuntistica is based on Contrapunctus XIV , but it develops Bach's ideas to Busoni's own purposes in Busoni's musical style, rather than working out Bach's thoughts as Bach himself might have done. Loïc Sylvestre and Marco Costa reported

4437-515: The independence of the strings, especially the cello, allowing it to range above the piano and occasionally even the violin. If his Op. 1 trios introduced Beethoven's works to the public, his Septet, Op. 20 , established him as one of Europe's most popular composers. The septet, scored for violin, viola, cello, contrabass, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, was a huge hit. It was played in concerts again and again. It appeared in transcriptions for many combinations – one of which, for clarinet, cello and piano,

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4524-438: The instrument's name means "short", and so refers to the notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute. To match its name, It is the shortest wind instrument played vertically. Another Korean end-blown vertical bamboo flute, the tungso ( Korean :  퉁소 ; Hanja :  洞 簫 ), is longer. This Korea -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to flutes

4611-713: The introduction to the edition as a recompense for the work's incompleteness, having purportedly been dictated by Bach on his deathbed. The anomalous character of the published order and the Unfinished Fugue, have engendered a wide variety of theories which attempt to restore the work to the state originally intended by Bach. The Art of Fugue is based on a single subject, which each canon and fugue employs in some variation: The work divides into seven groups, according to each piece's prevailing contrapuntal device; in both editions, these groups and their respective components are generally ordered to increase in complexity. In

4698-427: The keys of A minor and D minor; Contrapuncti 2 and 3 in addition enter F major and G minor, Contrapunctus 2 also visiting B-flat major once in a further "tonal remove": all three begin and end in D minor. He concludes that "Analyses of fugues should focus on continuous, dynamic, organic processes that evolve over time, rather than on the static and discontinuous dismemberment into strictly delineated sections." In 1984,

4785-478: The manuscript served as a preparatory edition for the first printed edition. Mus. ms. autogr. P 200, Beilage 3 contains a fragment of a three-subject fugue, which would be later called Fuga a 3 Soggetti in the first printed edition. Unlike the fugues written in the primary autograph, the Fuga is presented in a two-stave keyboard system, instead of with individual staves for each voice. The fugue abruptly breaks off on

4872-400: The melody line sung by the singer. There were also purely instrumental ensembles, often of stringed precursors of the violin family , called consorts . Some analysts consider the origin of classical instrumental ensembles to be the sonata da camera (chamber sonata) and the sonata da chiesa (church sonata). These were compositions for one to five or more instruments. The sonata da camera

4959-658: The middle of the 19th century, with the rise of the feminist movement, women also started to receive acceptability to be participated in chamber music. Thousands of quartets were published by hundreds of composers; between 1770 and 1800, more than 2000 quartets were published, and the pace did not decline in the next century. Throughout the 19th century, composers published string quartets now long neglected: George Onslow wrote 36 quartets and 35 quintets; Gaetano Donizetti wrote dozens of quartets, Antonio Bazzini , Anton Reicha , Carl Reissiger , Joseph Suk and others wrote to fill an insatiable demand for quartets. In addition, there

5046-429: The midst of publication. Three pieces were included that do not appear to have been part of Bach's intended order: an unrevised (and thus redundant) version of the second double fugue, Contrapunctus X; a two-keyboard arrangement of the first mirror fugue , Contrapunctus XIII; and an organ chorale prelude on " Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit " ("Herewith I come before Thy Throne"), derived from BWV 668a , and noted in

5133-522: The name BACH [for which the English notation would be B ♭ –A–C–B ♮ ] in the countersubject, the composer died.") This account is disputed by modern scholars, as the note was written in Bach's own handwriting, and thus dates to a time before his deteriorating health and vision prevented him from writing, in their view probably 1748–1749. Several musicians and musicologists have composed conjectural completions of Contrapunctus XIV which include

5220-421: The order in which they occur in the printed edition of 1751 (without the aforementioned works of spurious inclusion), the groups, and their components are as follows. Simple fugues: Stretto-fugues (counter-fugues), in which the subject is used simultaneously in regular, inverted, augmented, and diminished forms: Double and triple fugues , employing two and three subjects respectively: Mirror fugues, in which

5307-459: The performer played the keys. The improved pianoforte was adopted by Mozart and other composers, who began composing chamber ensembles with the piano playing a leading role. The piano was to become more and more dominant through the 19th century, so much so that many composers, such as Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin , wrote almost exclusively for solo piano (or solo piano with orchestra ). Ludwig van Beethoven straddled this period of change as

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5394-404: The period would consist of Haydn was by no means the only composer developing new modes of chamber music. Even before Haydn, many composers were already experimenting with new forms. Giovanni Battista Sammartini , Ignaz Holzbauer , and Franz Xaver Richter wrote precursors of the string quartet. Franz Ignaz von Beecke (1733-1803), with his Piano Quintet in A minor (1770) and 17 string quartets

5481-439: The period. The turn of the 19th century saw dramatic changes in society and in music technology which had far-reaching effects on the way chamber music was composed and played. Throughout the 18th century, the composer was normally an employee of an aristocrat, and the chamber music he or she composed was for the pleasure of aristocratic players and listeners. Haydn, for example, was an employee of Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy ,

5568-637: The piano, and of symphonic composition, was not merely a matter of preference; it was also a matter of ideology . In the 1860s, a schism grew among romantic musicians over the direction of music. Many composers tend to express their romantic persona through their works. By the time, these chamber works are not necessarily dedicated for any specific dedicatee. Famous chamber works such as Fanny Mendelssohn D minor Piano Trio, Ludwig van Beethoven's Trio in E-flat major, and Franz Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major are all highly personal. Liszt and Richard Wagner led

5655-405: The primary autograph are three supplementary manuscripts, each affixed to a composition that would appear in the first printed edition. Referred to as Mus. ms. autogr. P 200/Beilage 1, Mus. ms. autogr. P 200/Beilage 2, and Mus. ms. autogr. P 200/Beilage 3, they are written under the title Die Kunst / der Fuga / von J.S.B. Mus. ms. autogr. P 200, Beilage 1 contains a final preparatory revision of

5742-474: The quintet for violin, two violas, cello, and horn, K. 407, quartets for flute and strings, and various wind instrument combinations. He wrote six string quintets for two violins, two violas and cello, which explore the rich tenor tones of the violas, adding a new dimension to the string quartet conversation. Mozart's string quartets are considered the pinnacle of the classical art. The six string quartets that he dedicated to Haydn , his friend and mentor, inspired

5829-436: The reach of many amateur string players. When first violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh complained of their difficulty, Beethoven retorted, "Do you think I care about your wretched violin when the spirit moves me?" Among the difficulties are complex syncopations and cross-rhythms; synchronized runs of sixteenth, thirty-second, and sixty-fourth notes; and sudden modulations requiring special attention to intonation . In addition to

5916-527: The rise of new technology driven by the Industrial Revolution , printed music became cheaper and thus more accessible while domestic music making gained widespread popularity. Composers began to incorporate new elements and techniques into their works to appeal to this open market, since there was an increased consumer desire for chamber music. While improvements in instruments led to more public performances of chamber music, it remained very much

6003-480: The scherzo of the Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 . Another characteristic that Mendelssohn pioneered is the cyclic form in overall structure. This means the reuse of thematic material from one movement to the next, to give the total piece coherence. In his second string quartet , he opens the piece with a peaceful adagio section in A major, that contrasts with the stormy first movement in A minor. After

6090-526: The second theme, a lilting duet in the lower voices. The alternating Sturm und Drang and relaxation continue throughout the movement. These contending forces are expressed in some of Schubert's other works: in the quartet Death and the Maiden , the Rosamunde quartet and in the stormy, one-movement Quartettsatz, D. 703 . Unlike Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn had a life of peace and prosperity. Born into

6177-491: The sequence of notes B-A-C-H-C#-D. In Eggebrecht's view, this could mean that the composer is not just signing the work, but is placing himself by his grave, accepting sola gratia as he reaches towards the tonic note, which marks the end of the fugue and symbolically the end of his life. Further, the six-note fragment is chromatic , denoting sinful humanity, whereas the work as a whole is diatonic, symbolising God's perfection. The Russian musicologist Anatoly Milka suggests that

6264-438: The skills required for playing solo or symphonic works. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described chamber music (specifically, string quartet music) as "four rational people conversing". This conversational paradigm – which refers to the way one instrument introduces a melody or motif and then other instruments subsequently "respond" with a similar motif – has been a thread woven through the history of chamber music composition from

6351-425: The title Die / Kunst der Fuga [ sic ] / di Sig [ nore ] Joh. Seb. Bach , which was written by Bach's son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol , followed by (in eigenhändiger Partitur) written by Georg Poelchau  [ de ] , the autograph contains twelve untitled fugues and two canons arranged in a different order than in the first printed edition, with the absence of Contrapunctus 4 , Fuga

6438-579: The treble and bass lines of the piano score. But Mozart gives the strings an independent role, using them as a counter to the piano, and adding their individual voices to the chamber music conversation. Mozart introduced the newly invented clarinet into the chamber music arsenal, with the Kegelstatt Trio for viola, clarinet and piano, K. 498, and the Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet , K. 581. He also tried other innovative ensembles, including

6525-399: The trio sonata, there is often no ascendent or solo instrument, but all three instruments share equal importance. The harmonic role played by the keyboard or other chording instrument was subsidiary, and usually the keyboard part was not even written out; rather, the chordal structure of the piece was specified by numeric codes over the bass line, called figured bass . In the second half of

6612-605: The various numbers embedded in the work have a numerological significance related to the Book of Revelation , the last book of the Bible which describes the apocalypse . In her 2007 doctoral thesis about the unfinished ending of Contrapunctus 14, the New Zealand organist and conductor Indra Hughes proposed that the work was left unfinished not because Bach died, but as a deliberate choice by Bach to encourage independent efforts at

6699-468: The violin bow longer, with a thicker ribbon of hair under higher tension. This improved projection, and also made possible new bowing techniques. In 1820, Louis Spohr invented the chinrest, which gave violinists more freedom of movement in their left hands, for a more nimble technique. These changes contributed to the effectiveness of public performances in large halls, and expanded the repertoire of techniques available to chamber music composers. Throughout

6786-498: The work", as put by Bach specialist Christoph Wolff , "was an exploration in depth of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject." The word "contrapunctus" is often used for each fugue. The earliest extant source of the work is an autograph manuscript possibly written from 1740 to 1746 , usually referred to by its call number as Mus. ms. autogr. P 200 in the Berlin State Library . Bearing

6873-486: Was a lively market for string quartet arrangements of popular and folk tunes , piano works, symphonies, and opera arias . But opposing forces were at work. The middle of the 19th century saw the rise of superstar virtuosi, who drew attention away from chamber music toward solo performance. The piano, which could be mass-produced, became an instrument of preference, and many composers, like Chopin and Liszt, composed primarily if not exclusively for piano. The ascendance of

6960-415: Was a suite of slow and fast movements, interspersed with dance tunes; the sonata da chiesa was the same, but the dances were omitted. These forms gradually developed into the trio sonata of the Baroque – two treble instruments and a bass instrument , often with a keyboard or other chording instrument ( harpsichord , organ , harp or lute , for example) filling in the harmony. Both the bass instrument and

7047-480: Was also often flexibly specified; some of Handel's sonatas are scored for " German flute , Hoboy [oboe] or Violin" Bass lines could be played by violone , cello , theorbo , or bassoon , and sometimes three or four instruments would join in the bass line in unison. Sometimes composers mixed movements for chamber ensembles with orchestral movements. Telemann's 'Tafelmusik' (1733), for example, has five sets of movements for various combinations of instruments, ending with

7134-467: Was also one of the pioneers of chamber music of the Classical period. Another renowned composer of chamber music of the period was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . Mozart's seven piano trios and two piano quartets were the first to apply the conversational principle to chamber music with piano. Haydn's piano trios are essentially piano sonatas with the violin and cello playing mostly supporting roles, doubling

7221-401: Was commissioned to write several of these. Joseph Haydn is generally credited with creating the modern form of chamber music as we know it, although scholars today such as Roger Hickman argue "the idea that Haydn invented the string quartet and single-handedly advanced the genre is based on only a vague notion of the true history of the eighteenth-century genre." A typical string quartet of

7308-440: Was intended as an intellectual exercise, meant to be studied more than heard. The renowned keyboardist Gustav Leonhardt argued that the Art of Fugue was intended to be played on a keyboard instrument, and specifically the harpsichord . Leonhardt's arguments included the following: It is now generally accepted by scholars that the work was envisioned for keyboard. Fuga a 3 Soggetti ("fugue in three subjects"), also called

7395-431: Was often performed by upper- and middle-class men with less advanced musical skills in an unexpected setting such as informal ensembles in private residence with few audience members. In Britain, the most common form of chamber music compositions are the string quartets , sentimental songs and piano chamber works like the piano trio , in a way depicts the standard conception of the conventional "Victorian music making". In

7482-453: Was the ideal medium to express this conflict, "to reconcile his essentially lyric themes with his feeling for dramatic utterance within a form that provided the possibility of extreme color contrasts." The String Quintet in C, D.956 , is an example of how this conflict is expressed in music. After a slow introduction, the first theme of the first movement, fiery and dramatic, leads to a bridge of rising tension, peaking suddenly and breaking into

7569-451: Was written by Beethoven himself – and was so popular that Beethoven feared it would eclipse his other works. So much so that by 1815, Carl Czerny wrote that Beethoven "could not endure his septet and grew angry because of the universal applause which it has received." The septet is written as a classical divertimento in six movements, including two minuets, and a set of variations. It is full of catchy tunes, with solos for everyone, including

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