VEGANGELICA

What are your favorite musical pieces for a Chamber Orchestra?

I have become fascinated recently by chamber orchestras. I like the fact that a small number of players in a chamber orchestra efficiently produce a nearly symphonic sound. I'd like to hear more examples of chamber orchestra music.

But first, what is a Chamber Orchestra?

According to the Indiana State Contemporary Music Festival, a Standard Chamber Orchestra has the following instrumentation or some component of it:
Woodwinds: 2 Flutes (plus Piccolo), 2 Bb Clarinets (plus Eb Clarinet), 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons
Brass: 2 French Horns, 2 Trumpets, 1 Trombone, 0 Tubas
Timpani + 1 percussion instrument (such as the Glockenspiel)
Harp
Strings (6 First Violins, 4 Second Violins, 4 Violas, 3 Cellos, 2 Double Basses).

The above instrumentation could be written in shorthand as follows, designating the number of each type of instrument:
2 [pic], 2 [Eb], 2, 2 - 2, 2, 1, 0 - timpani +1 - harp - 6, 4, 4, 3, 2. (Extra points go to people who don't just mention their favorite Chamber Orchestra pieces, but also include the instrumentation!)

However, Chamber Orchestras can be larger or smaller than the "Standard Chamber Orchestra" and can also include additional instruments (such as a piano, contrabassoon, or saxophone).

Below is a nice example of a Chamber String Orchestra. The number of instruments is a violin soloist plus "3, 2, 2, 2, 1" (meaning 3 first violins, 2 second violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, and 1 double bass). That combination of strings creates a remarkably lush, full sound. I like listening to the feeling of the music made by different types of chamber orchestras, and this one is very nice:

John Williams - Schindler's List - Chamber Orchestra Version
André Rebacz (violin) with the French Chamber Orchestra under Horst Sohm.
Arranged for chamber string orchestra (soloist plus 3, 2, 2, 2, 1) by Christian Raverdel.
A beautiful melody!

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Mr. Charlie

Beautiful music in that vid. The women are pretty too.

grindy

I suppose you look for more more traditional classical music, but you might still want to check out this thread:
http://www.musicbanter.com/avant-gar...r-s-guide.html
Some great stuff posted there. A lot of it by me.

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VEGANGELICA

The Schindler's List chamber orchestra music is beautiful, isn't it!

I thought it was just a given that string players look pretty.

Thank you for the suggestion, grindy.

I had noticed that thread after doing a search for "chamber orchestra," but I realized that some of my favorite chamber orchestra pieces wouldn't fit in it because they are more traditional, like you say. But there are a lot of excellent posts in that avant garde chamber orchestra thread!

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Here is one of my favorite chamber orchestra pieces of all time:

Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" - 13 Instrument Version

Copland composed this piece in 1944 for modern dancer Martha Graham, who commissioned it for a ballet. This is the first version of the piece that he composed. The instrumentation is 1, 1, 0, 1 - 0, 0, 0, 0 - piano - 2, 2, 2, 2, 1 (which means flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano (no surprise there!), 2 first violins, 2 second violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 1 double bass).

I heard that Copland used a small number of instruments so that they would all fit in the orchestra pit for the ballet performance. I think that is a good example of how outside limitations on a composer can lead to a more unique and memorable piece than might have resulted if the composer had faced no restrictions.

I like that each player in a chamber orchestra is indespensible and has to know the part and play it like a soloist. I also like that the minimalist instrumentation Copland used creates a large, interesting sound despite the small number of players.

Wikipedia says that "because he composed the music without the benefit of knowing what the title was going to be, Copland was often amused when people told him he captured the beauty of the Appalachians in his music." (I think it is amusing and cute that Copland was amused.) This anecdote shows the power of suggestion and the importance of a title: once people know the name of a piece, they will tend to hear what they expect.

Aaron Copland - "Appalachian Spring" - 13 Instrument Chamber Orchestra
This slick performance by members of the Michigan Symphony Orchestra uses an unconventional arrangement of players. Also, the players have memorized the whole 26 minute suite! Impressive.



What was the ballet like, you ask? Here you can see it...

Appalachian Spring Ballet - Martha Graham - Aaron Copland
Original footage of the ballet with music synced later. Wikipedia says "the story tells of a spring celebration of the American pioneers of the 19th century, after building a new Pennsylvania farmhouse." The characters included a preacher and his congregation, a pioneer woman, a groom, and a bride (played by Martha Graham in black in the video below). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Spring

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