chamber music
was one of three general classifications of music at
the beginning of the 17th century—the others being
church music and theater music (the wellspring for opera
and symphony). Each had its own conventions of style
and function. At the time, “chamber” referred
to ensemble music for voices and instruments performed
at small gatherings, usually at court or at home.
By the mid-18th century, under the impact of classicism,
chamber music came to signify many of the characteristics
it has today:
• music for a small instrumental ensemble (usually
2 to 9 players, one person to a part)
• performed in an intimate setting by amateurs
or professionals
• stressing personal expression and the conversation
among players, rather than virtuosic display or leadership
by a conductor.
Of the various configurations that evolved for chamber
groups, the string quartet became the most popular for
several reasons. It proved the ideal exponent of the
four-part harmonic language that had developed by this
time, while maintaining intimacy and cohesion in texture.
And since stringed instruments were considered the closest
in quality to the human voice, they became a favorite
choice for composers wishing to express their deepest
emotion without using words.
Josef Haydn is generally acknowledged to be the father
of the modern string quartet. The patronage of the Esterhazy
family, for whom he served as composer-in-residence,
allowed Haydn to indulge his playful nature and gave
him freedoms he would not have enjoyed had he had to
compose for his supper. (Arguably, universities have
replaced regal houses in freeing artists-in-residence
from the tyranny of the concert tour.) Affectionately
called “Papa Haydn” by the orchestra he
led at the Esterhazy court, Haydn defined and directed
the conventions that made the string quartet a complex,
meaningful structure attracting the most gifted composers
of the time, Mozart and Beethoven among them.
Older than Mozart by 20 years and Beethoven’s
senior by 40, Haydn encouraged both, fighting in particular
to bring Mozart’s genius to public recognition.
The two enjoyed playing string quartets together, Haydn
on first violin and Mozart on viola. In 1785, Mozart
dedicated a series of six quartets to Haydn.
Beethoven studied with Haydn and was influenced by his
teaching, but Beethoven’s iconoclasm clashed with
Haydn’s classicism and they soon parted ways.
Beethoven elevated the string quartet genre to a new
level, wherein setting, form, counterpoint and harmony
combine to create a magnificent musical experience.
The chamber music literature attracted performers, composers
and audiences who understood and participated in the
conventions of the style. Stanford Professor of Music
Emeritus Albert Cohen explains that without training
in the structure of the genre coupled with development
of aural memory, today’s audiences risk losing
the meaning of the literature. This sentiment was demonstrated
during a lunchtime concert capping off the 2004 Summer
Chamber Music Institute hosted by the St. Lawrence String
Quartet, when musician and composer Rob Kapilow taught
the audience what to listen for in Schubert’s
Death and the Maiden quartet. An enthusiastic
crowd learned to identify five different basic phrases
and their transformations before hearing the second
movement in its entirety.
Kapilow explained that composers play listeners’
expectations for laughs and thrills, but this assumes
sufficient musical training to know what to expect.
Only then do concerts become edge-of-the-seat experiences.
He quipped, “Audiences used to have great love
for music, but little respect; nowadays they have great
respect but little love.” |
