Octet (music)

An octet (from Latin octo " eight " ) is in the music, a group of eight performers or a composition for such a group. The working title octet developed only in the 19th century.

Basically octets are of course conceivable for any cast of eight musicians. However, some occupations were used frequently and formed their own tradition.

• 2.1 Schubert Instrumentation
• 2.2 " Octandre " Cast

Homogeneous occupations

Eight Strings

Although a large group of musicians sound gains through the use of a deep bass instrument ( four violins, two violas and two cellos so ) has a pure string section, the use of two string quartets enforced, as this combination is the most readily available. Thus, the following composers String octets have written in the said occupation: Felix Mendelssohn ( Es- Dur op 20) Woldemar Bargiel ( C minor, Op 15a) Joachim Raff ( C major op 176), Max Bruch (1920), George Enescu ( C major op 7), Niels Gade (op. 17), Johan Svendsen (Op. 3), Reinhold Gliere Moritzewitsch (Op. 5) and Dmitri Shostakovich ( op 11).

Double quartet

The double quartet is a special form of the octet in which the juxtaposition of two for double equal occupied quartets is designed compositionally. Ludwig Spohr wrote four such works for two string quartets ( in D minor, Op 65 in E flat major, Op 77, E minor, Op 87, G minor, Op 136); he saw here, " the task [ ... ], sitting side by side to make two quartets perform a piece of music, but losing sight of the two quartets alternate and concerts frequently on the type of double choirs and save what eight-voice only for the main points of the composition.". He followed here an excitation Andreas Romberg, whose double quartet remained unfinished.

Eight Winds

Already Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven wrote works for eight voices wind instruments, the more the genus divertimento or serenade attributable to but as so-called harmony of music and were therefore not referred to them as " octets ". Old- orchestral tradition here are the instruments most doubly occupied (about two oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoons ); one for double treatment of the instruments (as in the double quartet ) is very rare.

In a similar occupation Igor Stravinsky wrote in 1923 his Octet for flute, clarinet, two bassoons, two trumpets and two trombones.

Same instruments

The ability to write a four -part harmony, and to occupy every vote twice, but it split at will on, has to a certain fondness of Eight number of musicians always performed when the same instruments to be written for a larger group. So works for eight cellos, eight horns, eight bassoons and eight double basses, and accordingly occupied ensembles have emerged in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Mixed instruments

Many works for eight musicians put together a strings and a horn section and often add another polyphonically playable instrument like piano, harp or percussion added to lead as three different tones polyphonic against each other. Two such occupations have proved particularly influential:

Schubert Instrumentation

Probably the most significant classical work of an occupied with eight musicians, chamber music is the 1824 resulting octet in F major, Op 166 by Franz Schubert for two violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Together with the very similar occupied by Ludwig van Beethoven Septet it forms a separate lineage in the cast; apparently this instrumental compilation offers particularly rich opportunities as they zusammenzwingt the basic sound of the classical orchestra with chamber music string quartet tradition in an ideal way.

Again and again, composers have written works in this or a slightly different cast, including in 1813 Louis Spohr one octet in E major op 32 for clarinet, two horns, violin, two violas, cello and double bass, in 1816 Ferdinand Ries ( Octet in F minor Opus 128, with piano instead of the 2nd Violin ), 1958 Paul Hindemith ( " octet ", with two violas instead of two violins ), 1969 Iannis Xenakis ( " Anactoria " ) and 1977 Michael Denhoff ( " O Orpheus sings ").

" Octandre " Cast

1923 wrote Edgar Varèse with " Octandre " a composition that only singly occupied all instruments: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and double bass. The sound does not fall on disturbing is that the bass is not a wind instrument; also from this approach, your own occupation tradition has formed. As an example, " Epei " by Iannis Xenakis can ( but only for six musicians ) are valid and " Eight" by John Cage ( 1991) ( with tuba instead of bass ).

Many large ensembles, chamber music works of new music written for a cast of seven solo wind instruments and string quintet (sometimes with added piano or drums); such occupations can be viewed as a synthesis of Octandre type and the Schubert - type.

Jazz

Of course, there are also outside the classical and contemporary music ensembles with eight -member cast. But alone in the Jazz filling seems so important that groups typically call after the number of their members. An eight- piece band, must not be considered as unusually large, so this for economic reasons rather temporary phenomena remained ( examples exist of George Coleman, David Murray, Slide Hampton, Dave Pell, Gerry Mulligan, Tubby Hayes and others).

In his recordings Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation 1960 Ornette Coleman began a double rhythm section and, therefore, described his occupation as " double quartet " ( two quartets of trumpet, reed instrument, bass and drums ). The two quartets are separated in the stereo field, but are otherwise not compared in any way to each other.

Choral music

Eight -part vocal music can be found in some professional ensembles, such as the Swingle Singers. However, since there is relatively little eight-voice vocal music, and groups of eight singers sing mostly in four parts; often refer to themselves therefore eight-man - and sometimes much larger - vocal ensembles as " double quartet ". So here 's designation is basically a different meaning than in instrumental music.