Abstract
In order to create chords and harmony European music is often played in ensembles. The orchestra is the biggest group among those who “play together”. We will see how the modern orchestra has been established. There are various types of orchestras concerning size, instruments or seating arrangements. The roles of the conductor and concert master are essential to play together. We will learn also about some acoustics of orchestral instruments, relating to the seating arrangements.
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Notes
- 1.
A violone belongs to either the viol or violin family. It may have six, five, four, or even only three strings.
- 2.
Concerto grosso is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the concertino) and a full orchestra (the ripieno or concerto grosso).
- 3.
There are various ensembles of non-European music, too. However, here we refer to “orchestra” only in European music.
- 4.
A large cantata on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen. The “Gurre” refers to Gurre Castle in Denmark, scene of a medieval love-tragedy.
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Acknowledgments
Authors thank Motonori Kobayashi, a conductor of the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra for talking about being a conductor.
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Tsuji, K., Müller, S.C. (2021). Play Together and Form an Orchestra. In: Physics and Music. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68676-5_10
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