Symphony

symphony

 

In this article, we will explore aspects related to the evolution of the symphony as a musical genre, its development throughout different historical moments, as well as the most prominent composers of the genre.

Symphony comes from the Greek word “Symphonia”, which means “agreement or concord of sounds”.

 

In the sense of sounding together, the word begins to appear in the titles of some works by 16th and 17th-century composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli’s Symphoniae sacrae, liber secundus.

 

17Th Century

 

During the early baroque period, the term ‘symphony’ was synonymous with ‘canzona’, ‘sonata’, or ‘prelude’ for a solo keyboard instrument. A series of symphonies which were notable by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote for the keyboard, called ‘sinfonias or ‘inventions in three parts’. This term was also used for other instrumental works, such as the opening sinfonia in the second partita.

 
 

J. S. Bach

 

Throughout the mid-17th century, the term was used as an introductory part to operas or cantatas for orchestras. These pieces didn’t have a specifically determined group of instruments. Still, they were composed for whatever group of musicians were available. Also, it was very common to use the basso continuo as the harmonic line, interpreted by any bass instrument available, like the bassoon, violoncello, the harpsichord or the organ, to fill the harmonies written in the score.

 

In the Italian opera overture or symphony, the structure in three parts, ‘fast-slow-fast‘ was dominant during the 17th century. It was a structure which was similar to a solo concert. Composers such as Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Matthias Georg Monn, and Johann Stamitz, developed the genre into three parts, or as an introductory piece to their vocal works, such as cantatas, with diverse instrumentation in each of them. Bach’s Cantata BWV 29 is an example of this, with the difference that in the symphony, each part of the orchestra takes on a protagonist role, converting the genre from a solo concerto to a concerto for the whole orchestra, exploring in this way more the sonority of the orchestra.

 
 

18Th Century

 

The symphony was extraordinarily cultivated during the 18th century and interpreted in different areas of public life, including churches, particularly in the aristocracy. In Vienna, in particular, perhaps one of the most important locations at the time, the symphony undertook a very important role. Composers such as Johann Christian Bach and Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach developed the genre during the gallant style.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the symphonies were mainly composed for the strings, structured in four parts: first violin, second violin, viola and bass. Also, at the beginning of this century, it became popular to use a feature of basso continuo, which could include instruments such as bassoon, harpsichord or other harmonic instruments. This small orchestra’s first restructurings had a pair of horns and a couple of oboes. Later in the century, a pair of flutes, bassoons, clarinets and trumpets were also included, without mentioning the magnificence of sound that is achieved by the timpani.

 

With the Mannheim school and the restricting of the orchestra into pairs, the instrumental structure of symphony was established in the latter half of the 18th century. Composers of the Mannheim school played an important role in the development of the classical period’s genres and the classical symphony form.

 

The determined structure of the style of the Italian symphony was sometimes used as an overture to operas, and the structure was fixed into three parts (fast movement, slow movement, fast movement). Later on, during the 18th century, it became usual to include a fourth movement in the symphonies. Approximately the first 30 symphonies by Haydn, the young Mozart and Johann Christian Bach consisted of three movements, though. With the evolution of the genre, it is very important to note the inclusion of a fourth movement, leaving the symphony restructured in the following way:

1- Allegro of Sonata Form

2- Adagio, lento or andante

3- A dance movement such as minuet or scherzo with trio

(the latter widely used by the Austrian composer Beethoven)

4- Allegro, Rondo or Sonata.

The most notable composers who explored the genre during the later part of the 18th century were J. Haydn, who wrote at least 106 symphonies, and Mozart, with at least 47.

19Th Century

 

With the arrival of the 19th century, symphonic production was already being developed to a great extent. At the hand of Ludwig van Beethoven, the genre rose on a grand scale, from an everyday genre to a top form in which composers would express their most remarkable compositional resources.

With Beethoven and his nine symphonies, the genre would be structured and became the step of inspiration for new generations of composers. The Haydenian and Mozartian aesthetics can be clearly seen in his first two symphonies. However, already with the arrival of his third symphony, a greater ambition in the genre can be observed.

 
 

L. V. Beethoven

His fifth symphony, perhaps one of his most famous, provides a model for later composers such as Johannes Brahms or Gustav Mahler. His sixth symphony or Pastoral, is in its entirety a programmatic piece, transporting the listener to the purest natural environment, imitating in the orchestra birdsong and a great storm. Something very unusual in this piece is the incorporation of a fifth movement, something out of the ordinary until that time since the genre structurally consisted of four movements. With the arrival of his ninth symphony, the composer’s ambition is reflected in the use of solo parts for vocals and choirs, which turns the piece into a choral symphony.

 

 

Beethoven’ Symphony No 9

 

Schubert’s symphonies are an example of how the classical symphony influenced his later ones structurally and aesthetically. Unfortunately, he could only complete the first two movements of his eighth symphony, popularly called his unfinished symphony, a language-laden work of the Age of Enlightenment.

Early Romantic composers such as Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann followed the classical model for the composition of their symphonies, always using their own language. As a continuation of the programmatic style of the genre, it is notable for highlighting the appearance of the symphonies of the French composer Hector Berlioz, works such as his dramatic symphony Romeo and Juliet, Harold in Italy and his great fantastic symphony.

After 1850, the symphonic poems of Franz Liszt displaced the symphony as the main form; with large-scale instrumental music, the composer wrote two programmatic choral symphonies; Faust and Dante.

In the 1870s and 1880s the symphony declared its resurrection. With the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, Camile Saint-Saens, Antonin Dvorak and Cezar Franck, works that alluded to Liszt’s programmatic models, and that played an important role for at least a century.

At the end of the 19th century, and with a great expansion in the symphony orchestra, composers such as Gustav Mahler began to write longer symphonies than his later ones, models that he continued to use until the beginning of the 20th century. The third symphony is undoubtedly one of his most extensive, or his eighth symphony (Symphony of a Thousand) since it required many voices to be interpreted.

 

20Th Century

 

With the arrival of the 20th century, the symphony reached its zenith with the instrumentation or technical and compositional resources. Some composers such as Dimitri Shostakovich and Carl Nielson continued to write in the traditional way of four movements. Other composers such as Jean Sibelius focused on the genre, whose seventh symphony consisted of one movement. The Alpina Symphony by Richard Strauss, also consisted of just one movement, divided into 22 parts.

During the first half of the 20th century, the symphony reached a wide compositional level, so much so that modernist composers such as Edward Elgar, Gustave Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, Bohuslav Martinu, Serguei Prokofiev, and Dimitri Shostakovich composed grand symphonies with an elevated artistic and technical level.

The symphony is a genre that still catches the attention of post-modernist composers, adding some ingredients which make each of these pieces original for the pleasure of the most exquisite listener.

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