What’s a chamber orchestra? Well, that’s easy, you will say – a smaller orchestra, of course! Correct, but did you know how it came about, and what the relationship is to its larger peer, the symphony orchestra?

The distinction between the two orchestra types in Europe emerged quite late, actually, because until the 18th century all orchestras were small – chamber size, that is. The reasons? First, the array of instruments was still limited to the precursors of violin, cello, guitar, flute, and drum. (In fact, before they came into their own, instruments were primarily used to accompany singing voices.) Second, there simply weren’t any concert halls yet. Rather than using the term orchestra – it appeared only much later – small instrumental groups often referred to themselves as consorts. Consisting largely of amateurs, they played for their own pleasure or, as strolling players, for the entertainment of the nobility. The exception is sacral music which formed an integral part within the Roman Catholic and, later, Protestant church. 

How many players are required, for which instruments? While string players form the stock of our orchestra, wind players change from piece to piece. If many winds are required, that raises the price of the performance. Do all players have to come to all rehearsals? Maybe the horn or harp is only needed for the last two – good news for the orchestra’s treasurer. 

During the absolutist era – from approximately 1650 to 1800 – many European sovereigns, grown rich through exorbitant taxes that left many folks starving, tried to imitate the glamorous court of Louis XIV, the French Sun King at Versailles. In their showy, often pretentious châteaus, they were able to retain larger ensembles entertaining the princes and their entourage with what we call today Baroque music. Performing in ornate salons, or chambers, the ensembles began to be called what we call them today: chamber orchestras. (In classical Greece, the term “orchestra” was applied to choirs singing and dancing in front of the theater stage – the proscenium – hence the name for the corresponding seat section in our modern auditoriums.) Composers, too, had to rely on feudal patrons to make a living.

Who else would have been in a position to buy and perform their music?

J.S. Bach, for example, was in the employ of several princes throughout his lifetime. Joseph Haydn was retained by the Hungarian Duke of Esterhazy (Hungary then being part of the mighty Austrian Habsburg empire), and Mozart depended on the good graces of the Archbishop of Salzburg before a falling out with his patron and failed applications to other courts forced him to fend for himself, leaving him a pauper. 

As the opera tradition spread from Italy via France to the area called the “Holy Roman Empire” (it had little to do with Rome then) centering on what today is Germany, kings, princes, and even bishops decided to build their own opera houses with standing troupes including chamber players. By and by, the chamber groupings grew in size, over time adopting brass and percussion instruments as well. Still, conductors were only seen at operas, not with chamber ensembles alone. These played self-guided, peering, as it were, to the concert master who occupied the first chair of the first violins. It might be useful to remember here that these ensembles featured men only. For a woman to play an instrument in public was considered inappropriate. (It also was a time when most female theater roles were played by men and soprano voices sung by castrates, a tradition that lasted well into the 19th century.) 

Around the turn of the 19th century, several developments dramatically changed the musical scene. First, the hammer mechanism, paired with many other tweaks in string, key, and dampening technology, allowed the piano to develop a range and volume of sound that could fill a large concert hall. Equipped with sophisticated new valve systems, wood and brass wind instruments also benefited from greater sound volume as well as wider dynamic range between piano (soft) and forte (loud) – a trend which, in turn, required the reinforcement of the string section in order to maintain the acoustic balance. Composers took note and wrote concertos featuring bigger orchestras accompanying solo instruments for larger halls. More and more cities built concert halls that were open to anyone who could buy a ticket. Symphonic compositions had already existed for quite a while at the time but under the older name, sinfonias (“voices sounding together in harmony”), and written for smaller ensembles. Now, big symphonies rang in the Classic and Romantic period.

By contrast, what we understand today as chamber orchestra consisting of some 25 to 50 string and wind players gained popularity only later in the century when Baroque music was rediscovered and contemporary composers (such as Brahms and Dvorák) began to write serenades and suites specifically for smaller orchestras. This was also in response to a growing fatigue with ever larger symphony (or philharmonic – meaning essentially the same) orchestras of sometimes 200 or more players.

Today’s chamber orchestras feature the traditional string section consisting of a few first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double bass, as well as a limited number of winds. The actual composition of the orchestra depends greatly on the music to be played. Our Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) has been offering music including wind instruments, even percussion, as well as music exclusively for strings. To design a successful chamber music program array is not an easy task, and requires many considerations. First, the program should have an overriding theme, such as spring, or Baroque suites, or young American composers. Let’s just suppose the orchestra would like to offer a particular modern composition. Is the sheet music readily available? How much is the rent? For living composers, what is the royalty? For example, but for the generosity of an ECCO board member, we wouldn’t have been able to afford the rental fee for Paul McCartney’s music featured in our first concert of this season back in September. Older music can sometimes be downloaded from the internet for free. 

How many players are required, for which instruments? While string players form the stock of our orchestra, wind players change from piece to piece. If many winds are required, that raises the price of the performance. Do all players have to come to all rehearsals? Maybe the horn or harp is only needed for the last two – good news for the orchestra’s treasurer. And so on ... In the end, though, our aim is to present the audience with interesting, original, and pleasing music. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to help transform a composition on paper into a luscious sound that envelopes the listener as no stereo system can do. See us on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7:30pm at the Pablo Center at the Confluence for our next concert!

Johannes Strohschänk teaches at UW-Eau Claire. In his free time, he plays violin in the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, of which he is a founding member.