Everyone, probably, has ever played in a school orchestra or been at a concert at the Philharmonic, where a symphony orchestra plays? It's just a miracle when there is a sense of harmony, and many different instruments play in unison, guided by common theme musical work. We will talk about what an orchestra is and what varieties of it exist in this article.
Definition
This is a fairly large group of musicians who play many musical instruments in unison, some of which play the same melody (form small groups that sound in unison). An orchestra is different from an ensemble, where each performer is a soloist, actual or potential. Each member of the ensemble has its own part. In an orchestra, several musicians can perform the same song. In this case, a group of instruments acquires a sound that is not characteristic of a single instrument.
Origin of the word
The word "orchestra" itself is Greek and means "a dance floor". In the ancient theater, the choir was placed on the "orchestra". Over time, the venue transforms into what we now call an "orchestral pit" that separates the stage from the audience. And the name passed to the musical group itself.
Classification
- Symphonic. Orchestra, which is composed of strings, percussion and wind instruments. Distinguish between small and large. In a large - the number of musicians over a hundred people. Often they use a harp, a harpsichord, and an organ.
- Wind. Consists exclusively of wind and percussion instruments.
- String. In fact, it is the string part of the symphony.
- Orchestra folk instruments. Compiled, for example, from Russian folk instruments.
- And also: pop, jazz, military and school orchestras.
Read about what other words of the Russian language mean in the section
Part symphony orchestra includes three groups musical instruments: strings (violins, violas, cellos, double basses), wind instruments (brass and wood) and a group percussion instruments. The number of musicians in groups may vary depending on the piece being performed. Often the composition of a symphony orchestra is expanded, additional and atypical musical instruments are introduced: harp, celesta, saxophone, etc. The number of musicians of a symphony orchestra in some cases can exceed 200 musicians!
Depending on the number of musicians in groups, a small and a large symphony orchestra are distinguished; among the varieties of small, there are theater orchestras participating in the musical accompaniment of operas and ballets.
Chamber
Such an orchestra differs from a symphony by a significantly smaller composition of musicians and a smaller variety of groups of instruments. In the chamber orchestra, the number of wind and percussion instruments has also been reduced.
String
This orchestra consists only of strings bowed instruments- violin, viola, cello, double bass.
Wind
The composition of the brass band includes a variety of wind instruments - wood and brass, as well as a group of percussion instruments. The brass band includes, along with musical instruments characteristic of a symphony orchestra (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba), and specific instruments (wind alto, tenor, baritone, euphonium, flugelhorn, sousaphone and etc.), which are not found in other types of orchestras.
In our country, military brass bands are very popular, performing, along with pop and jazz compositions, a special applied music. military music: fanfares, marches, hymns and the so-called landscape repertoire - waltzes and old marches. Brass bands are much more mobile than symphony and chamber bands, they can play music while moving. There is a special genre of performance - an orchestral defile, in which the performance of music by a brass band is combined with the simultaneous performance of complex choreographic performances by musicians.
In large opera and ballet theaters, you can find special brass bands - theatrical bands. Gangs participate directly in the stage production itself, where, according to the plot, the musicians are acting characters.
Pop
As a rule, this is a special composition of a small symphony orchestra (variety symphony orchestra), which includes, among other things, a group of saxophones, specific keyboards, electronic instruments (synthesizer, electric guitar, etc.) and a pop rhythm section.
Jazz
A jazz orchestra (band) consists, as a rule, of a wind group, which includes groups of trumpets, trombones and saxophones expanded compared to other orchestras, a group of strings, represented by violins and double bass, as well as a jazz rhythm section.
Orchestra of Folk Instruments
One of the variants of the folk ensemble is the orchestra of Russian folk instruments. It consists of groups of balalaikas and domras, includes gusli, button accordions, special Russian wind instruments - horns and zhaleika. Such orchestras often include instruments typical of a symphony orchestra - flutes, oboe, horns and percussion instruments. The idea of creating such an orchestra was proposed by the balalaika player Vasily Andreev at the end of the 19th century.
Orchestra of Russian folk instruments is not the only kind folk ensembles. There are, for example, Scottish bagpipe orchestras, Mexican wedding orchestras, in which there is a group of various guitars, trumpets, ethnic percussion, etc.
ORCHESTRA
Meaning:
ORCHESTRA, -a, m.
1. A group of musicians performing together musical works on the various tools. Symphonic, brass, string, jazz o. Chamber about. O. folk instruments.
2. The place in front of the stage area where the musicians are placed.
| adj. ~ new, th, th. Orchestral music. Orchestra pit(recessed place for ~a in front of the stage).
S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language
Meaning:
orc e str
m.1) A group of musicians performing a piece of music together on various instruments.
a) An ensemble of musical instruments.
b) The part of an ensemble of musical instruments in complex musical works.
3) The place in front of the stage where the musicians are placed.
Modern explanatory dictionary ed. "Great Soviet Encyclopedia"
ORCHESTRA
Meaning:
(from the orchestra), a group of musicians (12 people or more) playing various instruments and performing musical works together. The term "orchestra" in the 17-18 centuries. replaced the common European term "chapel". The composition differs in the orchestra of strings, folk instruments, wind, symphony, etc.; by genre - pop, jazz, military. The chamber orchestra is distinguished by a small number of performers.
Dictionary foreign words
ORCHESTRA
Meaning:
1. A group of musicians who play music together on various instruments. Symphonic about. Chamber about. O. folk instruments. Orchestrator - a musician from the orchestra.
Orchestrate - present (set out) a piece of music for performance by an orchestra or choir.||Cf. ENSEMBLE, CAPELLA I, CHOIR.
2. A place in the theater in front of the stage where the musicians are placed. Sit in the orchestra. Orchestral - relating to the orchestra, orchestras.
Small academic dictionary of the Russian language
orchestra
Meaning:
BUT, m.
A set of musical instruments involved in the performance of a piece of music, as well as a group of musicians who jointly perform a piece of music on various instruments.
Brass band. Symphony Orchestra. String orchestra.
The regiment stretched out in a long column and marched measuredly to the sounds of the regimental band, which thundered a cheerful march. Garshin, From the memoirs of Private Ivanov.
The place in front of the stage in the theater where the musicians are placed.
(French orchestre from Greek "ορχήστρα - a platform in front of the stage in the ancient Greek theater)
Compiled dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
orchestra
Meaning:
ORCHESTRA
(Greek orchestra). 1) everything is connected. multiple instruments together. 2) a place in the theater where the musicians are placed.
Dictionary of Efremova
Orchestra
- m.
- A group of musicians performing a piece of music together on various instruments.
- :
- Ensemble of musical instruments.
- Part of an ensemble of musical instruments in complex musical works.
- The place in front of the stage where the musicians are placed.
Culturology. Dictionary-reference
Orchestra
a large group of musicians performing musical works together. Depending on the composition of musical instruments, orchestras are distinguished: symphony, consisting of bowed, wind and percussion instruments; string (or chamber) - from bowed instruments; wind - from wind (wooden, copper and percussion); different kinds orchestras of folk instruments, pop, jazz, etc.
encyclopedic Dictionary
Orchestra
(from the orchestra), a group of musicians (12 people or more) playing various instruments and performing musical works together. Term "orchestra" in the 17-18 centuries. replaced the common European term "chapel". The composition differs in the orchestra of strings, folk instruments, wind, symphony, etc.; by genre - pop, jazz, military. The chamber orchestra is distinguished by a small number of performers.
Ozhegov's dictionary
ORC E STR, a, m.
1. A group of musicians who play music together on various instruments. Symphonic, brass, string, jazz o. Chamber about. O. folk instruments.
2. The place in front of the stage area where the musicians are placed.
| adj. orchestral, oh, oh. Orchestral music. Orchestra pit (recessed place for the orchestra in front of the stage).
Dictionary Ushakov
Orchestra
orke str, orchestra, husband.(from Greek orchestra - a place for dancing in front of the stage).
1. Ensemble of musical instruments. Symphony orchestra concert. Piece for string orchestra. Brass band.
| Performers team instrumental music. Played orchestra.
| Ensemble part in complex musical works ( music). Concerto for piano and orchestra.
2. Room for musicians in the opera house. Places in the orchestra.
Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language
Orchestra
French - orchestra.
German - Orchester.
Italian and English - orchestra.
Latin - orchestra (place for dancing).
In Russian, the word "orchestra" has been known since the middle of the 18th century, probably coming from French.
AT Ancient Greece an orchestra was a place for dancing in front of an audience or a choir. AT Ancient Rome the orchestra was called the front seats in the theater, intended for senators and noble citizens. In Russia, the orchestra began to be called the place where the musical ensemble was located, and then the musical ensemble itself.
Derivative: orchestral.
Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Orchestra
(orchestra - Greek) - in a modern theater a room for performing musicians, between the stage and the auditorium. This name was transferred to the performers of instrumental music, as well as to the composition of the instruments played by those participating in O. Orchestrating or instrumenting means writing a composition for the orchestra (see Instrumentation). O. is large and small. A large modern symphony orchestra includes all the orchestral instruments currently in use (see Instrument); the small o. includes a string group, flutes, clarinets, oboes, bassoons, horns, and timpani. There is also a stringed O., composed exclusively of string instruments. Military O. includes only wind and percussion instruments. They also talk about O. of the 17th century, O. Handel, Beethoven, etc., to signify the nature and composition of O. and the orchestration of this or that time, this or that composer. The composition of O. XVII Art. included, for example, lutes, cymbals, harps, which were subsequently excluded from it. Under Francesco Cavalli, the importance of violins as guiding instruments begins to rise. Instrumentation received a completely new meaning under Joseph Haydn and later composers (see Instrumentation).
N.S.
Glossary of musical terms
Orchestra
(gr. orchestra - platform in front of the stage in the ancient Greek theater)
1. The place in front of the stage, where in ancient Greece the choir was located, which accompanied the stage action of the tragedy.
2. Seat in front of the stage musical theater where the orchestra is placed (orchestra pit).
3. A group of instrumental musicians united to perform music together.
According to the composition, orchestras are divided into the following main types:
1) Symphonic - small or classical; large symphony (opera-symphony). These orchestras include instruments from all groups.
2) String - consisting only of stringed instruments.
3) Wind - consisting of wood and metal wind instruments and a percussion group: small (copper), small mixed, medium mixed, large mixed.
4) Orchestras of folk instruments - Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Uzbek, etc., Neapolitan orchestra.
5) Noise orchestras, which mainly include percussion instruments.
6) Variety orchestras.
7) Orchestras of electromusical instruments.
The development of orchestras was determined by the evolution of instruments (the invention of new ones, the improvement of old ones, the disappearance of obsolete ones, etc.), the development of orchestral performance, and the change in composers' orchestral thinking. The work of L. Beethoven, G. Berlioz, R. Wagner, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, I. Stravinsky, A. Scriabin, G. Mahler and others had a great influence on the development of orchestras. The desire to enrich the timbre palette of orchestras led to the inclusion of electric instruments, the use of tape recording, the division of orchestras into spatial groups, etc.
Orchestra (from the Greek orchēstra - a platform in front of the stage in the ancient Greek theater)
a large group of musicians playing various instruments and jointly performing works written for a given composition. The line between O. and instrumental ensemble(See Ensemble) is not quite clear, however, if in the ensemble each part is performed by one musician, O. is characterized by the performance of at least some parts by several instruments of the same type in unison. The highest form of vocalization is symphonic vocalization, which includes stringed, woodwind, and brass instruments, as well as percussion instruments. O. of homogeneous composition are also widespread - string O., Brass band. One of the varieties of O. is the chamber O., which differs from the symphonic O. in a smaller number of performers, and often in the fact that the performance of each part is entrusted to one performer. In connection with the special purpose of performing groups, military orchestral instruments (brass instruments, sometimes with an expanded and mixed composition) and pop orchestras developed. The forms of instrumental instruments of folk instruments are diverse. A special phenomenon was represented by the Horn Orchestra, to which the concept of "O." not quite applicable. Having originated at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, symphonic orchestration went through a long path of development. The compositions of the first instruments were dominated by stringed bowed instruments (the families of violins and viols) and plucked instruments (lutes and harps); the harpsichord or organ formed the basis of the so-called. continuo groups ( keyboard instrument, cello, double bass, sometimes bassoon). Wind instruments appeared occasionally. Only to horse. 18th century the classical orchestra, which is also called the small symphonic orchestra, took shape. Typically, such an orchestra included 8-10 first and 4-6 second violins, 2-4 violas, 3-4 cellos, 2 double basses, woodwind instruments - 2 flutes, oboe, clarinet, bassoon each (the so-called double composition ), 2 horns, later 2 trumpets and timpani were added. The late symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, most of Beethoven's symphonies, some of Glinka's symphonic works were written for such a composition. The subsequent development of symphonic orchestra in the 19th century. for a long time followed the path of expanding its composition and increasing the number of performers. The so-called. large symphonic O., which differs from the small one by the inclusion of 2-3 trombones and a tuba. G. Berlioz, R. Wagner, R. Strauss, G. Mahler, and also P. I. Tchaikovsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and I. F. Stravinsky made important contributions to the development of orthography. For the sake of enriching the coloristic possibilities, additional instruments with the sound of a special timbre were introduced into O. - small, alto and bass flutes, English horn, oboe d "amour, huckelphone, small clarinet, baset horn, bass clarinet, saxophone, contrabassoon, harp, celesta, pianoforte, organ, etc., various percussion and folk instruments. R. Wagner introduced a quartet of horn (so-called Wagnerian) tubas and bass trumpets into Der Ring des Nibelungen. Many orchestral scores of the early 20th century, for example, some operas by R. Strauss, a concerto of more than 100 people is envisaged. The concerto reaches even greater proportions with G. Mahler, one of whose symphonies (No. 8) is nicknamed “the symphony of a thousand participants” (includes a large symphonic orchestra, soloists and 3 choirs) In the 20th century, the opposite trend developed - towards the use of modest orchestral compositions.At the same time, due to the differentiation of parts of homogeneous instruments, the score often turns out to be no less complex. The location of the performers of modern symphonic orchestration is aimed at achieving a coherent sonority. In the 50-70s. 20th century the “American seating arrangement” became widespread: the first and second violins are placed to the left of the conductor, violas and cellos are placed to the right, woodwinds and brass, double basses are placed in the depth, and drums are placed to the left. Lit.: Kars A., History of orchestration, trans. from English, M., 1932; Rogal-Levitsky Dm., Modern orchestra, vol. 1-4, M., 1953-56; Bekker P., The orchestra, 2 ed., N. Y., 1963. I. A. Barsova.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .
Synonyms:See what "Orchestra" is in other dictionaries:
- (Greek orchestra). 1) everything is connected. multiple instruments together. 2) a place in the theater where the musicians are placed. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. ORCHESTRA Greek. orchestra. a) The composition of the choir of musicians ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
orchestra- a, m. orchestre m., German. Orchester lat. orchestra gr. 1. Ensemble of musical instruments. BAS 1. Piece for string orchestra. BAS 1. 2. A group of musicians performing a piece of music together on different instruments. BASS 1.… … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language
- (from the orchestra) a group of musicians (12 people or more) playing various instruments and performing musical works together. the term orchestra in the 17th and 18th centuries. replaced the common European term chapel. According to the composition ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Basic information Genres ... Wikipedia
- (from the Greek orchestra), a group of musicians (12 people or more) playing various instruments and performing musical works together. The term orchestra in the 17th and 18th centuries. replaced the common European term chapel. By… … Modern Encyclopedia
ORCHESTRA, orchestra, man. (from the Greek orchestra a place for dancing in front of the stage). 1. Ensemble of musical instruments. Symphony orchestra concert. Piece for string orchestra. Brass band. || A group of instrumental music performers. ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
Chapel, gamelan, taraf, orchestra, gang, persimfans, ensemble Dictionary of Russian synonyms. orchestra n., number of synonyms: 10 ensemble (38) ... Synonym dictionary
- (orchestra Greek) in a modern theater a room for performers, between the stage and the auditorium. This name passed to the performers of instrumental music, as well as to the composition of the instruments played by those participating in O. ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
ORCHESTRA, a, husband. 1. A group of musicians who jointly perform musical works on various instruments. Symphonic, brass, string, jazz o. Chamber about. O. folk instruments. 2. A place in front of the stage where ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
Husband, Italian a complete assembly of musicians, for playing together, that in voice music a choir; | fenced off in the theater and generally arranged somewhere for musicians. Orchestrate music, decompose voices into all musical instruments. Dictionary… … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
A large group of musicians performing musical works together. Depending on the composition of musical instruments, orchestras are distinguished: symphony, consisting of bowed, wind and percussion instruments; string (or chamber) - ... ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies