Evolution of the Orchestra

The origin of the word ‘orchestra’ is from Greek, meant the place where Greek chorus sang and danced. The term was revived during the late 17th century and evolved to mean the players themselves. I would like to talk about the the differences of the orchestra on the Baroque period, Classical period and Romantic period.

In the Baroque period, the most important instrument was strings. The size of orchestra is not standardised and it varied among different regions. It didn’t have percussion and brass instruments. Strings and woodwinds played the similar melody. But later woodwinds were used to sustain the harmony.

In the Classical period, the size of the orchestra was larger than in the Baroque period, it usually had 30 to 60 players in four sections: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Each section carries different roles. Strings were also the most important section, same as the Baroque period, the first violins took the melody most of the time and the lower strings played the accompaniment part. Woodwinds added contrasting tone colour and sometimes played the melody . Horn and trumpet brought power and tension to the loud passages. Timpani were used for rhythmic bites and emphasis. Therefore, as a whole, the classical orchestra could produce a lot of colourful sounds because the larger variety of instruments and different tone colour of instruments.

In the Romantic period, the size of the orchestra was even larger than in the Classical period, it had more than 100 players. Also, in this period, the structure and form of the symphonic work is expanded so that that the duration was longer. Moreover, due to the growing expressiveness and idiosyncrasies of the new composers in this period, it became easier to identify a composer based on his style or work.

In conclusion, everything needs time to develop. In the process of development, something will gain and something will lost. When the orchestra is playing Bach’s work today, it may not the sound that heard in the Baroque period. Although we can hear a lot of different sound effects because of the evolution of the orchestra, it might distort the composer’s thought in the old days. How will the orchestra develop in the future? Let’s wait and see.