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Chamber music
Chamber music, music composed for small ensembles of
instrumentalists. In its original sense chamber music referred TABLE OF CONTENTS
to music composed for the home, as opposed to that written
Introduction
for the theatre or church. Since the “home”—whether it be
drawing room, reception hall, or palace chamber—may be Sources and instruments
assumed to be of limited size, chamber music most often Historical development
permits no more than one player to a part. It usually Structural elements
dispenses with a conductor. Music written for combinations
Audiences
of stringed or wind instruments, often with a keyboard (piano
or harpsichord) as well, and music for voices with or without
accompaniment have historically been included in the term.

An essential characteristic of chamber music results from the limited size of the performing
group employed: it is intimate music, suited to the expression of subtle and re ned musical
ideas. Rich displays of varied instrumental colour, and striking effects produced by sheer
sonority, play little part in chamber music. In place of those effects are re nement, economy
of resources, and awless acoustical balance.

This article discusses instrumental ensemble music written for groups of two to eight players
with one player to a part, and in which stringed instruments and piano (or harpsichord)
supply the principal interest.

Sources and instruments

Instrumental music designed for home use has existed since about the middle of the 15th
century. It became customary in Germany to supply folk-song melodies with two or three
countermelodies, to expand and elaborate the whole, and to arrange the result for groups of
instruments; original melodies were given similar treatment. The instruments were not often
speci ed, but on the basis of many paintings of the time one may assume that groups of
viols of various sizes predominated.

A more important source of later chamber music is to be found in the arrangements of 16th-
century chansons (songs of French origin composed usually for four voices on a variety of
secular texts), some for voices and lute, others for lute alone. The typical chanson was
characterized by contrasts in musical texture and often in metre; the effect of the whole was
that of a short composition in several even shorter sections. That sectional form retained in
the arrangements later became a striking feature.

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The chanson travelled to Italy about 1525, became known as canzona, and was transcribed for
organ. The earliest transcriptions differed from the French arrangements in treating the
original chanson with greater freedom, adding ornaments and ourishes, and sometimes
inserting new material. Soon original canzonas for organ, modelled on the transcriptions, and
for small instrumental ensembles, were composed. One such type, characterized by
elaborate gurations and ornamented melodies, became in uential in England late in the
17th century and played a role in the works of Henry Purcell.

Parallel to the developments that led from the vocal chanson, in France, to the instrumental
canzona, primarily in Italy, was the development of the dance suite. Early 16th-century dance
tunes in all countries of western Europe usually had appeared in pairs: one was slow, stately
in mood, and in duple metre (i.e., with two beats to the measure); the other fast, lively in
mood, usually in triple metre, and often melodically similar to the rst. Through much of the
16th century, composers in the several countries sought to expand the dance pair into a
uni ed dance suite. Suites based on variations of one movement appeared in England; suites
in which each of four dances had its own rhythmic character, melodically based on the rst
dance, were written in Germany; sets of dances with no internal relationships to each other
were common in Italy. The most in uential steps were taken in France by composers for the
lute or the clavecin (harpsichord). Consisting essentially of four dance forms that were then
popular—the allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue—the suites they composed were
based on contrasting tempos, metres, and rhythmic patterns. The French version of the
dance suite became the prototype for later chamber-music forms.

Toward the middle of the 17th century the two types of composition—one derived from the
canzona and composed in sectional form, the other derived from the dance suite and
consisting of several movements—appeared as works for small instrumental ensembles. In
Italy small groups of stringed instruments were often employed in Roman Catholic churches
to perform appropriate music; thus canzonas came to be widely used for church purposes.
For church use the dance movements were omitted, and what came to be called a church
sonata (sonata da chiesa) resulted. And a set of sonate da chiesa composed in 1667 by
Giovanni Battista Vitali marked the beginning of the form as a separate entity.

In the same year Johann Rosenmüller, a German composer working in Venice, published a
set of Sonate da camera cioè Sinfonie . . . (Chamber Sonatas, that is, Symphonies . . .), each
consisting of four to six dance movements with an introductory movement (sinfonia) not in
dance style. The development of chamber music for the remainder of the century centred
upon these two types, sonata da chiesa and sonata da camera.

The rst half of the 17th century was marked by considerable variety in the constitution of
chamber-music groups. Compositions were commonly for one to four viols, or for
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combinations of viols and woodwind instruments, most often with a gured-bass

accompaniment, a kind of musical shorthand, employed in virtually all music of the period
about 1600 to 1750, in which the composer wrote a bass line and inserted gures and other
symbols under certain notes. The gures indicated the nature of the desired chord to be
improvised over the note—whether major or minor, whether in normal or in inverted
position, and so on—and the gured-bass line was designed to be “realized” or played by a
harmony instrument (such as a lute, organ, or harpsichord), often with a melody instrument
(bass, cello, or bassoon) to reinforce the bass line. The bass line with its gures and the two
instruments performing it were called basso continuo or simply continuo.

As early as 1622, the Italian composer Salomone Rossi had begun to specify two violins and
chittarone (a large lute) in his dance sets; and soon similar combinations were adopted
generally. A work written for two violins and bass (continuo) became known as a sonata a tre
or “trio sonata”—even though four instruments (the three strings and the lute or harpsichord)
were usually involved in the performance. Later in the 17th century works for one instrument
and continuo appeared also and were called variously solo sonatas, duos, or sonate a due.
The combinations of violin and continuo or cello and continuo were favoured, and sonatas for
those combinations took regular places in the chamber-music eld.

Works for two violins and continuo (with harpsichord and bass understood) virtually
dominated the eld until the middle of the 18th century. About that time the custom of
serenading became popular; small groups of instrumentalists strolled the streets of Austrian
and Italian cities, performing serenades and divertimenti. The keyboard instrument realizing
the continuo proved unwieldy and was soon abandoned. To the three remaining strings a
viola was added to ll out the harmonies, the bass was replaced by a cello, and the string
quartet emerged. This new combination of two violins, viola, and cello was then adopted by
composers of serious music, and from about 1750 the string quartet took its place as the
principal medium for chamber music. Owing its development largely to the Austrian
composer Joseph Haydn, it has reigned supreme to the present day. About 1760, other
combinations for strings alone began to play important but relatively smaller roles in the
eld: the string trio (violin, viola, cello), string quintet (quartet plus a second viola), and string
sextet (quintet plus a second cello) are chief among them.

Meanwhile, as the continuo principle gradually approached obsolescence, the harpsichord

(which was superseded by the piano about 1770) took on a new function in chamber music.
In works with continuo it had been an accompanying instrument, improvising its part
according to the directions indicated in the gured bass; now the keyboard instrument
became dominant in new combinations that included one to four strings. The most
important of these is the piano trio (piano, violin, cello), the repertory of which includes works

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from Haydn to the present. Various combinations of piano and one instrument loom almost
as large. Toward the end of the 18th century and extending through the 19th, the
combinations of piano quartet (piano trio plus viola) and piano quintet (piano and string
quartet) give rise to a small but signi cant repertory ornamented by composers such as
Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and many others.

Finally, works for individual combinations exist in considerable number after about the 1780s.
Representative compositions of that nonstandard group include the clarinet quintets (string
quartet and clarinet) by Mozart (K. 581) and Brahms (Opus 115); the Septet, Opus 20 (violin,
viola, cello, bass, clarinet, bassoon, and horn), by Beethoven; the Octet, Opus 166 (as in the
septet plus a second violin), the Trout Quintet, Opus 114 (violin, viola, cello, bass, and piano),
and the String Quintet in C Major, Opus 163 (two violins, viola, and two cellos), all by Schubert;
and the Horn Trio, Opus 40 (violin, horn, and piano), by Brahms. Composers of the 20th
century have written works for instrumental groups to which a voice is added.

Historical development
Late Baroque period, c. 1675–1750

The work of Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713) in standardizing the two major sonata types of his
time had tremendous impact on chamber music. Corelli was of considerable in uence on
Henry Purcell (c. 1659–95), the most important English composer of his time. Purcell’s works
include 22 trio sonatas closely allied to the chiesa type, and over a dozen “fancies” (that is,
fantasies), works of a single movement largely in contrapuntal style for groups of three to
seven viols. Another Italian Baroque composer of widespread in uence, Antonio Vivaldi
(1678–1741), in addition to several hundred concertos for various instruments and orchestra,
composed some 75 chamber-music works. Of these, 12 trio sonatas, 16 sonatas for violin and
continuo, and about 16 for various other instruments have entered the repertory.

The contributions of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) to development of chamber music

were noteworthy. In all, Bach’s chamber works include 18 sonatas for one instrument (nine for
violin, three for viola da gamba, six for ute) and harpsichord, two separate trio sonatas, and
two late works of an unusual nature; Das musikalisches Opfer (The Musical Offering) and Die
Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue). Half of the sonatas require gured bass; the other half,
with written-out keyboard parts, are essentially in three-voice counterpoint: one voice in the
solo instrument and two in the keyboard part. The Musical Offering consists of 12 canons and
fugues for various combinations of two to six instruments and a four-movement trio sonata;
the whole is based on a theme given to Bach by Frederick the Great in 1747, upon which
Bach improvised in the presence of the King, and which he later elaborated to constitute this
“offering.” The work reveals Bach’s enormous technical skill and is lled with emotional
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intensity. The Art of the Fugue, Bach’s last work, is a set of 19 fugues (the last un nished) for
two to four unspeci ed instruments. The work is based on one theme that is transformed in
systematic fashion in successive movements, and employs two additional themes on
occasion. The whole summarizes the contrapuntal practices of the past, contains profound
spiritual symbolism, and is unique in music.

The 40-odd chamber works of George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), representing both chiesa
and camera types, contain a wealth of melody and carefully worked-out fugal movements
and are lled with the rhythmic drive that represents Handel at his best. Of these about 18
are solo sonatas (with continuo) for various instruments, and some 22 are trio sonatas.

Classical period, c. 1750–1825

The 83 string quartets (of which seven are single-movement arrangements of orchestral
pieces titled The Seven Words of Our Saviour on the Cross and known as The Seven Last
Words) by Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) constitute a series in which virtually the entire history of
the string quartet is represented. Most of them appeared in sets of six, each under a separate
opus number. The earliest sets, Opus 1 and 2, express merely the super cial and diverting
elements of Rococo style—the fanciful, ornamental style that was prevalent in the 18th
century. From Opus 3 onward the four-movement form is regularized, and in Opus 9
thematic materials begin to reveal details that point to the future. Opus 17 discloses a
virtuosic element in its rst-violin parts, and lower voices are given only a small share in the
thematic work. The latter process comes to full expression in Opus 20, for now cello and viola
are entrusted with thematic statements and the quartet style is close at hand.

After a nine-year interval (1772–81) Haydn introduced a “new manner” (his phrase) in the
quartets of Opus 33; this resulted in the establishment of the principle of thematic
development. Motive manipulation is basic to the texture, and the fully developed sonata
form appears. Also in Opus 33 Haydn introduced the scherzo in place of the minuet, but did
not continue that practice in later quartets.

The 33 quartets from Opus 50 onward (excepting Opus 51, The Seven Last Words) include the
masterworks on which Haydn’s reputation is so rmly founded. Of them 18 (Opus 50, 54, 55,
64) were composed during the time (c. 1786–90) Haydn was in close contact with Mozart and
are characterized by an increasing use of chromaticism to produce poignant effects. The 15
quartets written after Mozart’s death (Opus 71, 74, 76, 77, 103) return to the optimistic style
that was innate, and they reveal an ever-increasing expressiveness and mastery of detail.

Haydn also composed more than 30 piano trios, eight violin sonatas, and over 60 string trios.
While those works contain attractive melodies, they represent a minor aspect of the

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composer’s activity.

Of the 26 string quartets written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) the qualities of the
last 10 are such that they have virtually overshadowed the 16 earlier works. Six of the 10 re ect
Mozart’s rst attempts to work in Haydn’s “new manner” and reveal how successfully he
adopted the principle. The last three, dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia, a
competent cellist, show Mozart’s ability to adapt to the interests of his potential patrons. Here
the cello parts reveal something of the virtuosity required of the rst violin. Taken together,
the last 10 quartets are among Mozart’s masterpieces.

Of Mozart’s eight string quintets, three rise to supremacy. The String Quintet in C Major, K.
515 (K. stands for Köchel, a cataloger of Mozart’s works), is a model of strength and delicacy,
lled with moods re ecting grace and good humour, but also high dramatic tension. Its
companion in G minor, K. 516, is characterized by the same strength but is the embodiment
of anguish. Two years later Mozart composed the Clarinet Quintet, K. 581; now moods of
grace, humour, and cheer prevail. The addition of the woodwind instrument enabled Mozart
to achieve a high level of brilliance and colour throughout; the Clarinet Quintet is one of the
monuments of the literature.

Exactly half of Mozart’s 32 violin sonatas were composed before his 10th birthday; in them the
violin parts do little more than accompany the piano. The last 16 move gradually to a true
ensemble texture, which is fully attained in K. 454, K. 481, and K. 526. Two piano quartets,
contrasting greatly in mood, are alike in containing a balance between piano and strings. His
seven piano trios are somewhat like the violin sonatas in gradually reaching a true ensemble
texture. Of the seven, one in B at major (K. 502), one in E major (K. 542), and one in E at
major for clarinet, viola, and piano (K. 498) rise to greatness in variety of moods, balanced
forms, and perfection of detail.

In the works of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) chamber-music composition takes a

central place. His 17 string quartets constitute the backbone of the repertory. The rst six take
points of departure from the quartet style of Haydn’s later works, but far exceed them in
strength, occasional boisterousness, and variety of material. Five quartets of Beethoven’s
middle period represent a great increase in size, depth of expression, and formal freedom.
The six last quartets include works that transcend conventional forms and textures.
Development techniques and contrapuntal devices play more important roles here; forms
are imaginative and uid, movements are often thematically related, and a range of
expression that uncovers new depths of the soul is here disclosed.

Beethoven’s other chamber music, like the quartets, reveals a gradual increase in the power
of the motive to generate thematic sections. This is especially true in the Three Piano Trios,
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Opus 1; the String Trio in C Major, Opus 9, No. 3; and the String Quintet in C Major, Opus 29.
Particularly in the scherzo movements, which Beethoven employs in place of minuets, he
generally begins with a one-measure motive, from which most of the thematic material is
derived. The Septet, Opus 20, together with many of the violin sonatas, the cello sonatas, and
a few miscellaneous works, occupy an intermediate stage in this development. Some are
based on long melodies that are developed, others on short motives that are manipulated. In
virtually every case, however, a masterpiece results.

Early Romantic period, c. 1825–55

Franz Schubert (1797–1828), in about 28 chamber-music works, at rst modelled his

compositions on those of the Classical period. His restless search for instrumental and
harmonic colour soon took him beyond the bounds of Classical style and aligned him with
the prophets of Romanticism. Of the eight works in which his mature mastery is so clearly
revealed, all but one were composed after 1824. They include the last three string quartets,
the Trout Quintet for piano and strings, an Octet for strings and winds, two piano trios, and
the String Quintet in C Major with second cello added to the usual quartet.

Less concerned with traditional formal structure than other composers of his stature,
Schubert relied on unceasing melodic ow coupled with rare harmonic imagination.
Typically a melodic section is repeated with changed harmonies, ranging far beyond the
usual; the nale of the Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Opus 100, is an extreme example. But
Schubert also had a keen sense of drama, as the String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor (Death and
the Maiden) exhibits eloquently. Such characteristics (lyrical melody, harmonic variety, and
drama) are wonderfully combined in Schubert’s last large composition, the String Quintet in
C Major with two cellos—probably the most perfect work of this composer’s short life.

With Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47) a return to Classical ideals of form is seen, coupled,
however, with Romantic enthusiasm. Of his about 24 chamber-music works, eight represent
the composer at his best; these include ve string quartets, two piano trios, and an Octet for
eight strings. Mendelssohn’s contributions include primarily a new kind of light and deft
music, heard especially in his scherzos; a rich melodiousness that embraces all sections of
the sonata-form movements (hence removing the element of thematic contrast on which
musical con ict depends); and scrupulous attention to detail. The scherzo of the String
Quartet No. 4 in E Minor, Opus 44, No. 2; that of the String Octet in E Flat Major, Opus 20; and
the nale of the String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Opus 44, No. 1, are among the nest
representatives of Mendelssohn’s enchanting style.

Robert Schumann (1810–56) represents the best aspects of early Romanticism; these include
an interest in tone colour, melodiousness, a free approach to details of form, and subjective
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expression in which enthusiasm plays a large part. Twelve chamber-music works re ect
those aspects in varying degrees. A set of pieces entitled Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales)
for piano, clarinet, and viola illustrates the search for new tone colours; the Piano Quintet, in
which the piano is combined with two violins, viola, and cello (possibly for the rst time in the
19th century), does likewise. Three string quartets are melodious, dramatic, brusque, and
dreamy in turn. In three piano trios, as in one piano quartet, Schumann’s tendency to let the
piano dominate the strings is sometimes seen. And in all those works his characteristic
impulsiveness and tendency to alternate between forthright and moody expression is
characteristic.

Late Romantic period, c. 1855–1900

In chamber music of the last half of the 19th century, only a few dozen works by composers
other than Brahms survive in the repertory of the period. A piano quintet, one string quartet,
and a single violin sonata by César Franck reveal that composer’s fondness for cyclical form,
in which successive movements are thematically linked, and for a structural scheme that is
based on harmonic manipulation rather than melodic development. Bedřich Smetana (1824–
84), in two string quartets and one piano trio, tended toward autobiographical expression in
which Czech folk dances played a part. His rst quartet, Z mého života (From My Life), is
supplied with a program.

The work of Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) represents a combination of the nest Romantic
writing with a decidedly nationalistic avour. Of about 30 works of chamber music, nine held
an important place in the repertory; these include two string sextets, three quartets, two
piano trios, a piano quartet, and a piano quintet. One of the string quartets, the American,
Opus 96, purports to express Dvořák’s impressions of American (including Indian) music.
Another work, the Piano Quintet, Opus 81, marks a high point in the composer’s use of
attractive melody and rhythmic vitality; it, too, has Czech overtones. And the Dumky Trio,
Opus 90, contains six dumky (a dumka being a Ukranian folk music form with moods
alternating between melancholy and wild abandon); here the element of contrast is stressed
to the utmost.

Aleksandr Borodin (1833–87), in the second of his two quartets, combined traces of Russian
nationalism with expressions of pure lyricism. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93), with three
string quartets (one of them containing the famous “Andante cantabile”), a string sextet, and
a big-scale piano trio, often brought moments of orchestral sonority into his chamber music.
The Piano Trio, Opus 50, is a virtuosic work in two movements—one a lengthy sonata form,
and the other a set of brilliant variations—and is primarily elegiac in mood.

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It was Johannes Brahms (1833–97), however, who dominated the period. All of Brahms’s 24
chamber-music works are highly successful; in all these works Brahms’s characteristic
balance of emotional and intellectual expression is clearly revealed. Rich sonorities, thick
textures, and rhythmic complexity are present everywhere, and the forms are those of the
Classical period, somewhat modi ed in the light of Brahms’s temperament and expressive
requirements.

Eloquent melodic writing is most characteristic of his earlier works, notably the String Sextet
No. 1 in B Flat Major, Opus 18; the Piano Quartet in G Minor, Opus 25; and large portions of
the Piano Quintet, Opus 34. Later works, by contrast, reveal Brahms’s increasing concern
with motivic and rhythmic development; as a consequence, lyricism plays a smaller role in
such works as the two string quartets Opus 51, and the four late works with clarinet, namely
the Clarinet Trio, Opus 114, the Clarinet Quintet, Opus 115, and the two sonatas Opus 120.

The 20th century

As in all times of stylistic change, considerable overlapping of styles occurred at the turn of
the 20th century. In chamber music, several composers born in the 19th century carried the
modi ed Late-Romantic style into the 20th. Among the French composers were Gabriel
Fauré (1845–1924), who, with 10 works, is remembered primarily for a re ned and controlled
style that is rhythmically subtle; and Vincent d’Indy (1851–1931), represented by about eight
works, who re ected the style of César Franck. Likewise the Hungarian Ernő Dohnányi (1877–
1960) revealed the strong in uence of Brahms in about six works noted for their outspoken
melodiousness and contrapuntal excellence. The German Max Reger (1873–1916), with about
36 works, was primarily an exponent of chromatic writing in forms that are derived essentially
from the 19th century.

The rst step toward the new styles of the 20th century were taken in France by Claude
Debussy (1862–1918); his one string quartet (1893) and three sonatas (late works) represent the
Impressionistic style based on whole-tone harmony, of which he was an exponent.
Somewhat similar are the string quartet and piano trio by Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), with a
rich array of tremolos, forms based on repetition of melodic fragments, and many astringent
harmonies. In England, on a different path are a string quartet and piano quintet by Sir
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) and two string quartets, a string quintet, and a song cycle (On
Wenlock Edge: for tenor, string quartet, and piano) by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958).
Elgar reveals an intensely personal style; Vaughan Williams uses English folk song, elusive
harmonies, and strong rhythms.

The musical styles that have dominated the later 20th century are largely the work of three
composers and their respective followers. The most in uential was Arnold Schoenberg with
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his development of the “12-tone style”; but his earlier works were not yet representative of
that style. A string sextet, Verklärte Nacht (Trans gured Night), transferred the form and
content of the symphonic poem to the eld of chamber music; two string quartets, Opus 7
and 10, are similarly post-Romantic in style, and the second includes a part for soprano voice.
A set of 21 short poems for quasi-reciting voice and ve instruments, Pierrot Lunaire, marked
an intermediate stage; and four later works, including the third string quartet, saw the full
development of the 12-tone style. In a fourth quartet and a few smaller works the system was
carried to completion.

In the Lyric Suite for string quartet (1927) Alban Berg (1885–1935), also an Austrian and one of
Schoenberg’s pupils, brought elements of Romantic expression into the system. And another
Austrian pupil, Anton von Webern (1883–1945), sought to develop utmost re nement and
consistency, along with brevity. A string quartet, a quartet for violin, clarinet, saxophone, and
piano, and a chamber concerto for nine instruments are the principal works that illustrate his
methods of extreme economy in the use of all materials. Webern’s approach has been of
maximum in uence on many composers of the present day, and has led to the development
of serial writing.

A completely different path was taken by the Hungarian Béla Bartók in six string quartets
and a trio, Contrasts, for piano, violin, and clarinet. In those works the main thrust has been
on harmony (including acrid dissonances that border on atonality), greatly rhythmic drive
with many irregular rhythmic patterns (some of them based on eastern European folk song,
in which eld Bartók was an avid worker), and the development of new instrumental effects.
Coupled with such technical elements are fervent expressiveness and, in the slow
movements, great repose. The Bartók quartets are among the major chamber-music works
of the 20th century.

The third principal in uence, that of the Russian-born Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), was felt
perhaps less in chamber music than in orchestral, for Stravinsky composed fewer than a
dozen works in the eld. Five song cycles for voice and small groups of instruments, several
short pieces for string quartet, and a pantomime, The Soldier’s Tale, for narrator and seven
instruments are varied in content and style. An Octet for wind instruments (1923) represents
a deliberately impersonal style that requires no subjective interpretation on the part of the
performers. And a Septet for three winds, three strings, and piano (1952) marks Stravinsky’s
adoption of serial writing, a style that he had consciously rejected earlier.

The German Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), with seven string quartets and more than two
dozen sonatas and other works, favoured polyphonic textures, an expanded harmonic
scheme, and great rhythmic drive. His style in later works became less dissonant, more lyric,
and was characterized by a general lightening of the thick counterpoint that had
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distinguished his work of the 1940s. His seven works called Kammermusik are for larger
groups and so do not come within the scope of this article. The French composer Darius
Milhaud, in about 18 string quartets, four quintets for various combinations, and a number of
other works, for a time espoused the principles of polytonality, the device of employing
several keys simultaneously. Characterized by moods that are often pungent, humorous, and
even satirical, his works reveal a mixture of dissonant counterpoint, rhythmic exibility, and
graceful expression. His 14th and 15th quartets, independent works in their own right, may be
performed simultaneously to form an octet.

Two Russian composers, Sergey Proko ev (1891–1953) and Dmitry Shostakovich, are
represented in the repertory by about 20 works adhering, in the main, to the forms and
textures of the 19th century. Both men embrace the new harmonic techniques without
departing entirely from Romantic expressiveness. Many of their compositions reveal a sense
of humour. Of British composers, Sir William Walton, Lennox Berkeley, Alan Rawsthorne, and
Benjamin Britten have made signi cant contributions to the medium.

The chamber music by American composers has in general re ected the international styles
mentioned above. One exception is seen in two quartets, a piano trio, and several violin
sonatas by Charles Ives (1874–1954), who maintained a style of great originality through his
long lifetime. Another exception may be noted in the work of Ernest Bloch (1880–1959), Swiss
by birth, but identi ed with the United States since about 1917. In ve string quartets, two
piano quintets, and a few smaller works, Bloch brought his Jewish heritage to expression in
styles that are robust and varied.

Among the more prominent American composers, a few may be singled out for their notable
contributions. Walter Piston, with four string quartets, a piano trio, a quintet for ute and
strings, and a piano quintet, is perhaps the most eclectic; his works are basically Neoclassical
and are distinguished by elegance and vitality. Roger Sessions, represented principally by two
string quartets and a string quintet, has written in an austere, reserved, and strongly
dissonant style. Quincy Porter (1897–1966) composed 10 string quartets, several quintets for
various combinations, and smaller works; they are characterized by warm expressiveness
achieved in textures that employ considerable repetition of short motives. The works of Roy
Harris are distinguished by forms that depart from 19th-century models; three string
quartets and a piano quintet are among his most signi cant works.

Aaron Copland may be mentioned for a piano trio; a sextet for clarinet, piano, and strings; a
piano quartet; and a violin sonata. Those works include variously nationalistic allusions
(including Jewish and Latin American), unresolved dissonance, and elements of serial style.
William Schuman in four string quartets and smaller works discloses a strongly dissonant

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style that remains, nevertheless, within the tonal system; his works are rhythmically vital and
express great energy.

Elliott Carter, Jr., is best represented by a cello sonata and two string quartets. He employs
elements of serial writing, composes in a virtually free rhythmic manner, and employs new
instrumental effects in the manner of Bartók; yet his style is a completely individual
expression. Leon Kirchner has composed two string quartets, a violin sonata, and a piano trio;
unmetrical rhythm is a striking characteristic of his style, along with a variety of harmonies
ranging from purely diatonic to atonal, and warm expressiveness is usually present.

Among composers representing the countries of Central and South America, three have
risen to international prominence. Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) was the outstanding
exponent of Brazilian national idioms, including those of the indigenous Indians. In his many
chamber-music works (10 string quartets, several piano trios, and a few sonatas are
representative) Villa-Lobos gave expression to those idioms. Carlos Chávez (1899–1978)
worked similarly with the idioms of Mexican Indians, but in several of his relatively few
chamber-music works, Neoclassical style elements are prominent. Alberto Ginastera (1916–
83), representing Argentina, stressed the element of rhythm to a high degree in a style that is
thoroughly contemporary.

Structural elements
Form

A major distinction must be drawn between the prevailing musical forms of the period
before about 1750 and those after that date. The earlier forms included primarily the sonata
da chiesa, which emerged from the instrumental canzona, and the sonata da camera,
which owed its origin to the dance suite. In the rst of these, the several sections that had
been taken over from the canzona were gradually extended, cadences (harmonic devices
analogous to punctuation marks in prose) were con ned largely to ends of sections, and the
single-movement form soon dissolved into a set of movements of varying length, tempo, and
metre. Toward the 1640s a tendency arose to standardize the number of movements and
regularize the contrasts between them; soon a pattern of four movements arranged in slow–
fast–slow–fast sequence, with textures based to a large extent on imitative or fugal writing,
emerged. The Italian violinist-composer Arcangelo Corelli, with about 38 sonate da chiesa,
was the most consistent in employing that pattern after about 1680.

The other form, sonata da camera, remained less regular. Its parent, the dance suite, had
most often contained four movements, but works of three to eight or more movements exist
also. When the dance suite adopted the trio-sonata instrumentation and gradually became

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the sonata da camera, it at rst maintained that irregularity. Soon, however, it was altered to
include a nondance rst movement (prelude, preamble, or intrada), after which a number of
idealized dance forms followed. In keeping with its origin, the sonata da camera revealed a
relationship to dance rhythms in its several movements (except the rst), and homophonic
style (i.e., with a single melodic line supported by chords) dominated. The work of Corelli,
embodied in 34 sonate da camera, again served as a model for later composers.

Toward the end of the 17th century the two forms began mutually to in uence each other.
The sonata da chiesa, with its serious moods set usually in contrapuntal texture (i.e.,
employing counterpoint, the intertwining of independent melodic lines), adopted some of
the lighter and more rhythmic aspects of its rival. Likewise, the sonata da camera, light in its
total mood and based on dance rhythms, often embodied contrapuntal devices and
contained movements that were essentially imitative or fugal in texture and serious in mood.
By the end of the 17th century the distinctions between the two types tended to disappear;
soon the terms chiesa and camera were dropped, and the term sonata a tre or “trio sonata”
prevailed to about 1750. The situation in regard to solo sonatas (for violin and continuo, for
example) was similar; they, too, took on common characteristics derived from the contrasting
trio-sonata types, and contained both dance metres and contrapuntal textures.

The post-1750 forms, on the other hand, were based on different patterns. A standard pattern
of a string quartet consisted of four movements, the rst of which was most often cast in
sonata form—three-part form containing an exposition of two contrasting melodic ideas, a
transition (later elaborated to create a “development section”), and a recapitulation of the
rst part with changed harmonies. The second movement was generally in slow tempo and
could represent one of several forms: another sonata form, a set consisting of theme and
variations, or the like. Then followed a movement in triple metre (at rst a minuet and later a
faster version of that dance called a “scherzo”) derived from the dance eld and consisting
actually of two such idealized dances; the second, called a “trio,” usually lighter in texture, was
followed by a recapitulation of the rst dance. The last movement was a rondo (consisting of
a regular alternation of two or more musical ideas, in the form A B A B A or A B A C A), or a set
of variations, or even another sonata form. The whole represents a compound form called a
“sonata,” although post-1750 and pre-1750 sonatas have few structural elements in common.

The term sonata (in the post-1750 version) can be applied to most of the forms within the
eld of chamber music as well as to several outside that eld. As seen in the compositions of
a line of composers from Haydn in the late 18th century to Brahms in the late 19th and
beyond, the piano trio, violin sonata, string quintet, and the others are all based essentially on
the pattern that characterizes, above all, the string quartet. Even the symphony and the
concerto of the post-1750 period are, in effect, sonatas for orchestra. Internal differences exist,

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of course; the piano trio and the violin sonata, for example, do not always include a dance-
derived third movement, which the string quartet and symphony generally do. Conversely,
the exposition of the symphony’s rst movement often contains more than two contrasting
themes, and is often preceded by a massive introduction; and the recapitulation is often
followed by a large concluding section or coda (literally, “tail”). Similarly, the rst movement of
a concerto (for piano and orchestra, say) is generally characterized by two expositions—one
for the orchestra, the other for the solo instrument. In most other respects, the majority of
the larger instrumental forms of the post-1750 period are closely related in their total
structure.

Melody

The years about 1600, marking roughly the date when chamber music emerged as a
separate branch, also mark one of the major turning points in the evolution of music.
Virtually all the factors of music were affected by the developments of the time. A new
system of melodic organization (the tonal system, with its major and minor scales) soon
assumed a preeminent position; the principles of harmony were expanded and systematized;
a texture based on the polarity between melody and bass (as opposed to one that had been
largely the result of writing intertwined and independent melodies) came to the fore; and
the gured bass or continuo was invented (albeit, a few decades earlier) to deal with the new
texture. In those new developments all the musical factors continued to be mutually related;
but they are considered separately here for the sake of clarity.

The melodies of the canzona, or sonata, at rst continued to imitate vocal melodies; easily
sung intervals, relatively slow tempos, and undulating stepwise contours were characteristic.
Gradually composers began to consider the nature of the instruments they were using and
to write melodies appropriate to those instruments. Soon the concept of instrumental idioms
was developed; each instrument was given melodies appropriate to its structure. That
development is seen most clearly in the many trio sonatas written by Corelli after about 1680.

With the emergence of systematized harmony, in which speci c functions were given to
chords according to their relationships to the tonic (the basic, or root, tone of a given scale),
melodies became harmonically directed, moved from one harmonic goal to another, and
began to take on regular periodic structure (in units of four measures, eight measures, and so
on). Slow movements often adopted elements of vocal style, in which sharp contours were
avoided, and the melody followed purely musical or aesthetic laws rather than the laws of
textual declamation. The ever-increasing use of harmonic dissonance was re ected in
melodic writing through the 18th and 19th centuries. Extreme leaps, angular contours,
irregular rhythmic shapes—such characteristics became the common property of all
composers.
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Harmony

The complex of chords gradually evolved into the system of tonality. Central to that system is
the idea that the triad on the rst tone of the scale (i.e., the tonic and the third and fth
intervals above it) determines the key or tonality (C major, D minor, and so on) around which
other chords are grouped. Modulations (shifts to other key centres) became regularized:
those to the dominant (the fth note of the scale) and subdominant (an interval of a fth
below, or the fourth note of the scale) became the most important. In the period
immediately before and after 1800, especially in the works of Beethoven and Schubert,
modulations to the mediant and submediant (an interval of a third above and below the
tonic, respectively) became characteristic. And throughout the 19th century, modulation to
ever more remote keys was practiced assiduously. Further, chromatic tones—tones not
related to the key centre (F sharp or D at in a C major context, for example)—appeared in
increasing numbers; and tones not part of the chord at a given moment (F in a triad on C, for
example) were treated more freely. The consequence was a system in which tonality became
so ambiguous that it ceased to serve any real function through long passages in the music.
Chromatic harmony dominated much music of the late 19th century, and the steps from
chromaticism to the atonal and serial systems of the 20th century, in which tonality was
entirely abandoned, followed as a matter of course.

Texture

Similarly, the element of texture underwent a series of changes. Much music was composed
in homophonic style, with a melody supported only by a few chords built above the continuo.
Gradually, especially in the trio sonatas, an inner part came to imitate the upper melody to
some extent; bits of guration gave the two upper melodies a degree of independence, and
eventually polyphonic texture, composed of two or more intertwining melodies, was restored.
That texture re ected the harmonic developments of the time and came under the control
of the tonal system with its dissonances, modulations, chromatic embellishments, and all the
rest. Mixed textures, partly homophonic and partly polyphonic, became common also; but in
general the uppermost melody dominated the structure well past the middle of the 18th
century.

Toward the 1770s, with the string quartet an established grouping, increasing attention was
given to the inner and lower parts. Viola and cello were occasionally given thematic material,
the violins at times played accompanying parts, and detailed writing for all four instruments
compensated for the absence of the continuo. The practice of improvising harmonies at the
keyboard came to an end, and all parts were obbligati (that is, obligatory). Continued
re nement in the writing and equal distribution of musical responsibility to all four
instruments resulted in the so-called quartet style, in which the distinction between melody
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and accompaniment disappeared and no instrument dominated the others. From that point
forward, the idea of a soloist in chamber music lost whatever validity it had had earlier; the
performers in a chamber-music work became members of a group of equals.

Style

In style, too, there has been a continuing series of changes. “Style” may be de ned in this
context as the sum of the devices—melodic, structural, harmonic, and all the rest—that a
composer consistently employs, that a class of works regularly exhibits, or that a particular
age nds most useful for its aesthetic purposes.

In this sense, the majority of chamber-music works composed before 1750 are monothematic
in style; those after about 1750 are polythematic. The typical fast movement of a trio sonata,
say, consists of a series of phrases largely similar in contour and mood and differentiated
primarily by harmonic considerations; whereas the typical sonata-form movement is
characterized by having two or more themes embodying sharp contrasts of mood and
shape, and further contrasted by means of texture, instrumentation, and harmonic colour.
Alternation of dramatic and lyric moods, further, is most often characteristic of post-1750
chamber music.

With the emergence of the string quartet and sonata form toward the middle of the 18th
century, thematic materials most often took the shape of relatively long melodies—whatever
their contour or mood. Those melodies were then manipulated or repeated in accord with
harmonic principles and constituted sections in tonic, dominant, and so on. In the 1780s, and
speci cally in the quartets Opus 33 by Haydn, certain melodies were so constructed that they
could, in effect, be broken apart into fragments or motives, each motive with its own
distinctive shape. In the appropriate sections of sonata-form movements—namely, those
that connected one thematic section with another, and the large transition that comprised
the midsection of the form—the motives were treated separately, manipulated, combined in
new ways, served to suggest yet other ideas to the composer; in short, they were “developed.”

Such treatment of the motives led to the principle of thematic development and to the
practice of motive manipulation. Begun by Haydn, carried forward notably by Beethoven and
Brahms, and employed by virtually every other instrumental composer of the 19th century,
the principle of thematic development is one of the chief distinguishing marks of late
Classical and Romantic instrumental music. Beethoven, however, and after him many other
major composers, employed the process somewhat differently from Haydn; he often began
with a melodic or rhythmic motive, then let the themes themselves grow out of the motive
manipulation.

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The repertory of works for piano and strings also grew considerably from the late 18th
century onward, and there was considerable modi cation in the role of the piano in that
repertory. The keyboard instrument had entered the eld, it will be remembered, after
having played a century-long role as the improvising member of the continuo team, in which
it provided accompaniments to the other instruments. When it emerged in its new role with
written-out parts to play, it at rst assumed a dominant position—in violin or cello sonatas
and in piano trios alike. Many of the piano trios by Haydn are essentially sonatas for solo
piano with accompaniments furnished by violin and cello; the latter often do little more than
double the parts given to the pianist’s right and left hands, respectively.

Gradually the string parts acquired a degree of independence and became obbligato parts.
The nal steps toward complete equality were taken across the interval from about 1790 to
1840, especially in the piano trios and quartets of Mozart and Beethoven and in Schumann’s
Piano Quintet, Opus 44 of 1842. In many of those works, particularly the later ones, the piano
emerged as one-half of the tonal body with the two, three, or four stringed instruments
providing the other half. Again, as in the string quartets, the concept of soloist versus
accompanist has no validity in chamber music with piano. A keyboard player does not
“accompany” the strings; he is an equal partner in the ensemble—which marks a major
change from the role he played in the 17th and the rst half of the 18th centuries.

Chamber music in the later 19th century became ever more affected by developments in the
orchestral eld. The rise of professional quartets in the time of Beethoven had the effect of
moving chamber music from the con nes of the home to the public concert stage.
Composers took advantage of the virtuosic attainments of the best performers and wrote
music with which the nonprofessional performer could not always cope. Effects requiring
consummate technical ability became common; true virtuosity became a general
requirement. Further, orchestral effects depending upon sheer volume of sound were often
employed; the string quartets and piano trio of Tchaikovsky are examples. And with the rise
of descriptive or program music in the orchestral eld, extramusical or nationalistic elements
sometimes entered chamber-music works; Smetana’s autobiographical string quartet, Z
mého života (From My Life), and certain of Dvořák’s compositions containing Czech folk
idioms and representing the Czech spirit are typical.

The overwhelming majority of chamber music composed before about 1900 consists of
works that employ instruments in conventional ways. Tones are limited to the pitches in the
chromatic scale (i.e., a scale consisting of half steps, C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, and so through
all 12 tones), stringed instruments are used in the traditional manner, and the piano likewise.
A few notable exceptions may be mentioned: in the Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Opus 63, by
Schumann the strings play a short passage sul ponticello (“against the bridge”)—that is, play

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closer to the bridge of the instruments than usual in order to produce the higher overtones
and give the pitches an ethereal or veiled quality; in the same composer’s Piano Quartet in E
Flat Major, Opus 47, the cello must retune its lowest string downward a whole step in order
to supply a longheld tone beyond the normal range of the instrument. And, in a few works of
the time, harmonics are called for: a string is touched lightly at its midpoint or at one of the
other nodal positions at one-third or one-quarter of its length, and the harmonic (overtone)
thus produced adds a distinctive quality to the music. Such effects, plus the traditional
pizzicato (in which the string is plucked rather than set in motion by the bow) are virtually
the only exceptions to normal writing.

In 20th-century chamber music, however, the number of purely instrumental effects has
been increased; the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók in several of his quartets became the
leading exponent of such devices. In his String Quartet No. 4 (1928), for example, glissandi are
required; in such cases the player slides his nger up or down the string to cover the span of
an octave or more, and produces a wailing effect. Pizzicati are directed to be performed so
that the string slaps back against the ngerboard, to add a percussive effect to the pitch. In
works by other composers employing the clarinet, the performer is required to blow through
the instrument with its mouthpiece removed while opening and closing the keys at random;
this produces the effect of a high-pitched whistling wind along with a semblance of pitch
changes. Or again, in the case of brass instruments, the composer’s directives call for the
player to tap his hand against the mouthpiece, to create a hollow percussive sound.

Pitches themselves are altered on occasion, for tones lying between those of the chromatic
scale are sometimes employed; among early exponents of the quarter-tone practice, the
contemporary composer Ernest Bloch may be mentioned. In his Piano Quintet, and
elsewhere, the string performers are required to play certain tones a quarter step higher or
lower than written, thereby departing from the scales that had served music for many
centuries. Other composers carried the quarter-tone practice further and developed a kind of
microtonal music that employs intervals even smaller than quarter-tones.

All such developments give evidence that 20th-century composers continue to seek new
means of expression and expand their available resources—thus continuing a practice
characteristic of composers in all periods. Two further aspects of that search remain to be
considered: the development of new systems of tonal organization and the increasing use of
instruments that embody the results of contemporary technology.

Early in the 20th century a number of composers led by Arnold Schoenberg experimented to
reach beyond the con nes of the tonal system. In a series of chamber music and other works,
Schoenberg gradually arrived at a system in which all 12 tones of the chromatic scale are
used as independent entities; concepts of tonic and dominant, of major and minor, and of
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key centres themselves no longer apply in those works. The 12 tones are arranged in a self-
determined series called a “tone row”; certain sections of that row, used vertically, form the
chords that supply the harmonic material; the row may be manipulated in accord with self-
imposed rules; and the row may be arranged differently for each composition. The system of
composing with 12 tones, as Schoenberg referred to his invention, has been modi ed and
enlarged by later composers, the relevant principles have been applied to other elements of
music (notably the rhythmic factor); and under a new term, “serial composition,” the system
has become one of the most in uential of the present day.

The other aspect concerns the use of various electronic sound-generating devices called
“electronic synthesizers,” and of magnetic tape recorders to transmit the results. The
composer working with a synthesizer has virtually complete control over the shape and
sound of the tones he wishes to produce. He can select tones with characteristics unlike
those produced by conventional instruments, noises (that is, sounds with irregular vibration
rates) to which a semblance of pitch has been given, or rapid changes in pitch, loudness,
duration, and quality beyond the ability of any human mechanism. The new tonal materials,
then, can be combined with voices and conventional instruments, or can be used alone.
Devices such as the synthesizer have given the composer access to a new world of tonal
resources; he still faces the problems of selection, combination, organization, and expressive
purpose that have plagued composers since music began. Since his medium of performance
is a tape recorder, since human participation in the performance may not be required, and
since his composition may contain a few strands or a hundred strands of tone, it becomes
impossible to make distinctions between chamber music, orchestral music, or any other
genre. Electronic music is, thus, on the way to becoming a completely new type to which
traditional classi cations do not apply.

Audiences
For well over a century after its inception about 1600, chamber music was supported
primarily by the nobility. Aristocratic establishments customarily employed groups of
musicians who served as composers, conductors, and performers of a variety of operatic,
orchestral, and chamber music; and traditionally the audiences were restricted to the
patrons and their guests. Chamber-music concerts were instituted in London in 1672, and
seem to have been exceptional for their time, for regularly established professional chamber-
music groups did not emerge until about 1810, apparently rst in Vienna.

Meanwhile, primarily at certain German university towns in the 1700s, the establishment of
collegia musica (music societies) marked the beginning of a movement that brought
nonprofessional participation in its wake. Eminent musicians directed those societies in

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many cases; the Collegium Musicum at Leipzig, for example, was founded by Georg Philipp
Telemann and had Bach as its director for a decade after 1729. Audiences were at rst
restricted to university students; later the general public was admitted, and the rise of the
modern chamber-music audience began.

Since the mid-19th century, chamber-music concerts have been a staple of musical life. Many
of the best known string quartets (for example, the Joachim Quartet from 1869 to 1907, the
Kneisel from 1885 to 1917, the Flonzaley from 1902 to about 1928, the London from 1908 to
1935, the Budapest from 1918 to 1968, and the Juilliard, Paganini, Amadeus, and Fine Arts
quartets of the present day) have travelled to countries around the world performing the
standard and contemporary repertories of their day.

Parallel to this has been the continuing activity of informal, nonprofessional groups in
virtually all musical centres of the Western world. An international association of amateur
chamber-music players exists, whose members grade themselves (in a directory) according
to technical ability and experience. The colleges and universities of the United States often
stress ensemble activity in their music curricula, and many schools of music are centres of
activity in the eld.

The sheer amount of music being composed makes it virtually inevitable that chamber
music will continue to receive the attention of major composers—especially in view of the
economic factors that make performance of new orchestral works hazardous at best. One
may hope that chamber music will play as vital and signi cant a role in the future as it has
played in the last three and a half centuries.

Homer Ulrich The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

CITATION INFORMATION
ARTICLE TITLE: Chamber music
WEBSITE NAME: Encyclopaedia Britannica
PUBLISHER: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
DATE PUBLISHED: 31 octobre 2013
URL: https://www.britannica.com/art/chamber-music
ACCESS DATE: janvier 21, 2020

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