Symphonic

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Symphonic or symphonic is an abbreviation for symphonic or symphonic music . The use of these terms, which are primarily associated with the symphony , is not uniform and includes, among other things. a. following aspects of meaning:

  • In the sense of the Greek-Latin original word symphonia (= coherence), which (among other meanings) referred to any form of “coherent” vocal and / or instrumental polyphony, symphonic music is synonymous with polyphonic music. Based on the Italian original word sinfonia , it would be limited to polyphonic instrumental music . (In these very general meanings, however, the term is rarely used today.)
  • Sometimes (e.g. on the radio) the term symphonic music is used in a very general way and is used almost synonymously with terms such as classical music , serious music or art music. The term then only serves to distinguish it from other musical styles such as folk music , hits , pop music, etc.
  • In a narrower sense, symphonic music is mainly understood to be orchestral music as it has been performed in bourgeois concert halls since around 1800 . A comparatively large instrumental line-up ( symphony orchestra ) is typical of this music . If singing voices are added, one speaks of vocal symphonies .
    Symphonic music sets itself apart from concertante and chamber music , although certain overlaps prevent clear demarcation.
  • In more recent times, certain genres of music are also called "symphonic" if they strive for a symphonic sound, e.g. B. Symphonic brass music , symphonic film music , symphonic jazz , symphonic rock , symphonic metal .

Special linguistic uses

The term symphonic

People like to use symphonies

  • for the symphonic work ( symphonies , symphonic poems, etc.) of a composer, an era or a country:
    • Beethoven's symphonies, the romantic symphonies, the Russian symphonies ,
  • for the type of symphonic design:
    • Mahler's symphonies differ from Bruckner's in their preference for unusual sound effects.
    • The Brahms Symphony is based on Beethoven's example.

The abbreviation symphonic allows for more elegant formulations compared to the long term symphonic music : "Romantic symphonic" sounds smoother than "romantic symphonic music".

The term symphonic

  • The epithet symphonic appears occasionally as part of work titles:
    • Symphonic (symphonic) dances ( Grieg , Rachmaninow , Hindemith ).
      Here, the attribute symphonic indicates above all that the music is not intended for the dance floor, but for the concert hall.
    • Paul Hindemith : Symphonic metamorphoses on themes by Carl Maria von Weber
    • Claude Debussy : La Mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchester
      The last two works have z. B. a certain proximity to the symphony due to its multi-movement structure. This similarity to symphony is expressed in their titles, but also that they do not want to be actual symphonies.
  • Even organs with numerous registers , in particular so-called major organs are characterized as symphonic.

The relation of the symphonic

Chamber music

The understanding of chamber music as music for small, mostly solo instrument groups has only become generally accepted since around 1830. Originally, the term chamber music did not refer to the size of the ensemble, whose repertoire also included music for orchestra, but to the princely “chamber” for which it was intended. In this sense, the “symphonies” of the pre-classical period up to the early symphonies of Haydn and Mozart must also be counted as chamber music. The breakthrough to the "great" symphonies came e.g. B. Haydn (after his resignation from princely services) with his London symphonies .

In the late 18th and especially in the 19th century, symphonic music increasingly lost the character of court chamber music and became a determining element of bourgeois concert events. While chamber music was reduced to smaller solo ensembles, symphonic music expanded more and more to adapt to ever larger concert halls in terms of sonority and diversity of orchestral ensembles. In Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony , the Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss or Stravinski's Sacre du printemps , the orchestral line-up reached gigantic proportions.

As a reaction to this symphonic gigantomania, a counter-movement established itself in the first half of the 20th century that pushed for a return to more modest “chamber music” ensembles. Arnold Schönberg's Chamber Symphonies Opus 9 and Opus 38 z. B. are composed for 15 or 19 solo instruments. Since the lexically manifest "chamber music" upper limit of ten players is exceeded, the assignment to chamber music, which is obvious because of the soloist cast, is not clear. The chamber orchestras that appear at the same time also move in the border area between symphonic and chamber music.

Concert music

Symphonic music differs from concert music in that it focuses on the aspect of equal cooperation of voices for the purpose of "sounding together", whereas in concert music, the main role is played by the "fierce competition between the soloists and the orchestra" . An exact differentiation is not possible, however, since the transitions are fluid, as the example of the Symphonie concertante shows, and it is further clarified below.

The term concert comes from the Italian concerto , 'accord', 'union'. Concerto initially referred to both the group of musicians and the vocal and / or instrumental music performed by them, without any further specification. The term was used in this generality until around 1700, interchangeably with related terms such as concento or sinfonia . That means: at the beginning there was no difference between “concertante” and “symphonic” music. This only emerged when forms of music emerged in the 17th century, in which one or more soloists entered into a kind of "competition" with one another and / or with a choir group (orchestra). In this context, attempts were also made (e.g. by Michael Praetorius in 1619) to derive the term concerto from the Latin concertare “ to fight”, “argue”, “to compete”, which parts of musicology, however, consider this to be “false etymology” becomes.

In the virtuoso concert of the 19th century ( Chopin , Paganini, etc.), the solo instrument was opposed to the closed orchestra, whose role was largely limited to tutti passages and accompaniment to the solo passages. In high and late romantic as well as modern concerts ( Schumann , Brahms , Grieg , Rachmaninoff , Prokofieff , etc.), on the other hand, the boundaries are blurred, since here on the one hand the solo instrument is obligatory in the orchestra, and on the other hand solos emerge from the orchestra that accompany the actual To give a solo concert or even be accompanied by it. Such concerts could also be called “symphonies with an obligatory solo instrument”.

The terms concert and symphony were initially one, then drifted clearly apart, in order to finally converge again. Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra is a striking example of the synthesis of the concertante and symphonic principles .

Vocal symphonies

While the old name Symphonia initially explicitly included vocal music, the name Sinfonia , which emerged at the beginning of the 17th century, referred to purely instrumental pieces. Likewise, the resulting symphony remained an exclusively instrumental genre until the beginning of the 19th century. After Beethoven 's Ninth Symphony , which was premiered in 1824 and included vocal soloists and a choir in its final movement, the symphony continued to be mainly orchestral music, but some composers ( Mendelssohn , Liszt , Mahler, etc.) followed Beethoven's example and built vocal passages into their symphonies. The term symphony cantata was coined for this, but the term vocal symphony is not uncommon, as the following work title shows:
Hans-Christian Bartel : Vocal symphony “Lieder vom Menschen” for baritone, choir and orchestra (2012).

For vocal symphonies, orchestral songs must also be included, such as:

A special type of vocal symphonic consists of the use of voices as a quasi-instrumental timbre:

  • In the third piece of his Nocturnes ( Sirènes ) Debussy uses a female choir, singing on vocalises without text , simulating the beguiling singing of the sirens .
  • In the last movement of Gustav Holst's Planet ( Neptune, the Mystic ), too , a vocalizing female choir is used. The fade-out technique used innovatively here is described in the article Fadeout .
  • In his music for the film Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod, Ennio Morricone employs a solo soprano who (representing “great feeling”) blends into the symphonic soundscape by vocalizing.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Symphonic music on WDR 3 ( Memento from December 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ A b Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): The great lexicon of music. Volume 4: Half a note - Kostelanetz. Updated special edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1987, ISBN 3-451-20948-9 , p. 285.
  3. ^ Willibald Gurlitt, Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht (ed.): Riemann Music Lexicon (subject part) . B. Schott's Sons, Mainz, S. 434 .
  4. Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): The great lexicon of music. Volume 4: Half a note - Kostelanetz. Updated special edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1987, ISBN 3-451-20948-9 , p. 417.