Learning about classical music can be a daunting task, but with a few basic pointers, anyone can begin the journey of exploring this sublime arena of music.
Genre-Forms of Orchestral Music
The first way to become more familiar with orchestral music is to understand the different forms or genres that are available. Following are a few of the major genres of orchestral music.
Symphony
The symphony began as a four-movement work that usually centers around a particular key signature, such as B-flat major. Composers would typically use the symphony as an expression of major emotional journeys and explorations of orchestral color and experiments in music theory. The first movement usually follows the "Sonata" form, which contains an introduction, main musical idea or melody, development of the main idea, possibly a secondary melody, restatement of the original idea, and finale. The second movement is usually a beautiful slow movement, the third movement is usually a dance or light scherzo, and the finale ties the whole symphony together with more development of the previous themes and a typically rousing conclusion.
Forms of the symphony have varied over the years, including the use of vocal soloists and chorus, and a departure from the standard four-movement structure. The symphony is largely considered to be the most serious and challenging composition a composer can attempt. The success of a symphony could literally make or break a composer's reputation.
Concerto
Similar to a symphony, although usually in three movements, a concerto utilizes a soloist on a particular instrument that performs in contrast to a symphony orchestra. The concerto is most popularly written for piano or violin, although the canon includes concertos for nearly every instrument in the orchestra. The first movement usually follows the sonata form like a symphony. The second movement is usually the slow movement, followed by a finale that is typically fast and exciting, showcasing the talents of a particular soloist.
Chamber Music
This term applies to a wide variety of smaller pieces, such as the sonata and string quartet. A sonata is a piece written in several movements (usually three) for only one or two instruments. Most sonatas are for the piano, while other sonatas written for violin, cello, flute, etc. are usually written with piano accompaniment. String quartets are like mini symphonies written for two violins, viola and cello.
Choral Music
Choral Music has a lot of sub-genres, but are typically large pieces for chorus and orchestra, and often feature several vocal soloists. The most popular choral piece is the Mass, which is set to biblical text or Latin liturgical text. A Requiem is a Mass depicting the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection. Other forms of choral music include the Cantata, Oratio, and Te Deum. While a significant amount of choral music tends to be religious in nature, there is a wide variety of choral pieces. One famous choral work, "Carmina Burana," is simply a collection of songs for chorus, soloists and orchestra, written by Carl Orff. The opening song, "O Fortuna," was used in the Olympics as well as in several movies and television commercials.
Opera
While technically a different type of performance than simply a symphony orchestra concert, Opera definitely falls under the category of "orchestral" music if for no other reason than the fact that it employs an orchestra. Opera is a major institution in the international musical community, and showcases some incredibly talented singers. An opera, very simply, is a play in which the "actors" actually sing all of the words that propel the action of the story, accompanied by orchestra throughout the work. Often times, particular numbers or arias from operas can be performed separately in recitals or other types of concerts. Indeed, it is not uncommon for an orchestral concert to include one scene from an opera, with other non-operatic pieces also on the program.
Ballet
Ballet music is written with a particular story in mind. The story is depicted by dancers on stage, usually with lavish sets providing the setting, while the orchestra performs the score. While the Ballet is more of an institution and an event similar to opera, listening to the music alone can be a wonderful experience in and of itself. Ballet music is commonly very colorful, dramatic and exciting because it is meant to tell a story. Think of Ballet as the early form of the film score. While an entire ballet may often be performed in concert by a symphony orchestra in a concert hall, it is far more common for orchestras to include "suites" in a concert, which only includes several highlights from the ballet rather than the entire work.
Other Genres
While there are many other sub-genres in orchestral music, there are a few more worth mentioning. The tone poem is a symphonic work lasting anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour. It typically follows a story, often provided by the composer, and is performed without a break, although tone poems often have changes in tempo and mood similar to symphony movements. The "Suite" is usually either a collection of highlights from a ballet or an original work with several different movements that may or may not follow along the lines of a symphony. A suite has no set form or structure, which makes it appealing to composers not looking to confine themselves to any particular boundaries. Another piece that usually has no set formal boundaries is the rhapsody, which has no preset form whatsoever, and is usually very whimsical and colorful.
There are many other types of smaller works, such as dances, songs (for vocalist and piano or vocalist and orchestra), and single-movement works for solo instrument and orchestra. All in all, however, it helps to know what to expect from a particular composition, based on the genre or form it adopts.
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press. 1994.
