The Orchestra! If you thought that it just began one day, when friendly musicians got together, you’d be partially right. The Orchestra, as we know it, is the result of evolution and careful selection. Instruments evolved over the centuries and became more versatile. And, as can be expected, some instruments worked better in a group than others, so you ended up with a kind of natural musical selection. To put it diplomatically: some instruments just play well with others, some don’t!
The orchestra as we know it was born in the music of the 17th century French Courts. During the reign of the Sun King the outdoor wind band was redesigned and brought indoors to play with the strings. This idea of putting winds and strings together in a concert setting was also a common practice outside the high fashion courts. French instrument builders began redesigning the shawm family of instruments in the early 17th century, eventually giving birth to the oboe, which definitely plays well with other instruments!
Jordi Savall directs Le Concert des Nations in a Pavane for shawms, sackbuts and cornettos on the Alia Vox release entitled L'orchestre de Louis VXIII.
Shawms, sackbuts and cornettos, were a feature of court and civic life throughout Europe. In France, double reed shawms were adapted and made suitable for indoor performance. The word in 17th century French for shawm is the same as that for oboe: hautbois. This makes it sometimes difficult to decide just which instrument is called for, but the context of indoor music seems to call for the quieter oboe.
The meeting of the reeds and strings were not the only rendezvous which contributed to the new French orchestra sound. Flutes were also adapted and found their way into the new ensemble. The transverse flute was more flexible regarding tuning and dynamic range than either the recorder or the fife. Flute alternate with strings in Lully's "Symphonie des Plaisirs," performed by Le Concert des Nations on their release, L'orchestre du Roi Soleil.
There is one more group of instruments incorporated into the orchestral sound of 17th century France: trumpets and drums, featured in the "March des combattans" from Lully's 1674 opera "Alceste," which can also be found on "L'orchestre du Roi Soleil."
Jean Baptiste Lully was not the only noteworthy French composer of the 18th century, though he is the most famous. Composer Marin Marais was a famous viol player and published much music in his lifetime. His orchestral music introduced the double-bass sound. Le Concert des Nations recorded Marais' opera, "Alcione" in 1995.
The new French orchestra sound made its way out of the French theater to points far and wide. Our first stop is French sacred music, where Lully's hold on musical power was extensive. His 1677 Te Deum is one of the grandest motets in the French style, and was a favorite of the Sun King. Herve Niquet leads Le Concert Spirituel on the Naxos release entitled Lully Grands Motets Vol. 1.
The development of the winds not only impacted large scale theatrical and spiritual works, but also smaller chamber music settings. Andre-Danican Philidor wrote a book of duets for viols, cellos or bassoons. One of these selections includes a part for drum. Bassoonists Michael McCraw and Keith Collins, with drummer Adam Wead perform Philidor's "Entrée d'une pagode" from his 1700 collection of suites for two bass instruments on the recording "Bass"ically French.
Although the old shawms had evolved into the oboes and bassoons, the newer instruments continued to fulfill their roles in martial music. For the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1749 Handel wrote music for oboes, horns, trumpets, bassoons, and timpani. The King's Consort performs Handel's "Musick for the Royal Fireworks" on their Hyperion release of the same name.
Thus ends our exploration of the formation of the French orchestra, developing its own rules of natural selection, using instruments that just played well together.
