Music: In History (part 2)

The Orchestra has a distinction from that of a band which is due to the violin family, a creation that touches so many aspects of life the we do not realize it. Take nature for instances the sounds that it creates can be mimicked with a well coordinated symphony. The same can be said of Opera, we take this for granted but what a movie does in telling a story the opera recounts the story thru music forcing you to use your imagination along with you sight and sound producing emotions that most movies could only dare to reach within a human’s soul. In order to appreciate the slice of serenity, you must prepare yourself by educating oneself to the story you are about to observe.

It is fascinating to see over the centuries how from the various periods of the orchestra the number of instruments used to play concerts evolved. For example during the Baroque period you have a total of fourteen instruments, while the Romantic period consisted of eighty-eight pieces and a conductor. The modern period roughly has 96 and a conductor. This all inclusive assortment of instruments to create the dramatic affect coupled with the voice of an opera singer who fills a hall with just the sheer projection of their voice. No 5 minute pop song could ever touch the soul like that of an operatic production that speaks and intertwines the senses of the listener to be engulfed and rapture to an experience that they will want again and again.

If we only take the time to familiarize ourselves with the words of the opera that we plan to experience, knowing what the story is all about and recognize how the families of percussion, timpani, trombones, tuba, trumpets, clarinets, French horns, Harp, flutes and piccolo, bassoons double basses, violas, second violins and first violins how they come to play in each scene and expecting certain sounds to be conducted will have you waiting with bated breath for the next big operatic summit. Reading of the libretto guides you through the text of a foreign opera and various song pieces can be understood best by reading the recitative in ahead of the production. Now that we have poised ourselves to appreciate something spectacular let us not forget one of the most important individuals aside from everyone else that is the conductor.

Yes the conductor is the one who holds and keeps everything in sync following the every opera composers music to the letter to extract every feeling that is supposed to felt by the viewer appreciating all that takes place. Many of the great composers valued the violin and harpsichord so much that they wrote various pieces just for them. There are instances for other sections that music was written for but this is few and far between. However with the modern era that has change slightly. An example of this is music being composed solely for flutes, not as impressive as others but it is a change from the norm. The opera composer who can stay focus on the whole but ever so subtlety make the individual singer stand out is truly a maestro! And the person who has the opportunity to experience this has truly been blessed provided; they have taken the necessary steps to appreciate all that awaits them during this experience.

With that said the composer’s orchestra would have a high regard for the types of instruments played to ensure quality of tones especially with string instruments, and the finest to date are the Italian instruments. This is similar for the singers of opera if they want to be the best they are performing in an arena that is highly competitive and requires the best of the best and their voices should set those worlds apart from all others in order to travel in the best circuits. This is no small fete and it can take a considerable amount of time before a singer can even get the chance to prove they are worthy to perform with the best! The problem with all that they aspire to be and do, is that by the time they get the chance to perform at this level their voice may have waned within a couple of years so it is very short lived. This is for the majority, you do have a few exceptions but ah such is life, and the show as they say “must go on” tragic is it not?