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Harmonie

January 01, 1970

Harmonie is a German word that, in the context of the history of music, designates an ensemble of wind instruments (usually about five to eight players) employed by an aristocratic patron, particularly during the Classical era of the 18th century. The Harmonie would be employed for outdoor or recreational music, or as a wind section of an orchestra. Music composed for Harmonie is often called Harmoniemusik.

Terminology edit

Horace Fitzpatrick writes (reference below):

From about 1756 onward the Emperor [in Vienna] and the Austrian nobles kept house bands called Harmonien, usually made of pairs of oboes, horns, bassoons, and after about 1770, clarinets. These wind groups formed part of the household musical staff, and provided serenade for banquets and garden parties. Joseph II kept a crack Harmonie for his private delectation, drawn from the principal wind players of the Imperial opera. His successor Franz II carried on this practice.

According to Haydn biographer Rosemary Hughes:

"Feldharmonie"[1] or simply "Harmonie," was the wind band, maintained by most noblemen even when they could not afford a larger orchestra, for performing at hunting parties and other outdoor entertainments.

Roger Hellyer, writing in the Grove Dictionary[2] notes that while the Harmonie generally had an aristocratic patron, the same music was sometimes also played by street musicians. A letter by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his father Leopold (3 November 1781) noted that street musicians had serenaded him with his own composition, the wind serenade K. 375.

In English, the word "Harmonie" exists only as a technical term of historical musicology. In other European languages, such as Dutch, French and German, the term may also refer to a modern wind band. The expression HaFaBra [nl], used in Dutch, is the abbreviation and contraction of "Harmonie" (concert band), "Fanfare" (fanfare band and/or fanfare orchestra, usually with a marching band connotation) and "Brassband" (brass band), an umbrella term for all types of wind bands, including the types with additional non-wind instruments such as the typical battery of a marching band.

"Harmonie" as wind section edit

The aristocrats who employed a Harmonie would often also maintain a small orchestra, numerically dominated by, or consisting entirely of, the string section. When members of the Harmonie participated in performances with such orchestras, it became possible for the composer to enrich the musical texture with wind parts, without increasing the payroll cost of his patron. Thus, "Harmonie" came also to designate the wind section of a small orchestra. Of this practice, Fitzpatrick writes, "It was [Franz II's Harmonie] who made up the wind section in Beethoven's orchestra of 1800 [at the premiere of the composer's First Symphony]."

Joseph Haydn's Mass in B flat major, (H. 22/14, 1802) is nicknamed the "Harmoniemesse", because (unlike the other masses Haydn wrote during this time) it includes parts for a whole wind section, thanks to the recent reinstatement of these instruments in the musical establishment of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II.

Music arranged for Harmonie edit

The 18th-century German expression "auf Harmonie setzen" (lit.: set onto Harmonie) means arranging a piece of music for performance by a Harmonie. For instance Der Messias, Mozart's arrangement of Handel's Messiah, included that several movements became "auf Harmonie gesetzt".

History edit

During the historical period of the Harmonie, the ensemble gradually grew in size. Hellyer (2006) suggests that during the early period, in the 1750s, a Harmonie could consist of just five instruments (two oboes, two horns, and one bassoon), though a second bassoon could be included as well.[3] The Harmonie compositions of Haydn and Mozart (see below) all use at least six instruments.

A later expansion of the Harmonie can be traced with the accession of Joseph II to the throne of the Austrian Empire in 1780. Joseph expanded music-making at his court in a number of ways, including the introduction of a Harmonie, as noted above. This Harmonie consisted of eight players, with two clarinets added to the traditional two oboes, two horns, and two bassoons. Other nobles then followed the Emperor's lead.[4]

The Emperor's Harmonie included some distinguished players, notably the clarinettist Anton Stadler, who was the inspiration for a number of important works by Mozart. It also included Anton's younger brother Johann, as well as the oboist Johann Went [de], a composer of over 80 works for Harmonie,[5] and oboist/composer Josef Triebensee.

The Harmonie continued as a lively musical tradition until the Napoleonic Wars forced aristocrats to retrench financially, cutting down on the number of musicians they employed. The tradition had been largely abandoned by the mid-1830s.[6]

Examples of Harmonie music edit

 
Beethoven: Octet in E♭ major for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons, Op. 103
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto
Performed by the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet with other artists
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Some of Joseph Haydn's early works, called divertimenti or Feldpartien,[7] were written for the Harmonie of his first full-time employer, Count Morzin around 1760.[8] Haydn became Vice-Kapellmeister for the Prince Paul Anton Esterházy in 1761, which was the same year that the Prince established a six-member Harmonie; Hellyer suggests that some of Haydn's early works for Harmonie were intended for this ensemble.[9]

Mozart also wrote for Harmonie. As a teenager traveling in Italy, he wrote the early Divertimenti K. 186 and K. 166 (1773); see Divertimenti for ten winds (Mozart). He wrote further divertimenti between 1775 and 1777, while working at the Salzburg court (K. 213, 240, 252, 253, 270).

Some time after his move to Vienna (1781), Mozart wrote his most extended work for Harmonie, the Serenade in B flat, K. 361 (a.k.a. Gran Partita). This is for an amplified wind ensemble of 13 instruments (two oboes, two clarinets, two basset horns, four (French) horns, two bassoons, and a string bass).[10] His E flat serenade of 1781, K. 375, is written for a Harmonie consisting of clarinets, bassoons and horns, curiously mismatching what the new Emperor had arranged as his Harmonie; Hellyer suggests Mozart, who was seeking a job at court at the time, was misinformed. Mozart later revised the work to include two oboe parts.

Perhaps the weightiest of all music for Harmonie is Mozart's Serenade No. 12 for winds in C minor, K. 388, written in 1782 for Joseph II's eight-player Harmonie.[11] Hellyer calls it "a curiously sombre and powerful work which often conveys a mood of dramatic intensity totally alien to the informal background music normally associated with the serenade type."[12]

At the banquet in the finale of Don Giovanni, Mozart has a "Harmonie" perform parts from Una cosa rara by Vicente Martín y Soler, I due litiganti by Giuseppe Sarti and the aria "Non più andrai" from his own The Marriage of Figaro. The scoring is for the full eight-part Harmonie, two each of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns.[13]

References edit

  1. ^ German: "field Harmonie",
  2. ^ Hellyer (2008)
  3. ^ Hellyer 2006, 532
  4. ^ Source for this paragraph: Hellyer 2006, 535
  5. ^ Keefe 2006
  6. ^ Grove, "Harmoniemusik"
  7. ^ German for "field partitas"; Hughes
  8. ^ Hughes, 1974
  9. ^ New Grove, "Harmoniemusik"
  10. ^ Hellyer 2006, 533-534 dates the work somewhere between 1781 and 1784; for further discussion see Serenade No. 10 for winds.
  11. ^ For discussion see http://www.answers.com/topic/serenade-no-12-for-winds-in-c-minor-nacht-musique-k-388-k-384a
  12. ^ Hellyer 2006 535
  13. ^ Don Giovanni, pp. 400ff (Score)

Sources edit

  • Fitzpatrick, Horace (1982) program notes for a recorded performance by the Hanover Band of Ludwig van Beethoven's First Symphony and First Piano Concerto, Nimbus Records.
  • Hellyer, Roger (2006) "Wind music", in Cliff Eisen and Simon P. Keefe, eds., The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Hellyer, Roger (2008) "Harmoniemusik". Article in the Grove Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians,[clarification needed] online edition. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
  • Hughes, Rosemary (1974) Haydn. London: J. M. Dent.
  • Keefe, Simon P. (2006) "Johann Went", in Cliff Eisen and Simon P. Keefe, eds., The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

External links edit

  • A History of the Wind Band: Harmoniemusik and the Classical Wind Band

January 01, 1970
harmonie, german, word, that, context, history, music, designates, ensemble, wind, instruments, usually, about, five, eight, players, employed, aristocratic, patron, particularly, during, classical, 18th, century, would, employed, outdoor, recreational, music,. Harmonie is a German word that in the context of the history of music designates an ensemble of wind instruments usually about five to eight players employed by an aristocratic patron particularly during the Classical era of the 18th century The Harmonie would be employed for outdoor or recreational music or as a wind section of an orchestra Music composed for Harmonie is often called Harmoniemusik Contents 1 Terminology 1 1 Harmonie as wind section 1 2 Music arranged for Harmonie 2 History 3 Examples of Harmonie music 4 References 4 1 Sources 5 External linksTerminology editHorace Fitzpatrick writes reference below From about 1756 onward the Emperor in Vienna and the Austrian nobles kept house bands called Harmonien usually made of pairs of oboes horns bassoons and after about 1770 clarinets These wind groups formed part of the household musical staff and provided serenade for banquets and garden parties Joseph II kept a crack Harmonie for his private delectation drawn from the principal wind players of the Imperial opera His successor Franz II carried on this practice According to Haydn biographer Rosemary Hughes Feldharmonie 1 or simply Harmonie was the wind band maintained by most noblemen even when they could not afford a larger orchestra for performing at hunting parties and other outdoor entertainments Roger Hellyer writing in the Grove Dictionary 2 notes that while the Harmonie generally had an aristocratic patron the same music was sometimes also played by street musicians A letter by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his father Leopold 3 November 1781 noted that street musicians had serenaded him with his own composition the wind serenade K 375 In English the word Harmonie exists only as a technical term of historical musicology In other European languages such as Dutch French and German the term may also refer to a modern wind band The expression HaFaBra nl used in Dutch is the abbreviation and contraction of Harmonie concert band Fanfare fanfare band and or fanfare orchestra usually with a marching band connotation and Brassband brass band an umbrella term for all types of wind bands including the types with additional non wind instruments such as the typical battery of a marching band Harmonie as wind section edit The aristocrats who employed a Harmonie would often also maintain a small orchestra numerically dominated by or consisting entirely of the string section When members of the Harmonie participated in performances with such orchestras it became possible for the composer to enrich the musical texture with wind parts without increasing the payroll cost of his patron Thus Harmonie came also to designate the wind section of a small orchestra Of this practice Fitzpatrick writes It was Franz II s Harmonie who made up the wind section in Beethoven s orchestra of 1800 at the premiere of the composer s First Symphony Joseph Haydn s Mass in B flat major H 22 14 1802 is nicknamed the Harmoniemesse because unlike the other masses Haydn wrote during this time it includes parts for a whole wind section thanks to the recent reinstatement of these instruments in the musical establishment of Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II Music arranged for Harmonie edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it October 2017 The 18th century German expression auf Harmonie setzen lit set onto Harmonie means arranging a piece of music for performance by a Harmonie For instance Der Messias Mozart s arrangement of Handel s Messiah included that several movements became auf Harmonie gesetzt History editDuring the historical period of the Harmonie the ensemble gradually grew in size Hellyer 2006 suggests that during the early period in the 1750s a Harmonie could consist of just five instruments two oboes two horns and one bassoon though a second bassoon could be included as well 3 The Harmonie compositions of Haydn and Mozart see below all use at least six instruments A later expansion of the Harmonie can be traced with the accession of Joseph II to the throne of the Austrian Empire in 1780 Joseph expanded music making at his court in a number of ways including the introduction of a Harmonie as noted above This Harmonie consisted of eight players with two clarinets added to the traditional two oboes two horns and two bassoons Other nobles then followed the Emperor s lead 4 The Emperor s Harmonie included some distinguished players notably the clarinettist Anton Stadler who was the inspiration for a number of important works by Mozart It also included Anton s younger brother Johann as well as the oboist Johann Went de a composer of over 80 works for Harmonie 5 and oboist composer Josef Triebensee The Harmonie continued as a lively musical tradition until the Napoleonic Wars forced aristocrats to retrench financially cutting down on the number of musicians they employed The tradition had been largely abandoned by the mid 1830s 6 Examples of Harmonie music edit nbsp Beethoven Octet in E major for 2 oboes 2 clarinets 2 horns and 2 bassoons Op 103 1 Allegro source source 2 Andante source source 3 Menuetto source source 4 Presto source source Performed by the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet with other artists Problems playing these files See media help Some of Joseph Haydn s early works called divertimenti or Feldpartien 7 were written for the Harmonie of his first full time employer Count Morzin around 1760 8 Haydn became Vice Kapellmeister for the Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy in 1761 which was the same year that the Prince established a six member Harmonie Hellyer suggests that some of Haydn s early works for Harmonie were intended for this ensemble 9 Mozart also wrote for Harmonie As a teenager traveling in Italy he wrote the early Divertimenti K 186 and K 166 1773 see Divertimenti for ten winds Mozart He wrote further divertimenti between 1775 and 1777 while working at the Salzburg court K 213 240 252 253 270 Some time after his move to Vienna 1781 Mozart wrote his most extended work for Harmonie the Serenade in B flat K 361 a k a Gran Partita This is for an amplified wind ensemble of 13 instruments two oboes two clarinets two basset horns four French horns two bassoons and a string bass 10 His E flat serenade of 1781 K 375 is written for a Harmonie consisting of clarinets bassoons and horns curiously mismatching what the new Emperor had arranged as his Harmonie Hellyer suggests Mozart who was seeking a job at court at the time was misinformed Mozart later revised the work to include two oboe parts Perhaps the weightiest of all music for Harmonie is Mozart s Serenade No 12 for winds in C minor K 388 written in 1782 for Joseph II s eight player Harmonie 11 Hellyer calls it a curiously sombre and powerful work which often conveys a mood of dramatic intensity totally alien to the informal background music normally associated with the serenade type 12 At the banquet in the finale of Don Giovanni Mozart has a Harmonie perform parts from Una cosa rara by Vicente Martin y Soler I due litiganti by Giuseppe Sarti and the aria Non piu andrai from his own The Marriage of Figaro The scoring is for the full eight part Harmonie two each of oboes clarinets bassoons and horns 13 References edit German field Harmonie Hellyer 2008 Hellyer 2006 532 Source for this paragraph Hellyer 2006 535 Keefe 2006 Grove Harmoniemusik German for field partitas Hughes Hughes 1974 New Grove Harmoniemusik Hellyer 2006 533 534 dates the work somewhere between 1781 and 1784 for further discussion see Serenade No 10 for winds For discussion see http www answers com topic serenade no 12 for winds in c minor nacht musique k 388 k 384a Hellyer 2006 535 Don Giovanni pp 400ff Score Sources edit Fitzpatrick Horace 1982 program notes for a recorded performance by the Hanover Band of Ludwig van Beethoven s First Symphony and First Piano Concerto Nimbus Records Hellyer Roger 2006 Wind music in Cliff Eisen and Simon P Keefe eds The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia Cambridge Cambridge University Press Hellyer Roger 2008 Harmoniemusik Article in the Grove Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians clarification needed online edition Copyright 2008 Oxford University Press Hughes Rosemary 1974 Haydn London J M Dent Keefe Simon P 2006 Johann Went in Cliff Eisen and Simon P Keefe eds The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia Cambridge Cambridge University Press External links editA History of the Wind Band Harmoniemusik and the Classical Wind Band Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harmonie amp oldid 1169296251, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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