Octet (music)
Encyclopedia
In music
, an octet is a musical ensemble
consisting of eight instruments
or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.
. Although eight-part scoring was fairly common for serenade
s and divertimenti
in the 18th century, the word "octet" only first appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, as the title of a composition by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, whose Octet op. 12 (published posthumously in 1808) features the piano, together with flute, clarinet, 2 horns, 2 violins, and 2 cellos. Later octets with piano were written by Ferdinand Ries
(op. 128, 1818, with clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass), Anton Rubinstein
(op. 9, 1856, with flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass), and Paul Juon
(Chamber Symphony, op. 27, 1907) (Kube 2001).
Octets tend to be scored in one of the following arrangements:
, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Trombone
, Guitar
, Piano
, Bass
, Drums, with Guitar occasionally being swapped for another horn, for example Baritone Sax. The Jamil Sheriff Octet http://www.myspace.com/thejamilsheriffoctet is an example of a classic octet. Ornette Coleman
's ensemble for the Free Jazz
album (referred to as a double quartet) is an example of two quartets playing together at the same time.
Saxophonist David Murray
leads a famous experimental jazz octet, the David Murray Octet.
The collaborations of trombonists J.J. Johnson
and Kai Winding
occasionally featured a trombone octet. Most notably on their 1956 record Jay and Kai + 6
.
, 1st & 2nd Alto
, 1st & 2nd Tenor
, Baritone
, and Bass) choir.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, an octet is a musical ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
consisting of eight instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.
Octets in classical music
Octets in classical music are one of the largest groupings of chamber musicChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. Although eight-part scoring was fairly common for serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
s and divertimenti
Divertimento
Divertimento is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the divertimento is most often lighthearted and it is generally composed for a small ensemble....
in the 18th century, the word "octet" only first appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, as the title of a composition by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, whose Octet op. 12 (published posthumously in 1808) features the piano, together with flute, clarinet, 2 horns, 2 violins, and 2 cellos. Later octets with piano were written by Ferdinand Ries
Ferdinand Ries
Ferdinand Ries was a German composer.- Life :Born into a musical family of Bonn, Ries was a friend and pupil of Beethoven who published in 1838 a collection of reminiscences of his teacher, co-written with Franz Wegeler...
(op. 128, 1818, with clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass), Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
(op. 9, 1856, with flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass), and Paul Juon
Paul Juon
Paul Juon was a Germanised Russian composerHe was born in Moscow, where his father was an insurance official. His mother was German, and he went to a German school in Moscow. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1889, where he studied violin with Jan Hřímalý and composition with Anton Arensky...
(Chamber Symphony, op. 27, 1907) (Kube 2001).
Octets tend to be scored in one of the following arrangements:
- String Octet – This arrangement is made up entirely of strings. Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's Octet Op. 20Octet (Mendelssohn)Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 was composed in the autumn of 1825 , when the composer was aged 16. He wrote it as a birthday gift for his friend and violin teacher Eduard Rietz ; it was slightly revised in 1832 before the first public performance on 30 January 1836 at the...
is an example, as are the octets of George EnescuGeorge EnescuGeorge Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
and Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri ShostakovichDmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
.- Double quartet - Double quartets are made up of two string quartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s, often arranged antiphonally. Louis SpohrLouis SpohrLouis Spohr was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Born Ludewig Spohr, he is usually known by the French form of his name. Described by Dorothy Mayer as "The Forgotten Master", Spohr was once as famous as Beethoven. As a violinist, his virtuoso playing was admired by Queen Victoria...
composed four such octets between 1823 and 1847 (opp. 65, 77, 87 and 136), taking as a model a work by Andreas Jakob Romberg. Later examples in this mode include works by Nikolay Afanas'yev (Housewarming and Le souvenir) and Mario Peragallo (Music for Double Quartet, 1948), as well as Darius MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
's paired 14th and 15th String Quartets op. 291 (1948–49), which are composed to be playable simultaneously as an octet (Kube 2001). - Cello octet – Eight cellos, a combination popularized by Heitor Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
in his Bachianas brasileirasBachianas BrasileirasThe Bachianas Brasileiras constitute a series of nine suites by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written for various combinations of instruments and voices between 1930 and 1945...
nos. 1 (1930) and 5 (1938/1945), though technically these are for "cello orchestra" with a minimum of eight players. Villa-Lobos also arranged three of the preludes and four fugues from Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Well-Tempered ClavierThe Well-Tempered ClavierThe Well-Tempered Clavier , BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach...
for this ensemble. Several all-cello groups came into existence during the late 1970s and 1980s, notably the Yale CellosYale CellosThe Yale Cellos is an ensemble at the Yale School of Music consisting of 20 or so cellists, all of whom are students of the famed cello teacher Aldo Parisot. Since its formation in 1983 the group has produced several CDs, one of which earned a Grammy nomination....
, the 12 Cellists of the Berlin PhilharmonicThe 12 cellists of the Berlin PhilharmonicThe 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic are 14 cellists, members of the Berlin Philharmonic as the name implies, who perform and record as an all-cello ensemble....
, and the Conjunto Ibérico cello octet, and their popularity caused a surge of interest in cello-ensemble writing among composers. Some of the most prominent to compose cello octets include Luciano BerioLuciano BerioLuciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
(Korót, 1998), Sylvano BussottiSylvano BussottiSylvano Bussotti is an Italian composer of contemporary music whose work is unusually notated and often creates special problems of interpretation.Born in Florence, Bussotti learned to play the violin as a child, becoming a prodigy...
(Poèsies à Maldoror, 1999), Edison DenisovEdison DenisovEdison Vasilievich Denisov was a Russian composer of so called "Underground" — "Anti-Collectivist", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division in the Soviet music.-Biography:...
(Hymne, 1995), Morton GouldMorton GouldMorton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.Born in Richmond Hill, New York, Gould was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities in improvisation and composition. His first composition was published at age six...
(Cellos, 1984), Sofia GubaidulinaSofia GubaidulinaSofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, is a Russian composer of half Russian, half Tatar ethnicity.Gubaidulina's music is marked by the use of unusual instrumental combinations...
(Fata morgana: die tanzende Sonne, 2002), Gordon JacobGordon JacobGordon Percival Septimus Jacob was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.-Life:...
(Cello Octet, 1981), Arvo PärtArvo PärtArvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
(version of FratresFratresFratres is a composition by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, existing in versions for a wide variety of instrumentations and exemplifying Pärt's tintinnabuli style of composition. Structurally, the piece consists of a set of eight or nine chord sequences, separated by a recurring percussion motif...
, (1983), Steve ReichSteve ReichStephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
(Cello Counterpoint, 2003), Kaija SaariahoKaija SaariahoKaija Saariaho is a Finnish composer.Kaija Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she has lived since 1982. Her studies and research at IRCAM have had a major influence on her music and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by...
(Neiges, 1998), and Peter SculthorpePeter SculthorpePeter Joshua Sculthorpe AO OBE is an Australian composer. Much of his music has resulted from an interest in the music of Australia's neighbours as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of native Australian music with that of the heritage of the West...
(Chorale, 1994).
- Double quartet - Double quartets are made up of two string quartet
- Wind Octet – Usually scored for 2 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, 2 hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, and 2 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s; Mozart and Beethoven composed for this scoring, also known as HarmonieHarmonieHarmonie is a German word that, in the context of the history of music, designates a band of wind instruments employed by an aristocratic patron, particularly during the Classical era of the 18th century...
(Montagu 2002), though only Beethoven actually titled his one work for this grouping "Octet". Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's OctetOctet (Stravinsky)The Octet for wind instruments is a chamber-music composition by Igor Stravinsky, completed in 1923.Stravinsky’s Octet is scored for an unusual combination of woodwind and brass instruments: flute, clarinet in B and A, two bassoons, trumpet in C, trumpet in A, tenor trombone, and bass trombone...
for wind instruments has an unusual scoring of fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, clarinet, two bassoons, two trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, and two tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s. - Wind and String Octet – a combination of forces, popularized by Franz SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
(whose OctetOctet (Schubert)The Octet in F major, D. 803 was composed by Franz Schubert in March 1824. It was commissioned by the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer and came from the same period as two of Schubert's other major chamber works, the Rosamunde and the Death and the Maiden string quartets.-Structure:Consisting...
is for clarinet, bassoon, hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, 2 violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
). A number of ensembles have been formed with this instrumentation, including the Octuor de Paris, for whom Iannis XenakisIannis XenakisIannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
composed Anaktoria (1969). Paul HindemithPaul HindemithPaul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
wrote a less well known piece for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, two violas, cello and double bass. Another important 20th-century octet for winds and strings is Octandre by Edgard VarèseEdgard VarèseEdgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
, for flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, clarinet (doubling E clarinet), bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, and double bass (1923) (Griffiths 2001).
Octets in jazz
Jazz ensembles of eight players will frequently be termed an octet. These ensembles may be for any combination of instruments, however the most common line-up is TrumpetTrumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, Drums, with Guitar occasionally being swapped for another horn, for example Baritone Sax. The Jamil Sheriff Octet http://www.myspace.com/thejamilsheriffoctet is an example of a classic octet. Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
's ensemble for the Free Jazz
Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation
Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation is the sixth album by jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, recorded in 1960. Its title established the name of the then-nascent free jazz movement...
album (referred to as a double quartet) is an example of two quartets playing together at the same time.
Saxophonist David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
leads a famous experimental jazz octet, the David Murray Octet.
The collaborations of trombonists J.J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson
J. J. Johnson was a United States jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. He was sometimes credited as Jay Jay Johnson....
and Kai Winding
Kai Winding
Kai Chresten Winding was a popular Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is well known for a successful collaboration with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson.-Biography:...
occasionally featured a trombone octet. Most notably on their 1956 record Jay and Kai + 6
Jay and Kai + 6
Jay and Kai + 6 is the fifth album by jazz trombonists J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, credited on this album as The Jay and Kai Trombone Octet. The title refers to the six trombonists who accompany Johnson and Winding on the recording. Columbia Records released the album as a monaural LP record...
.
Octets in popular music
- British pop group The DooleysThe DooleysThe Dooleys were a United Kingdom male–female pop group comprising eight members — six of them family members — at their peak. They achieved several UK chart hits between 1977 and 1981 including top-ten hits "Wanted", "Love of My Life" and "The Chosen Few"....
were an eight-member group popular in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
Vocal octet
A vocal octet is a choir, or performance by a choir, of eight separate parts, for example, an SSAATTBB (1st & 2nd SopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, 1st & 2nd Alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, 1st & 2nd Tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, Baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, and Bass) choir.
See also
- Octet (Schubert)Octet (Schubert)The Octet in F major, D. 803 was composed by Franz Schubert in March 1824. It was commissioned by the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer and came from the same period as two of Schubert's other major chamber works, the Rosamunde and the Death and the Maiden string quartets.-Structure:Consisting...
- Octet (Mendelssohn)Octet (Mendelssohn)Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 was composed in the autumn of 1825 , when the composer was aged 16. He wrote it as a birthday gift for his friend and violin teacher Eduard Rietz ; it was slightly revised in 1832 before the first public performance on 30 January 1836 at the...
- Silesian Guitar OctetSilesian Guitar OctetSilesian Guitar Octet is the only performing octet in the world that has a stable structure. The Octet consists of professors, graduates and students of Musical Academy in Katowice, Poland.- The Octet :...
- Vocal octet OCTAVA
- Los Angeles Electric 8Los Angeles Electric 8The Los Angeles Electric 8 is an electric guitar chamber octet founded in 2006. The group is based in Los Angeles, California. The founding members are Philip Graulty, Chelsea Green, Ben Harbert, Brandon Mayer, Marc Nimoy, Felix Salazar, JohnPaul Trotter and Bryce Wilson...
Sources
- Antonov, Ivan Milkov. 2005. "A Catalogue of Twentieth-Century Cello Ensemble Music". DMA monograph. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
- Griffiths, Paul. 2001. "Varèse, Edgard [Edgar] (Victor Achille Charles)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers. - Kube, Michael. 2001. "Octet". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers. - Montagu, Jeremy. 2002. "Octet". In The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.