, led by Franz Kneisel, is an example of chamber music. This American ensemble debuted
Dvořák's American Quartet, Opus 96 (photographed .) ian musical ensemble, painted by
Kamal-ol-molk in 1886 In Western classical music, smaller ensembles are called
chamber music ensembles. The terms
duo,
trio,
quartet,
quintet,
sextet,
septet,
octet,
nonet, and
decet describe groups of two up to ten musicians, respectively. A group of eleven musicians, such as found in
The Carnival of the Animals, is called an
undecet, and a group of twelve is called a
duodecet (see
Latin numerical prefixes). A soloist playing unaccompanied (e.g., a pianist playing a solo piano piece or a cellist playing a
Bach suite for unaccompanied cello) is not an ensemble because it only contains one musician.
Four parts Strings A
string quartet consists of two
violins, a
viola, and a
cello. There is a vast body of music written for string quartets, making it an important genre in
classical music.
Wind A woodwind quartet usually features a
flute, an
oboe, a
clarinet, and a
bassoon. A brass quartet features two
trumpets, a
trombone, and a
tuba (or
French horn (more commonly known as "horn")). A saxophone quartet consists of a
soprano saxophone, an
alto saxophone, a
tenor saxophone, and a
baritone saxophone.
Five parts The string
quintet is a common type of group. It is similar to the string quartet, but with an additional viola, cello, or more rarely, the addition of a double bass. Terms such as "
piano quintet" or "clarinet quintet" frequently refer to a string quartet
plus a fifth instrument.
Mozart's
Clarinet Quintet is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, a cello, and a clarinet, the last being the exceptional addition to a "normal" string quartet. Some other quintets in classical music are the
wind quintet, usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; the
brass quintet, consisting of two trumpets, one horn, a trombone, and a tuba; and the reed quintet, consisting of an oboe, a soprano clarinet, a saxophone, a bass clarinet, and a bassoon.
Six or more instruments ,
Barbican Hall, conducted by
Bernard Haitink Classical chamber ensembles of six (sextet), seven (septet), or eight musicians (octet) are fairly common; the use of latinate terms for larger groups is rare, except for the nonet (nine musicians). In most cases, a larger classical group is referred to as an orchestra of some type or a concert band. A small orchestra with fifteen to thirty members (violins, violas, four cellos, two or three double basses, and several woodwind or brass instruments) is called a
chamber orchestra. A
sinfonietta usually denotes a somewhat smaller orchestra (though still not a chamber orchestra). Larger orchestras are called
symphony orchestras (see below) or philharmonic orchestras. A
pops orchestra is an orchestra that mainly performs light classical music (often in abbreviated, simplified arrangements) and orchestral
arrangements and
medleys of popular jazz, music theater, or pop music songs. A
string orchestra has only string instruments, i.e., violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. A
symphony orchestra is an ensemble usually comprising at least thirty musicians; the number of players is typically between fifty and ninety-five and may exceed one hundred. A symphony orchestra is divided into families of instruments. In the string family, there are sections of violins (I and II), violas, cellos (often eight), and basses (often from six to eight). The standard
woodwind section consists of flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboes (one doubling English horn), soprano clarinets (one doubling bass clarinet), and bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon). The standard
brass section consists of horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba. The
percussion section includes the
timpani,
bass drum,
snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle,
glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). In
Baroque music (1600–1750) and music from the early
Classical period music (1750–1820), the percussion parts in orchestral works may only include timpani. A
wind orchestra or
concert band is a large classical ensemble generally made up of between 40 and 70 musicians from the woodwind, brass, and percussion families, along with the double bass. The concert band has a larger number and variety of wind instruments than the symphony orchestra but does not have a string section (although a single
double bass is common in concert bands). The woodwind section of a concert band consists of piccolo, flutes, oboes (one doubling English horn), bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), soprano clarinets (one doubling E clarinet, one doubling alto clarinet), bass clarinets (one doubling contrabass clarinet or contra-alto clarinet), alto saxophones (one doubling soprano saxophone), tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. The brass section consists of horns, trumpets or cornets, trombones, euphoniums, and tubas. The percussion section consists of the timpani, bass drum, snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). Less well known is the large symphonic
accordion orchestra. Typically, it includes between 50 and 100 musicians whose
free-bass instruments are individually re-tuned in order to recreate the full range of orchestral sounds and timbers required for the performance of traditional Western classical music. When orchestras perform
baroque music (from the 17th century and early 18th century), they may also use a
harpsichord or
pipe organ, to play the
continuo part. When orchestras perform Romantic-era music (from the 19th century), they may also use
harps or unusual instruments such as the
wind machine or
cannons. When orchestras perform music from the 20th century or the 21st century, occasionally instruments such as electric guitar,
theremin, or even an electronic synthesizer may be used. == Vocal group ==