CHAMBER MUSIC – WHAT IS THAT? “Chambre” in French means “room.” So, chamber music was music meant to be played in a room, as opposed to in a large concert hall. Chamber music is played by a smaller group, sometimes a duet or a trio or a quartet or quintet or even an octet. What sets it apart is that each part is played by just one musician, in contrast to orchestral music, in which each string part is played by a number of performers. Most composers have composed chamber music as well as symphonies, operas, and choral works. Chamber music is more intimate and often is very interesting because you can hear each part very clearly. Chamber music also does not need a conductor so four musicians, for example, can sit down with their instruments and play a Beethoven string quartet. Good chamber music is like listening to a very interesting conversation with the instruments talking to each other. Before Thomas Edison invented the gramophone, if you wanted to hear music, you had to play it yourself. This meant that many amateur as well as professional musicians enjoyed having chamber music to play because they could play it at home with a few friends and enjoy a musical afternoon or evening.
Check out the video below to learn more about what "chamber music" means and where it came from.
Trio Voronezh, a chamber music group made up of three members who play Russian folk instruments, can be heard playing "A Russian Peter" and "Kalinka" on the Maestro Classics Peter and the Wolfalbum.
Check it out here!