Music as we know it today, has evolved through the centuries from even before the times of the ancient troubadors, who pretty much carried their instruments around with them. The lute, horn, drum or a small harp were the most frequently heard source of the background music, or accompaniment. These instruments, plus a form of bagpipe, have existed from the beginnings of time, and are all frequently mentioned in the Bible. Strangely enough, it is these types of instruments - plucked, blown, or struck -- form the nucleus of the orchestral structure.
Around the 1500s, technology underwent its first explosion - resulting in the Renaissance. We began to hear varied sounds; new versions of wind instruments, plus greater varieties of those that were plucked or strummed.
Someone, somewhere, created the first 'jam' session, and the orchestra was born. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly who that entrepreneur was. Too bad. We all owe him -- or her -- a debt of gratitude.
The vocal side of things had been chugging steadily along, with voices -- singly or in groups -- providing heavenly sounds in the great cathedrals. Songs were a major component of the many 'mystery' plays presented during the middle ages. And why not? They were quick and easy to produce, providing opportunites for scenery and costume changes, while also forwarding the story.
The first 'opera' as we use the term -- incorporating both these musical ideas -- is generally accredited to Monteverdi, an Italian of the mid-1600s. This may be one reason why Italian opera has long led the rest of the world in variety and style, and has also produced so many wonderful singers through the ages. Think: Caruso, Tetrazzini, Siepi, Pavarotti. The Italians don't have a lock on good singers, however. Think: Domingo, Horne, Sutherland, Morris, Price, Norman.
Orchestras began to form in the mid 1700s, and, generally, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is considered to be the oldest, continually-performing, orchestra extant. Based in Leipzig, it is named after the building in which it performed for more than two centuries -- a Guild Hall, established by the town's linen merchants, who also supported it financially. Founded in 1743 by funds donated by town citizens, the Orchestra now has a new home, opened in 1981. Leipzig was also the musical home - at different times, of course - of the noted composers, Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
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