The History of the Orchestra

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The history of the orchestra is entirely fluid, and is one that runs in parallel to the growing ambitions of the composers – for centuries, musicians simply gathered in groups or consorts of play chamber works. But around 400 years ago, larger forces were needed at the birth of that grandest of art forms – opera, and it was Monteverdi who first assembled the number of instruments that could today be referred to as an orchestra of any sort. As music developed and became more complex, so more instruments joined in, and eventually some sort of order was created – the number of flutes, oboes, clarinets, horns and more began to be set in stone. And as the orchestra became larger, so it needed someone at the front to keep it in check. The conductor was born. Of course, orchestras change subtly depending on the composer – Mahler’s forces, for instance, are famously huge, with several harps, more double basses than anyone else, and very often choral forces too. But go to any symphonic concert, and the orchestra will be a familiar sight.

So why is an orchestra laid out the way it is? Why the first violins sit to the left of the conductor and why, depending on the repertoire and orchestra, cellos or second violins sit on the right with violas tucked neatly in the middle. Go to any symphony orchestra concert, and the layout will, however, be roughly the same – the woodwind in the centre, the brass behind, the double basses back right and so on.

The most important seating to get right in an orchestra are the strings. A balance has to be struck between the first and second violins as two sections, their equal volume on stage and their ability to play together – as orchestral scores have got more and more complicated, violins have tended to sit together in one great section – the common sight of the cellos on the right, which you’ll often see, is a modern invention, brought in by the conductor Sir Henry Wood at the start of the 20th century. Before then, second violins had mostly been to the right of a conductor, creating a stereo effect or, as conductor Toscanini once put it, ‘like two shoulders, strong and equal’. In terms of the cellos, many conductors today prefer to play them at the heart of the string section once again, creating a foundation of bass on which the violas and violins can stand.
In terms of the woodwind – the flutes, clarinets, oboes and bassoons – their position as a block is, on the whole, a constant. But look, and listen closely, and you may notice that each instrument section is placed near the string part that it doubles the most. So clarinets may be placed near the violas, the flutes near the first violins, the bassoons near the cellos. And so on. It’s a subtle point, but again it helps the orchestra’s blend.

Horns are usually placed in a single row to the left of the winds, and you’ll most likely see brass at the back, in a single line, in front of the percussion, who are always at the back for reason of volume. If you’ve ever wondered why one orchestra sounds more blended and cohesive than another, then do give a thought to how they’re seated – it’s an art, but more often it’s actually something of a science.

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