- Pierrot ensemble
A Pierrot ensemble is a
musical ensemble comprised offlute ,clarinet ,violin ,cello andpiano , frequently augmented by the addition of a singer or percussionist.History
This ensemble is named for twentieth century composer
Arnold Schoenberg ’s seminal work "Pierrot Lunaire ", which includes the quintet of instruments above with a mezzo-soprano singer.The quintet of instruments used in "Pierrot Lunaire" became the core ensemble for many contemporary-music ensembles of the twentieth century, such as The Fires of London, who formed in 1965 as "The Pierrot Players" to perform Pierrot Lunaire, and continued to concertize with a varied classical and contemporary repertory. This group (and others like it) began to perform works arranged for these instruments and commission new works especially to take advantage of this ensemble's instrumental colors. [GroveOnline|Fires of London|Goodwin, Noël|November 11|2007]
While many professional chamber ensembles (such as string quartets and piano trios) continued to focus on musical literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Pierrot ensemble became one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in
classical music of the 20th century, and continues to be popular with composers and performers today.Doublings
Doublings are often called for in music written for Pierrot ensemble. For example, in Schoenberg's "
Pierrot Lunaire ", the flutist is asked to playpiccolo , the clarinetist is asked to playbass clarinet , and (much more unusually) the violinist is asked to playviola . Other common doublings might includeE-flat clarinet (as in Carter's "Triple Duo"),alto flute , or evenharpsichord (as in Maxwell Davies's "Eight Songs for a Mad King").Important Pierrot ensembles
*
Da Capo Chamber Players
*eighth blackbird
*Fires of London
*New York New Music Ensemble
*Pierrot Ensemble Wien Major works for Pierrot ensemble
*
Arnold Schoenberg : "Pierrot Lunaire" (1912) (with mezzo-soprano singer)
*Peter Maxwell Davies : "Eight Songs for a Mad King" (1969) (with baritone singer and percussionist)
*Joan Tower : "Petroushskates" (1980)
*Elliott Carter : "Triple Duo" (1983)
*Fred Lerdahl "Fantasy Etudes" (1985)
*Jacob Druckman : "Come Round" (1992)
*David Lang : "Sweet Air" (1999)
*Lior Navok : "Sextet" (1998)
*Lior Navok : "Elegy to the Future" (2001)Notes
Links
*From the Arnold Schoenberg Center
** [http://www.schoenberg.at/6_archiv/music/works/op/compositions_op21_sources_e.htm Pierrot Lunaire: autograph manuscript]
** [http://www.schoenberg.at/6_archiv/music/works/op/compositions_op21_e.htm Pierrot Lunaire: complete recording]
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