A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Chamber Music
CHAMBER MUSIC is the name applied to all that class of music which is specially fitted for performance in a room, as distinguished from concert music, or dramatic music, or ecclesiastical music, or such other kinds as require many performers and large spaces for large volumes of sound.
It was early recognised as a special department of the art, as we find Louis XIV with a 'Maître de la Musique de la Chambre du Roy,' and in Italy as early as the beginning of the 17th century Peri and Caccini and many other distinguished composers of that time and shortly after produced an abundance of 'Cantate da Camera' and 'Madrigali da Camera,' which were generally pieces for a single voice with accompaniment of a single instrument. These were probably the most important part of chamber music for some time, but they changed their character by degrees, and becoming more extensive, and more fitted for large numbers of performers, passed out of its domain. The name is now more generally applied to instrumental music, either for single instruments or solo instruments in combination; though it is still appropriate to songs, and vocal pieces for a few voices, alone or with a simple accompaniment.
The earliest forms of instrumental chamber music, as indeed of all instrumental music, were the dance tunes, and the collections of dance tunes which were called suites; and great quantities of these exist for various combinations of instruments, but most of those which are still well known are for 'clavier' alone. These were the forerunners of the sonata or 'sound piece,' which is the type of the greater part of modern instrumental music. This designation is now almost entirely restricted to works for pianoforte or pianoforte and one solo instrument, but the first sonatas were for combinations of various instruments, and especially for strings; and works of this kind exist by many of the great Italian masters, as by Corelli, and by our own Purcell, whose 'Golden Sonata' for two violins and bass was held in great repute. It is somewhat singular that the name should have been so restricted, as the works which we now know as trios, quartets, quintets, and like names designating the number of solo instruments for which they were written, are always in the same form with the pianoforte works which we call sonatas, and the legitimate descendants of the earlier combinations of instruments which went by the same name. Works of this description form a very considerable portion of modern music both in value and amount, almost all the greatest composers of the last hundred years having produced some, especially Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The latter seemed in his later years to regard the quartet of strings as one of the most perfect means of expressing his deepest musical thoughts, and left some of the greatest treasures of all music in that form. In the present day the most popular form of instrumental music of this description seems to be the combination of pianoforte and strings, as duos, trios, quartets, etc., and of such works great quantities are constantly produced by many distinguished composers of Germany.
Chamber music offers such signal opportunities for the display of the finest qualities of great players that it has become a common practice to perform it in large concert rooms where great numbers of people can come together to hear it, so that the title threatens to become anomalous; but it so aptly describes the class of music which is at least most fitted for performance in a room that it is not likely to fall into disuse.