On 15.01.2007 John Howell wrote:
That is not to say there were no larger orchestral performances. Handel's
Messiah is a good example.
Oh?? I doubt his orchestra was more than 20, and about the same for his
chorus. Mozart was the first to start expanding the size of the Messiah
orchestra. Handel's was string band, oboes, trumpet (or was it 2?), and
probably bassoon in addition to basso continuo.
I thought there were enormous performances of Messiah in England, but it
might be that they only happened after Handel's death.
What may have happened after his death, with annual performances by
increasingly large choral societies, I've never really studied. But were there
really any large concert halls before 1800? Seems to me that even opera houses
were small by modern standards, but I suppose that L'Opera puts the lie to that.
Well, I know for a fact that Haydn's Seasons and Creation were performed
with excessively large forces. Something like 16 double basses. This was
because these performances were a kind of pension system "Witwer und
Waisen" fund. Not sure where these happened, but the performers lists
have been published in Haydn Studien.
I believe that started before 1800.
Johannes
--
http://www.musikmanufaktur.com
http://www.camerata-berolinensis.de
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