Title: Early Development of the Woodwind Ensemble
Headings: 
The Early Development of the Wind Quintet
Content: Early Development of the Woodwind Ensemble












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Early Development of the Woodwind Ensemble

The Early Development of the Wind Quintet

Melanie Morley
October 25, 2003






The woodwind  quintet is comprised of the four principal woodwinds from the orchestra: flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon; and one brass  instrument, the horn. Although most of the attention given to instrumental chamber  music is aimed towards the string quartet, the woodwind quintet has both a history and a collection of music that is worth  recognizing. This specific instrumentation took quite some time to develop through  chamber and orchestral-music evolution. During the middle ages there was a strong  tendency towards strictly vocal music. According to Ernest Meyer,
The 16 th century was a time of fierce religious and social struggle. In all such times  the emphasis in vocal music laid upon the words (and text in general) becomes stronger. In all countries the movements of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation alike endeavored to convey their messages  through the medium of vocal music… [1]
Because of this, instrumental  music was not emphasized until later. Although the first music to be written  strictly for instruments were dances used for entertainment, instruments were also used in vocal chamber music.