In
music, an octet is a
musical ensemble consisting of eight
instruments or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.
Octets in classical music
Octets in
classical music are one of the largest groupings of
chamber music. Although eight-part scoring was fairly common for
serenades and
divertimenti in the 18th century, the word "octet" only first appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, as the title of a composition by
Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, whose Octet Op. 12 (published posthumously in 1808) features the piano, together with clarinet, 2 horns, 2 violins, and 2 cellos. Later octets with piano were written by
Ferdinand Ries (Op. 128, 1818, with clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass),
Anton Rubinstein (Op. 9, 1856, with flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass), and
Paul Juon (Chamber Symphony, Op. 27, 1907) (
Kube 2001).
Octets tend to be scored in one of the following arrangements:
Double quartet – Double quartets are made up of two
string quartets, often arranged
antiphonally.
Louis Spohr composed four such octets between 1823 and 1847 (opp. 65, 77, 87 and 136), taking as a model a work by
Andreas Romberg. Later examples in this mode include works by
Nikolay Afanasyev (Housewarming and Le souvenir) and Mario Peragallo (Music for Double Quartet, 1948), as well as
Darius Milhaud's paired 14th and 15th String Quartets Op. 291 (1948–49), which are composed to be playable simultaneously as an octet (
Kube 2001).
Wind and string octet – a combination of forces, popularized by
Franz Schubert (whose
Octet is for clarinet, bassoon,
horn, 2
violins,
viola,
cello, and
double bass). A number of ensembles have been formed with this instrumentation, including the Octuor de Paris, for whom
Iannis Xenakis composed Anaktoria (1969). By contrast, the Octet by
Louis Spohr is scored for clarinet, 2 horns, violin, 2 violas, cello, and double bass.
Paul Hindemith wrote a less well-known piece for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, two violas, cello and double bass. Another important 20th-century octet for winds and strings is Octandre by
Edgard Varèse (1923), for flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, clarinet (doubling E♭ clarinet), bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, and double bass (
Griffiths 2001).
Alec Wilder composed a series of crossover octets between 1938 and 1940 which are scored for a quintet of woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon) backed by a rhythm section of harpsichord, double bass and drums.
Octets in jazz
Jazz ensembles of eight players will frequently be termed an octet. These ensembles may be for any combination of instruments, but the most common line-up is
trumpet,
alto sax,
tenor sax,
trombone,
guitar,
piano,
bass and
drums, with guitar occasionally making way for another horn, for example
baritone sax. The Jamil Sheriff Octet
[1] is an example of a classic octet.
Ornette Coleman's ensemble for the Free Jazz album (referred to as a double quartet) is an example of two quartets playing together at the same time.
Saxophonist
David Murray leads an experimental jazz octet, the David Murray Octet.
The collaborations of trombonists
J.J. Johnson and
Kai Winding occasionally featured a trombone octet, most notably on their 1956 record Jay and Kai + 6.
Octets in popular music
British pop group
the Dooleys were an eight-member group popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
British rock group
Yes were an eight-member group during their Union tour in 1991.
Vocal octet
A vocal octet is a choir, or performance by a choir,[citation needed] of eight separate parts, for example, an SSAATTBB (1st & 2nd
soprano, 1st & 2nd
alto, 1st & 2nd
tenor,
baritone and
bass) choir.
Griffiths, Paul. 2001. "Varèse, Edgard [Edgar] (Victor Achille Charles)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by
Stanley Sadie and
John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
Kube, Michael. 2001. "Octet". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
Montagu, Jeremy. 2002. "Octet". In The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Wackerbauer, Michael. 2008. Sextett, Doppelquartett und Oktett. Studien zur groß besetzten Kammermusik für Streicher im 19. Jahrhundert. Regensburger Studien zur Musikgeschichte 6). Tutzing: Hans Schneider.
ISBN978-3-7952-1121-9.