Divertissement is a musical genre

The beginning of the era of classicism in Austrian music is characterized by a variety of new forms and genres. One of them is divertissement. Translated from French, this word means "entertainment".

What is divertissement

Divertissement is a musical genre. The works created in it are usually intended for execution on instruments. However, in the period of origin, plays in this genre could be performed in a voice.

The divertissement was especially popular in the works of Viennese classics (Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven), as well as in the music of the masters of the Mannheim school, for example, Jan Stamitz. These were free-form works and varied in character.

Divertissement is a genre with no clear signs. Plays with this name could be written in the form of a sonata or suite, and they also had a different instrumental composition. Divertissements were heard in concert halls, and listeners were princes, dukes, counts and other aristocrats.

Characteristic features of the genre

The chamber orchestra usually performed a divertissement. An ensemble of ten or more people in the era of Viennese classicism was often called an orchestra. Usually, there were several violins and violas, two or three flutes, oboe, clarinet and harp. If the play had a bright and cheerful character, the composer added timpani to the orchestra.

Divertissement is a typical product of the classical era. A homophonic work with a clearly expressed functional harmony and a dance rhythm. A flexible, plastic melody often resembled a singing cantilena. Sometimes in these plays the composer solved creative tasks, for example, mastered modulations or a new musical instrument.

Sometimes a composition of several contrasting works of nature was called a divertissement. Later, they began to call ballet dance based on a musical suite from contrasting numbers.

Divertissements by Mozart

Many beautiful works of this genre belong to the greatest genius of all time - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He wrote plays for different instrumental compositions. Peru composes works for piano duets with violin, cello and clarinet, as well as for string quartets and other ensembles.

Great music was able to create Mozart. Divertissement, which he wrote for the string quartet and the two French horns, and today he captivates the hearts of listeners. This beautiful music is very popular. The composer wrote a lot of operas, symphonies and concerts, but it was the cheerful and cheerful divertissement that attracted the attention of a wide audience. This composition beats all records of popularity, according to the number of downloads on the Web.

Unfortunately, Divertissement in D major is rarely studied in music schools. Mozart has much deeper, more complex and philosophical works. The main feature of the plays of this genre is entertainment. Cheerful, light music will always be popular with connoisseurs and amateurs.

The development of the genre in the following centuries

After the end of the era of Viennese classicism, composers almost forgot about the divertissement. During the domination of the romantic style in music, the simplicity and sincerity of the feelings, the trusting lyrical intonation were appreciated. The brilliant divertissement was outside the priority genre circle.

This name was given only by arrangements of popular operas. Such arrangements of arias and romances for different instrumental compositions had a suite form and were based on the principle of alternating fragments of different character. An example is the "Hungarian Divertissement" by Franz Schubert for piano four hands.

Only in the 20th century, when the retrospective direction, called "neoclassicism", became fashionable, this genre returned to the orbit of musical priorities. A new reconstructed divertissement is a work based on an intellectual game.

The composer deliberately parses the ancient classical composition for some details, and then adds them again. The music turns out to be a bit cold, alienated and stylized under the antiquity. This genre was addressed by such outstanding modern composers as Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, Albert Russell. This was the essence of the divertissement in the historical memory of art - a bright and brilliant creation of the classical era.