Concert hall

What it means

The concert hall is a room built specifically for the performance of music before an audience. It arose as a building task of its own in the eighteenth and above all in the nineteenth century, when public concerts took the place of courtly and ecclesiastical performances. Its shape is not arbitrary: size, form, material, and seating determine the acoustics and thereby how music sounds there.

Musical use

The room is part of the sound. Reverberation time, clarity, and balance decide how fast one can play, how much articulation is necessary, and how groups mix. Music that was written for churches with a long reverberation sounds different in a dry hall — and vice versa. The development of the large orchestra is directly connected with the building of larger halls: more audience demanded more sound. For historical performance practice this is an important question, because many works were conceived for smaller, differently sounding rooms.

Performance practice

Try out the room before the concert and listen, if possible, from the hall; on the podium the impression is different. Adapt tempo and articulation: with a long reverberation, fast music needs more separation and some calm, with dry acoustics more connection and sound. Expect changes as soon as the audience is present, because people absorb sound. Settle the placement, for it influences balance and ensemble playing. With piano, check the lid position, and with choir the positioning in relation to the orchestra.

Bear in mind that reverberation time and clarity stand opposed to each other: a hall that carries string sound beautifully makes fast wind passages unclear. Adapt articulation and tempo instead of playing against the room. Check the placement, because it determines balance and ensemble playing, and expect changes as soon as an audience is present. For music written for smaller rooms, a reduced scoring is to be considered. Listen, if possible, to part of the rehearsal from the hall.