which was the very first orchestra?

Answer 1

Probably some cave men sitting round - with a couple of bones to clash together!

Answer 2

It is difficult to say when the orchestra was invented because instruments have played together for many centuries. If we say that an orchestra is a group of string instruments with several players playing the same part, and that there may be wind instruments (i.e. woodwind and brass) or percussion playing as well, then the 17th century is the time that orchestras started. In Paris in 1626 King Louis XIII had an orchestra of 24 violins (called "24 Violons du Roi"). Later in the century the English king Charles II wanted to be like the French king and so he, too, had a string orchestra. Gradually the other instruments were added. At this time there was usually someone playing the harpsichord (the continuo part). It was often the composer himself, who would have conducted from the keyboard at important moments like the beginning and end of the piece.

Clarinets came into the orchestra at the end of the 18th century, and trombones at the beginning of the 19th century. Orchestras were still quite small, though. The saxophone was invented in the middle of the 19th century, but although they started to use it in orchestras, it soon became an instrument that was used in wind bands and later jazz bands. The opera composer Richard Wagner made the orchestra much bigger because he kept asking for extra instruments. He asked for a bass clarinet in his opera Lohengrin, and for his cycle of four operas called The Ring of the Nibelung he asked for an exact number of players: 16 first violins, 16 second violins, 12 violas, 12 cellos, 8 double basses, 3 flutes and piccolo, 3 oboes and cor anglais, 3 clarinets and bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 3 trumpets and bass trumpet, 3 tenor trombones and a double bass trombone, 8 horns with 4 of them playing a specially designed tuba, a bass tuba, percussion, and 6 harps.

Answer 3

The first type of orchestra were groups of instruments that gathered to play in ancient Egypt. The Roman Empire mostly scorned musicians, discouraging informal ensemble playing. This reappeared after the fall of the empire.
Instrument families began appearing in the eleventh century, consisting of similar models differening in tones and octaves. The Middle Ages included mostly groups of certain instrument families.
Modern orchestras began in the late sixteenth century when composers were writing music for instrumental groups.
The seventeenth century showed the favoring of strings for their particular sound, which developed into the heart of the orchestra.
Flutes, oboes, horns, and trumpets became part of the typical orchestra by the early eighteenth century. A typical classical orchestra also included clarinets, bassoons, violins, violas, cellos, basses, and timpani.
Composers began writing for a larger orchestra, causing the size to increase over the years.

Answer 4

In 1781, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was organized from the merchants concert society, and it began a trend towards the formation of civic orchestras that would accelerate into the 19th century. Keep in mind that there were may other types of groups prior.

Answer 5

The first live orchestral performance in the history of sound as noted by myself took place at The Royal Pondium in a tropical forest, after a long down pour of rain all day, in the middle of a steamy and muggy night. The orchestra was conducted by Mr Frog himself, the virtuoso magnifico coaxo ... beray Ke ke ke kacks, coax, coax! Lovely!

Answer 6

The monkeys in 2001: A space Odessy

Answer 7

'Orchestra' I think was the name for the chorus in plays of ancient Greece so it's probably older than you think!