Why was the drum not popular in Western European classical music?

Question

In most of the cultures of the world, especially non-industrial socieities, the drum (in whatever form) is a very prominent instrument in their folk music. Do you know of any pieces with a good drum part in classical?

Answer 1

The pre-classical (baroque and earlier) use of drums was limited to emphasizing (Bach's cantatas) in conjunction with trumpets. That continued in the classical era (as a matter of fact, when Schubert wanted to write a lighter symphony,no.5, he excluded both drums and trumpets), but in Haydn drums gained a more prominent role, to dramatize and enrichen themes or produce specific effects (Drum roll Symphony, Drum blow Symphony, Military Symphony). Brahms usage in the finale of symphony movements is a peculiar trademark, also in Verdi. Mahler made percussion an expressive center-fold of his symphonies, adding the oddest tools like in Symphony no.6. Bartòk used a borderline percussion instrument like celesta (let's all remember that piano itself is a percussion instrument!) for a complex and landmarking concert.
So, there was plenty of room for drums as you see; only, the early development of harmonic forms and melody structures in western music shadowed their role in expressing musical ideas. Not a surprise that Stravinski made drums part of a musical roll-back in search of the primitive tribal sounds (not in my name !).

Answer 2

Ah but it was, and it is. Timpani have been in the Classical orchestra forever. Drums were used in early music centuries ago. Did you ever hear the recordings of David Munroe and the Early Music Consort of London? FAB drumming in that!
Also you really ought to check out the modernist piece "Ionization" by Edgar Varese. All drums and percussion - and sirens!

Answer 3

Well, if you mean percussion in general, Ravel's "Daphne and Chloe" makes fantasitic use of drums. Varez (sp?) wrote pieces that were predominantly percussion. Stravinsky features percussion in many of his works. Shostakovich uses some interesting percussion effects in his 15th sumphony. George Crumb wrote some interesting "mannerist" stuff in the 70's and 80's

This is not an exhaustive list -- just what came to mind when I read your question

In general the use of percussion became much more prevalent in the works of 20th century composers as they searched fo new colors and effects in their music.

Answer 4

I think there are many instances of drums- for example, timpani in Handel's Messiah, Mozart's use of drums in Turkish references (Like in Abduction from the Seraglio)... opera music OFTEN has drums very prominent (especially when the theme is military, or for effect like Wagner uses in his operas- like The Ring Cycle, also Verdi uses timpani in every show)

for example: here is a link to the timpani audition requirements for the L.A. Philharmonic, every era is represented from Mozrt to current
http://www.johntafoya.com/losangeles.html

and here's a link to other percussion audition repertoire (bass drum, snare drum...)
http://www.orchestralibrary.com/reftables/audrep.html

Answer 5

Your headline question is somewhat skewed, causing it actually not to get an answer, though other parts do... :-)

See, you say -- quite rightly -- that "in most of the cultures of the world, especially non-industrial socieities, the drum (in whatever form) is a very prominent instrument in their folk music."

Which is *absolutely no different* in West European FOLK music! And then your headline question, "Why was the drum not popular in Western European classical music? doesn't get answered because these two things have nothing whatsoever to do with one another. West European folk music goes on its own sweet way, unmolested, drums-'n-all, for a millennium and a half or so, until it begins to remerge with art music in the 19thC and the nascent interest of composers in national folk music(s) of their locality and heritage, which is where the earlier answers start to connect with your final question.

However, the drum/percussion was not prominent in Western *art* music for a long time because, having its earliest roots in Greek modal art music, and having been 'taken over' by the Church for its own purposes by the Gregorian papal intervention which codified what was permissable in music practice and could then still be regarded as sanctified for liturgical use -- in effect a 'do it our way or no way' injunction by Gregory the Great -- and for many a century, art music developed according to an aesthetic of what was proper and pemissable in the Church's eyes -- art music's paymasters general, after all -- and 'noisy' (and possibly 'vulgar') percussion did not feature on their lists of desiderata. With the passing of time and continuous development of musical language and general musical utterance, and the advantages to the Church Militant of reinforcing their message musically with more pomp and circumstance, the first percussive additions to ensembles begin to (re-)emerge in art music by the addition of kettle drums, generally partnered by trumpets and, for moments of great solemnity, trombones, all of which 'borrowed' from the military and its need for blaring and banging to rouse the troops to action. Secular patrons (royalty, aristocrats, grandees) were not so constrained, so music to enhance their gatherings did feature percussive instruments from the renaissance onwards -- we know from paintings -- but their parts were almost never notated, so conjectural reconstructions are all we actually have of those. These secular uses transferred to equally secular opera, likewise.

Even as late as Mozart himself, in his Coronation Mass K317, the trombone parts are left 'optional' even though their absence would 'castrate' the splendour the young Mozart envisaged, but by the time of the piano concerto in C, K415, the kettle drum and trumpet are fully ensconsed in the orchestra chosen for a type of work that would not 'normally' otherwise include these, and the martial gestures in phrase and rhythm on prominent display to 'justify' them.

The return of percussion in a prominent place to Western art music was a process of gradually eroding the Church's grip on defining what was canonical, i.e. 'allowed', and the ever increasing prominence of the composer as an individual taking his own decisions for his own reasons, with or without offical sanction. This increasing secularisation naturally also changed the balance in society, with greater influence and prominence accorded to secular patrons who had already embraced percussion earlier on, as we've already seen above. And, from the heart of the Enlightenment, an ever increasing interest in everything 'rustic' (Rousseau!), and a growing interest in things 'exotic' and 'foreign': the multiple 'turkish' effects in Mozart, for example. Even Beethoven could not resist that particular temptation, as the 'turkish' effects in the finale to the Ninth symphony attest to. From his era onwards, the ever increasing deployment of percussion became a matter of individual composers' choice and cultural affinities and the rest, as they say, is indeed history...

Answer 6

Ravel's popular "Bolero" has a smashing drum all the way through?

Answer 7

well, they were not much of the orchestra so people didnt play them.