Tafelmusik

Tafelmusik (German: literally, "table-music") is a term used since the mid-16th century for music played at feasts and banquets. The term was often used as a title for collections of music, some of which were intended to be used at banquets. Tafelmusik was displaced in the late 18th century by the divertimento, and its importance soon diminished, but it was revived and partially restored in the vocal genre of the Liedertafel by Carl Friedrich Zelter beginning in 1809, and male-voice choral societies describing themselves by this name continued the practice until the mid-20th century.^[1]

Some of the most significant composers of Tafelmusik included Johann Hermann Schein, whose Banchetto musicale of 1617 acquired considerable fame, and Michael Praetorius, who wrote about the phenomenon of Tafelmusik in his Syntagma musicum of 1619. Music from Schein's collection is still performed by early music ensembles with some regularity.^{[citation needed]}

The Tafelmusik or Musique de Table by the Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann is perhaps his most celebrated collection of music.^[2]

Tafelmusik could be either instrumental, vocal, or both. As might be expected, it was often of a somewhat lighter character than music for other occasions.^{[citation needed]}

References[]