Going to chorus concerts near you is very often an inspiring and elevating experience. In numerous ways, it is like participating in a ritual. You attend the concert dressed smartly, take your seat and wait for the singers to appear on stage. When the music begins, you sit and maintain silence. The musically educated audience will know when to clap so if it is your first time attending a classical concert, you should try not to be the first to clap as you can end up clapping when you are not supposed to clap. Sometimes the music is dance-like and rhythmical, or a section will end dramatically and impressively.

While it could seem natural to shout bravo, jump up, cheer and clap, you will not because one does not do that in a classical concert. There are a lot of good reasons why you must remain silent in today’s concerts. It enables everyone to hear the song and helps the singers concentrate. As in a ritual, silence creates special energy when a lot of people meditate together on the rhythm of the music. After the concert has ended, the audience can show their enthusiasm by cheering and clapping.

19th-century concerts

In the 19th century, most classical concerts were about entertaining and not chaotic events. Classical music was presented differently up until the mid-19th century. Due to an increase in population in large cities, music was presented in public halls. This enabled even the unlearned to attend a classic concert and see what it is like. While the educated class listened to music in private and closed events, the wide public had its own version of classical concerts that included longer pieces performed by different artists and the audience would boo or applaud at the end of each performance. During the 19th century, it was expected of the artists to improvise the compositions and the themes as suggested by the audience. The event was an entertaining and lively social experience.

Concerts in the 20th century

In the 20th century, concerts became more formal. Improvisation becomes rare and pianists were expected to memorize their performance. The big shift came with the edited recording in the mid-20th century. During this time, people grew used to hearing music that was perfectly played on their recording at home and waited for the same in the venue of the concert. Since recordings of multi-movements pieces didn’t have applause between the movements, the audience naturally remained silent until the end of the piece before applauding.

Concerts in the 21st century

During the 21st century, the formal and strict structures of chorus concerts near you developed into during the 20th century softened a bit. It is becoming more common for performers or musicians to go on stage and talk about the music and about themselves, guiding their audience through the concert. The musicians will sometimes talk to the audience after performing. The dress code is less strict for both the audience and the listeners. Social media platforms contribute to a more normalized and familiar atmosphere between the audience and the musicians.