(Fr. septuor; Ger. Septett; It. septetto).
By analogy with the sextet, octet and nonet, the term ‘septet’, first used at the end of the 18th century, denotes a composition in the nature of chamber music for seven solo instruments. Initially, however, the word probably also served the more precise aesthetic definition of a work in relation to the various types of divertimento. For instance, Ignace Pleyel published a septet (b251) as early as 1787 for an ensemble (2 horns, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass) that is clearly indebted to the serenade tradition. Peter Winter's Septet op.10 (c1803), which has stylistic connections with the Mannheim school, belongs to the same tradition. Even Beethoven's Septet op.20 (1799, published 1802) still has a superficial connection with the serenade in its six movements and light inflection; but the technique of its composition and the independent treatment of all the instruments raise it far above that genre. ‘I cannot write anything that is not obbligato, for I came into the world to obbligato accompaniment’, Beethoven wrote to his publisher in Leipzig. The great popularity of the piece made its original combination of instruments (clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and double bass) a standard ensemble that inspired other composers to write their own septets, including Conradin Kreutzer (op.62, 1822), Berwald (?1828), Archduke Rudolph (1830) and Adolphe Blanc (op.40, c1864), and, with slight variations, Franz Lachner (1824), Bruch (1849) and Joseph Miroslav Weber (Aus meinem Leben, 1896). Schubert added another violin to the ensemble in 1824 to create the octet, thereby influencing many other composers in his own turn.
In the 19th century in particular further combinations of instruments (sometimes including the piano) enjoyed great popularity, probably because of their attractive tonal colouring. Among the principal compositions of the period in this genre were Hummel's two septets (op.74, 1816, and op.114, 1829, known as the Septett militaire). Other works were written by Ferdinand Ries (op.25, 1812), Glinka (1823), Kalkbrenner (op.15, 1814, and op.132, 1835), Alexander Fesca (opp.26 and 28, 1839–40), Georges Onslow (op.79, 1852) and Spohr (op.147, 1853). One of the most popular septets of its time, though almost forgotten today, was that of Ignaz Moscheles (op.88, 1832–3), which has a brilliant piano part running through it. It was composed as a commission for the London Philharmonic Society. The septets by Saint-Saëns (op.65, 1881) and Stravinsky (1952–3) are notable for their neo-Baroque approach. Septets for string instruments were written by Heinrich Molbe (op.43, 1898) and Milhaud (op.408, 1964); in this instance Milhaud was experimenting with aleatory techniques. Outside the usual tradition of the wind band, works for seven wind instruments have been written by Koechlin (op.165, 1937) and Hindemith (1948).
It is difficult to be sure whether the term ‘septet’ should be extended, purely on the grounds of the number of instruments in the ensemble, to those 20th-century works which are not obviously chamber music and whose titles themselves point in other directions, for instance Ravel's Introduction and Allegro (1905), Rudi Stephan's Music for Seven String Instruments (1911), Janáček's Concertino (1925), Schoenberg's Suite op.29 (1925–6), Isang Yun's Music for Seven Instruments (1959), Aribert Reimann's Reflexionen (1966) and Dieter Schnebel's In motu proprio canon for seven instruments of the same kind (1975).
In opera, ensembles with seven solo singers have also sometimes been described as septets, and occur chiefly in finales.
For bibliography see Chamber music.
MICHAEL KUBE