In music, aduodecet—sometimesduodectet, orduodecimette—is a composition which requires twelve musicians for a performance, or a musical group that consists of twelve people. In jazz, such a group of twelve players is sometimes called a "twelvetet". The corresponding German word isDuodezett. The French equivalent form,douzetuor, is virtually unknown (in sharp contrast todixtuor, the French word fordecet). Unlike some other musical ensembles such as thestring quartet, there is no established or standard set of instruments in a duodecet.
Of the ensemble types named according to the number of musicians in the group, the decet, undecet, duodecet, tredecet, etc., are names less common in music than smaller groupings (quartet,quintet, etc., up tononet). In the eighteenth century, twelve-part ensembles were most often encountered in the genre of the wind serenade,divertimento,nocturne, orpartita—for example,Josef Reicha'sParthia ex D, for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 3 horns, 2 bassoons, and double bass, and the partitas for the same instrumentation by Reicha's colleague Johann Georg Feldmayr.[1] In fact, the titles "serenade" and "suite" continue through the 19th century to be the preferred term for ensembles of twelve or thirteen instruments, especially winds (e.g.,Wilhelm Berger's Op. 102 for 12 winds,Felix Mendelssohn's Op. 24 for 11 or 12 winds,Max Reger's Serenade for 12 winds, orRichard Strauss's Opp. 4 and 7, for 13 winds). The word "duodecet" remains rare as a genre title in the 20th century (exceptions are found amongst the works of Polish composersBarbara Buczek andBogusław Schaeffer), where works for twelve instruments or singers most often are given either a true title, or a genre title describing the form (e.g., "concertino", "suite", "variations"), often followed by a designator such as "for twelve instruments".
The three "twelve-part inventions", variations 3 (12 solo violins), 5 (10 violas and 2 double basses), and 11 (12 wind instruments), inStravinsky'sVariations: Aldous Huxley in memoriam (1963–64) have been designated "duodecets" by his biographer Eric Walter White.[2][3])
Milton Babbitt. Fanfare for 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, and tuba (1987)
Wilhelm Berger. Serenade, Op. 102, for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 4 horns, and 2 bassoons (1910)
Gordon Jacob.Old Wine in New Bottles (1958), for double wind quintet with 2 trumpets
Wilfred Josephs. Concerto a dodici, opus 21 (1960). Concerto for twelve wind instruments, flute, piccolo, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bassoon, double bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba
Karl Kohn.Concert Music for 12 wind instruments (1956)
Felix Mendelssohn. Nocturno [aliasHarmoniemusik, alias Overture], Op. 24, for flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons, trumpet, and (optional) "corno inglese di basso"
Max Reger. Serenade for 12 wind instruments (Add two additional horns to the double wind quintet)
Niccolò Castiglioni.Masques: a Book of Dances, Chorales, Symphonies and Phantasies, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, piano, harmonium, 2 violins, viola, and cello (1966/1967).
George Enescu.Chamber Symphony in E major, Op. 33, for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, and piano (1954)
Hans Werner Henze.In memoriam: die Weisse Rose, Doppelfuge, for flute, English horn, bass clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass (1965)
Paul Hindemith.Kammermusik No. 1 withFinale 1921, Op. 24, No. 1, for flute (doubling piccolo), clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, percussionist, harmonium, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass (1922)
Tom Johnson.Voicings, for flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass (1984)
Walter Kaufmann.Eight Pieces for Twelve Instruments, for piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, harp, celesta, piano, percussion, and double bass (1966)
Steve Reich.Double Sextet, for 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 pianos, 2 vibraphones, 2 violins and 2 cellos; or flute, clarinet, piano, vibraphone, violin, cello and pre-recorded tape (2007)
Josef Reicha.Parthia ex D, for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 horns, and double bass
Igor Stravinsky. Concertino, for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, tenor trombone, bass trombone, violin, and cello (1952; arr. of 1920 work for string quartet)
Iannis Xenakis.Epicycle, for solo cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, 2 violins, viola, and double bass (1989)
White, Eric Walter. 1965. "Two New Memorial Works by Stravinsky".Tempo, new series, no. 74 (Autumn): 18–21.
White, Eric Walter. 1979.Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works, second edition. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.ISBN0-520-03983-1.
