Musical ideas can be passed round the orchestra in a rather disorganized way, e.g. If an oboe could play the same tune as a violin, then why not? There was not a real understanding of how to write sympathetic and playable music. It's still true, however, that the baroque period was the turning point for the orchestra. The harpsichord was important because not all orchestras were conducted by a conductor. Harpsichord players were at the heart of the music.
The baroque period was a time of frantic invention. Instrument makers, musicians and composers were all thinking up new ways of making music. The orchestra had begun to form and the new understanding of sound opened up new horizons. The stage was set for orchestral music to reach new heights.
The rise of the public concert had an immediate effect on composers; their work was expected to be original and popular. At the heart of the new classical style was the orchestra at the court of Mannheim in Germany. It was the most renown in Europe at the time for it's skilful soloists and composers. It"s orchestra developed a technique called the "Mannheim crescendo" which was a musical phrase described as a "rocket". The Mannheim orchestra was also the first to introduce uniform bowing, having all the violins bowing up or down simultaneously.
The new emphasis on clarity and harmony made composers use the sections of the orchestra more sensitively, as if they were talking to each other. The full strength of the orchestra was also being used in a new form of music, the symphony, which was to become the greatest test of a composer's control and understanding of the orchestra.
Generally speaking, a standard orchestra was made up of a strong string section, plus pair of flutes, oboes, bassoons and a single timpani player. The violins were seen as the stars of the orchestra and carried the main tunes of the piece. By this time, the Baroque recorder had been kicked out of the orchestra by it's close relative, the flute.
