Many years ago, we went to a choral performance in the Lutheran cathedral in Helsinki, and although the choir sang wonderfully, every piece was met with taphic silence. Perhaps the audience felt too embarrassed to clap in a church, I don't know. Finns are not renowned for their outgoing personality anyway. It came to the end of the evening, and someone came on- in absolute silence- with a bunch of flowers to present to the conductor. Which was received in absolute silence. We Brits couldn't stand it any more, and started applauding. It was taken up be the rest of the audience, and applause resounded for maybe five minutes. Perhaps they were all too inhibited to be the first.

What Oriel says may be true of some music, but composers like Haydn and Telemann composed, well, basically background music for posh receptions. They were just workers, maybe someone would have condescended to notice it occasionally, but would only bhave mentioned the fact discreetly to the host.