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The New Encyclopedia Of Music And Musicians, 1929
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1English oratorio stands by itself in its masterly vigor and variety of technical elaboration, though manifestly Italian in its usual conception of the form as a whole, since almost all of his works are dramatic (The Messiah is an exception). It is not easy to frame any general statement about the modern treatment of the form. In many cases Biblical themes are taken, including such cosmic conceptions as the Creation or The Last Things. The lives of the saints still supply some material and several figures from the so-called Apocrypha have inspired various works. Perhaps the most notable new development is on the one hand to construct rather abstract librettos on religious topics, but without characterization (distantly akin to the old-fashioned allegory), and on the other to seek for thrilling personages in mythical or national history as subjects for what are called secular oratorios.
3The maintenance of the church-oratorio and cantata is indirectly a branch of the general subject of church-music. The persistence and advance of the concert-oratorio, on the other hand, is closely involved with the institution of the popular choral society, which has been increasingly developed in all musical countries during the past century. The path originally pointed out as far back as 1740 by Handel has opened into many branches, often diligently and eagerly pursued from year to year in places large and small, sometimes in the form of stated series of local importance, sometimes in 'festivals' of more than local magnitude. These supply the only important means of preserving the values of choral music alongside of those of orchestral and dramatic music, and through them alone can so elaborate a form as the oratorio find its due presentation. Such enterprises are unique among large musical undertakings in that they enlist the services of multitudes of amateurs. See Festivals.
5Orchesography. See Choreography.
7Orchestics. The art and theory of dancing, including both rhythmic motion for its own sake and the application of such motion for scenic or mimetic purposes. The art is technically orchesis and the theory orchesography or orchesology.
9Orchestra. The general name for an ensemble of instruments and players of several different kinds under the direction of a single leader or conductor. It is distinguished from the chamber-ensemble by the variety of its constituents and by the fact that in some parts more than a single player is usually included. Its ideal is to serve as a complex, but unified instrument, like an organ, though composed of many living performers, each of whom is normally an expert soloist on his own instrument. In its highest development it is therefore the most elaborate vehicle for instrumental exposition and impression. G.
11The name comes from the level space in the ancient Greek theater in which the dances and evolutions of the chorus took place. This space in the early modern theater, though largely given over to spectators, also was the natural location for whatever instrumentalists were used, to whom its name was in time transferred. But the name still also remains as designating the floor of a theater or opera-house.
13The modern orchestra consists of four divisions or sections: the strings, including first and second violins, violas, violoncellos and double-basses; the wood-wind, including flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, with often a piccolo, an English horn, a basset-horn, etc.; the brass-wind, including horns, trumpets, trombone and tuba, with some variation in distribution: and the percussives, including the tympani and other forms of drums, with triangles, etc. For many special effects a harp is frequently included, and many scores call for many instruments not mentioned above. Besides the principals, ripieni players are regularly added for all the string-parts (as many as 12-16 first and second violins, for example), so that what is called a symphony-orchestra of the first class may number about 100 players. In large orchestras the leading first violin is called the concertmaster and the leading second violinist the second or assistant concertmaster. Upon them devolves much of the detailed drill of the parts. In Germany the conductor is usually termed kapellmeister or dirigent, in Italy maestro di cappella or capo d'orchestra and in France chef d'orchestre.
15The music for each instrument is separately written in what are called orchestral parts. The full score ordinarily used by the conductor is an orchestral score, having all the individual parts combined on a unified system of staffs; but in some cases the conductor uses a short score of abbreviated form.
17Certain pieces or passages may be for string-orchestra alone (without wind-parts) or for small orchestra (usually a special selection of instruments, with few or no ripieni).
19The term band may be used for a whole orchestra or any of its main sections; sometimes, however, band means a military band as opposed to the orchestra proper.
21The orchestra as a definite artistic agency was called into existence by the rise of the opera in the early 17th century. But the experiments throughout that century (as by Monteverdi, Cesti, Lully, Legrenzi and A. Scarlatti) were extremely varied in the range and balance of the instruments employed. In some cases the light, evanescent tones of the lute-family seem to predominate, while in others there is a massing of violins, but without a full 'choir' of strings. Even in the early 18th century there was a tendency to use the wood-wind (flutes, oboes and bassoons) as the nucleus or (as in the case of Bach) to exploit various instruments in solo-effects rather than to seek contrasts and gradations of massed tone. It remained for the Mannheim group (about 1750) to fix upon the violin-quartet as the true center for the whole and to perceive the ideal coordination with this of the wood- and brass-groups. With them also begins the clear discernment of the office of the orchestra, not as an accompaniment for operas and oratorios only, but as an independent concert-instrument of transcendent value. Hence came the orchestral symphonies of the Viennese or classical school, which were as novel in instrumental conception as they were in structural detail. The further advances in magnitude and refinement of color-effects waited for the early and middle 19th century, when Berlioz and Wagner set up standards that have not been greatly exceeded since.
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