ORANIENBAUM 



5862 



ORATORIO 



that in the erect position the fingers 

 almost touch the ground. The legs 

 are short, and when walking the 

 animal rests on the knuckles of the 

 fingers and the outer edges of the 

 feet, the soles being turned in- 

 wards. It thus progresses very 

 slowly on the ground, but in 

 the trees it can swing itself along 

 with fair speed, though it seems 

 always to be moving with delibera- 

 tion. The remarkable dispropor- 

 tion of the limbs is one of the chief 

 features that distinguish the orang 

 from the gorilla and the chimpan- 

 zee : but, in addition, the skull is 

 differently shaped, and the num- 

 bers of the vertebrae and wrist 

 bones are different. In almost all 

 its special anatomical features the 

 orang is farther removed from man 

 than the other large anthropoids. 



The head of the orang is com- 

 pressed from back to front, giving 

 the appearance of a high forehead, 

 and the jaws project considerably 

 In old males huge ridges develop 

 down the cheeks, and the skin 

 round the neck is distended in such 

 a fashion as to suggest the disease 

 known as goitre. The skin is 

 covered with long, shaggy, reddish- 

 brown hair, and in old animals 

 there is often a full beard. 



Orangs occur in the densest 

 forests, and are usually found in 

 families consisting of the two 

 parents and a few young ones. 

 They construct strong but rough 

 nests of sticks in the trees, in which 

 they pass the night. They feed by 

 day, principally on fruit, though 

 they also eat leaves and shoots. 

 In captivity, young specimens are 

 docile and affectionate. See Man. 



Oranienbaum. Town of N.W. 

 Russia. It is in the govt., and 

 25 m. W., of Petrograd, with which 

 it is connected by rly., and stands 



on the S. shore of the Gulf of Fin- 

 land, opposite Kronstadt. It con- 

 tains a chateau, built by Prince 

 Menshikov in 1714, and is a 

 favourite summer resort. Pop. 8,000. 



Oraon. Aboriginal tribe of 

 cultivators, mostly in Bihar and 

 Orissa and the Central Provinces, 

 India. Calling themselves Kurukh, 

 and numbering, in 1911, 751,983, 

 one-fourth have become Hinduised 

 in religion and speech ; three- 

 fourths are still wild hill-dwelling 

 animists. They worship visible 

 objects, such as stones and posts, 

 and at their annual Khaddi festival, 

 for ensuring good crops, their 

 aboriginal deity, Dharmesh, is 

 symbolically wedded to Mother 

 Earth. Their Dravidian language, 

 allied to Khond, is intermediate be- 

 tween the Tamil andTelugu groups. 



Oratorians. Familiar term for 

 the B.C. Congregation of the Ora- 

 tory of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and 

 that of the Oratory of S. Philip 

 Neri (q.v.). The first named was 

 founded by Cardinal de Berulle, at 

 Paris, in 1611, composed of priests, 

 and was instituted to deepen 

 devotion, promote professional 

 studies, and generally to strengthen 

 ecclesiastical discipline. Its rule 

 was adopted by the Oratory of 

 the Immaculate Conception foun- 

 ded at Paris in 1852. The Oratory 

 of S. Philip Neri dates from 1564. 

 In 1575 it was given the old 

 church of the Vallicella, Rome, on 

 the site -of which S. Philip caused 

 a beautiful new oratory to be 

 erected. The society is composed 

 of priests without vows, but agree- 

 ing to a rule approved by Paul V 

 hi 1612. Each house is indepen- 

 dent. Introduced into Britain in 

 1847 by J. H. Newman, its chief 

 centres in England are at Birming- 

 ham and Brompton (q.v.). 



ORATORIO: SACRED MUSICAL DRAMA 



F. a. Shinn, Mas. Doc., Professor, Royal Academy of Music 



In connexion with this article see the biographies of Bach ; Elgar; 

 Handel ; Mendelssohn ; and other composers of oratorios. See also 

 Music ; Mystery Play , Passion 



An oratorio is a sacred story or 

 drama set to music, hi which solo 

 voices, chorus, and instruments are 

 employed. Oratorio occupies a 

 similar place in sacred music to 

 that of opera in secular music, but 

 is performed without the aid of 

 scenery, costumes, etc. 



The idea underlying the oratorio 

 may be traced to the plays of the 

 Middle Ages which were employed 

 as a popular method of instruction. 

 By means of these plays sacred 

 history and moral and religious 

 instruction were presented in an 

 attractive manner, and in a form 

 which could be readily understood 

 by the uneducated. 



S. Philip Neri (q.v.) introduced 

 into his church the acting of sacred 

 dramas, more refined than the 

 usual popular representations, and 

 also the singing of hymns in Italian. 

 In his Little Oratory in Rome the 

 musical services of the Oratorians 

 were held from about 1574. These 

 early performances of sacred drama 

 interspersed with sacred music 

 gradually led to the conception of 

 the oratorio as a complete work of 

 musical art. Oratorio is merely the 

 Italian form of oratory. 



The earliest surviving work to 

 which the name oratorio is applied 

 was called The Representation of 

 the Soul and the Body, the music 



of which was composed by Emilio 

 Cavaliere. This was performed in 

 the Oratory in 1600, and forms the 

 first definite landmark in the his- 

 tory of oratorio. Unlike later ones, 

 it was written for production upon 

 the stage, and the composer, who 

 died before the first performance, 

 . left complete and detailed direc- 

 tions as to its representation. The 

 characters wore special costumes ; 

 the chorus assisted, not merely in 

 the singing, but also in the repre- 

 sentation by the adoption of suit- 

 able gestures ; the accompani- 

 ments and instrumental move- 

 ments were played by an orchestra 

 concealed behind the scenes, and 

 at certain points in the story the 

 performance of dances of different 

 kinds was suggested. 



After the death of Cavaliere no 

 successor was found to carry on his 

 work, and, although during the 

 earlier part of the 17th century a 

 few sacred dramas with music ap- 

 peared, no real development took 

 place until Carissimi gave the orato- 

 rio a more definite character by in- 

 creasing the importance of the part 

 allotted to the chorus and by the 

 higher musical and dramatic qual- 

 ity of his choruses. Two of his fin- 

 est works are Jephthah and Jonah. 

 Oratorio in Italy 



A still higher standard of 

 maturity and musical treatment 

 was reached in S. John the Baptist, 

 produced in 1676 by A. Stradella, a 

 pupil of Carissimi. After this time 

 the oratorio in Italy gradually fell 

 under those influences which also 

 determined the form and character 

 of the opera. The influence of the 

 solo singer became paramount, 

 and the music was almost entirely 

 for solo voices, while the choral por- 

 tions fell into the background. 



While the origin of the oratorio 

 in Germany may be traced to the 

 same primitive ideas as those which 

 influenced its rise in Italy, there 

 were special circumstances which 

 influenced the particular form it 

 took in that country. The religious 

 character of the German people, 

 which revealed itself at the time 

 of the Reformation, was also seen 

 in the special attraction which the 

 story of the Passion had for them. 



The four settings of the Passion 

 by Heinrich Schutz (b. 1585) mark 

 a definite beginning in that special 

 form of oratorio which eventually 

 led to the great Passions of 

 J. S. Bach (b. 1685), although 

 The Resurrection of Schutz, which 

 appeared before his Passions, can 

 claim to be the first surviving 

 example of German oratorio. 



The oratorios of Bach and 

 Handel form the two most im- 

 portant landmarks in the history 

 of the oratorio. Bach's chief works 



