ORATORIO 



139S 



ORCHESTRA 



when Pitt, Fox, Burke, Mansfield and Sheridan 

 brought to bear on every public question an 

 eloquence which seems scarcely less marvelous 

 to those who to-day read their speeches than 

 it did to the actual hearers of their spoken 

 words. The years from 1765 to 1865 in the 

 United States constitute the third great epoch 

 in the history of oratory, for which the burn- 

 ing questions demanding debate were as much 

 responsible as the genius of the statesmen. 

 Patrick Henry, James Otis, Hamilton, John 

 Quincy Adams and Richard Henry Lee stand 

 preeminent in the Revolutionary period, while 

 in the troubled days before the War of Seces- 

 sion Calhoun, Webster and Clay represented 

 respectively the South, the North and the mid- 

 dle ground. As specific examples of orations 

 of recent years which have been remarkably 

 effective, there may be mentioned the eloquent 

 speech of Ingersoll in nominating Blaine for 

 Presidential candidate in 1876, in which the lat- 

 ter was referred to as "the plumed knight," 

 and that of Bryan, popularly known as the 

 "cross of gold" speech, which won him the 

 nomination for the Presidency in 1896. The 

 greatest short oration, ever delivered, and pos- 

 sibly the most powerful of any length, was 

 Lincoln's immortal Gettysburg Address (see 

 GETTYSBURG, subhead The Gettysburg Address, 

 page 2485). 



There have been other men at other stages 

 in the world's history fitted to rank with these. 

 Cicero held Rome spellbound; Peter the Her- 

 mit inspired thousands to set out on the Cru- 

 sades; and even in the present day crowds 

 flock to listen to forceful speakers. The ora- 

 tor is still in a way a power, but it is doubtful 

 whether the day will ever return when he will 

 exercise his old-time sway over people's minds. 



Consult Powers' Making of an Orator; Kline's 

 Analysis of Oratorical Style. 



Related Subjects. There are men besides the 

 following who have attained distinction as public 

 speakers, but these are especially noted orators : 

 Aeschines Fox, Charles J. 



Bryan, William J. Hayne, Robert Young 



Burke, Edmund Henry, Patrick 



Calhoun, John C. Isocrates 



Cicero, Marcus Tullius Otis, James 

 Clay, Henry Pericles 



Demosthenes Pitt, William 



Depew, Chauncey M. Sheridan, Richard B. 

 Douglass, Frederick Webster, Daniel 

 Everett, Edward Yancey, William L. . 



ORATORIO, ahratoh'rio, a sacred musical 

 composition, which requires soloists, chorus and 

 full orchestra for its performance, without the 

 theatrical necessities of scenery, costumes and 



acting. The subjects are generally taken from 

 Scripture. It is named from the oratory or 

 mission hall in Rome, where from 1571-1594 

 sacred musical performances were held, which 

 developed later into the modern oratorio. The 

 first and most universal subject was the Pas- 

 sion, of which Bach's Passion according to 

 Saint Matthew is the most famous. The next 

 phase of the oratorio is the Epic, of which Han- 

 del was the greatest exponent. He composed 

 fifteen grand oratorios, of which the Messiah 

 and Israel in Egypt are the most famous. Then 

 followed Haydn's Creation and the Seasons and 

 Mendelssohn's masterpieces, Elijah and Saint 

 Paul. Modern oratorios are characterized by a 

 strong dramatic element. Notable examples 

 are Dvorak's Saint Ludmila, Liszt's Saint Eliza- 

 beth and Christus, Sullivan's Golden Legend 

 and Mackenzie's Dream of Jubal. 



Consult Patterson's The Story of Oratorio; Up- 

 ton's The Standard Oratorios. 



ORCHESTRA, awr'kestra, a term used dur- 

 ing the ages in several senses, all relating to 

 music. It was originally the space in theaters 

 between the audience and the stage. The 

 Greeks appropriated this section to the chorus 

 and musicians ; the Romans reserved it as seat- 

 ing space for the Senators. In modern theaters 

 the space is given over to musicians. The 

 word has also come to be applied to the part 

 of concert rooms assigned to the vocal and in- 

 strumental performers ; to the instrumental per- 

 formers, collectively taken, and to the whole 

 body of instruments upon which the latter play. 

 In the last sense, the modern orchestra consists 

 of stringed, wind and percussion instruments, 

 in varied proportions, according to the num- 

 ber of performers the number varying from 

 eight to over a hundred, with as many as 

 twenty different instruments represented. (See 

 illustration on next page.) 



Haydn has been called the father of modern 

 orchestral writing. Mozart's compositions are 

 perfect studies in charm of orchestral shading. 

 Beethoven has never been surpassed for the 

 wonderful effects he put into his orchestral 

 works. The tendency of the modern orchestra 

 is to produce an effect by the liberal use of 

 cymbals, bells, the big drum, etc., which some- 

 times, if not well modulated, destroy the har- 

 monious effect of the more delicate instru- 

 ments. 



Related Subject*. A list of the articles in 

 these volumes which treat of the musical instru- 

 ments used in an orchestra is given under the 

 title MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 



