another name for S u it e (q.v.), used by Couperin and some of his contemporaries. There is no difference of arrangement or structure which would account for the employment of the two names. M.
Archive | O
OTELLO
(1) Opera; libretto based on Shakespeare's play, music by Rossini. Produced Fondo, Naples, Dec. 4, 1816 ; in French, Academie, as ' Othello,' Sept. 2, 1844 ; King's Theatre, May 16, 1822. (2) Opera in 4 acts ; libretto, founded on Shakespeare, by Arrigo Boito, music by Verdi. Produced La Scala, Milan, Feb. 5, 1887 ; New York, Academy of Music, Apr. 16, 1888; Lyceum Theatre, July 5, 1889 ; in English, Carl Rosa Co., Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, 1895. G.
ODO(OTTO)
(b. 879 ; d. Tours, Nov. 18, 943), Abbot of Cluny from 9 2 7 -4 3 , is the reputed author of a Dialogus de musica 2 printed by Gerbert (Scriptores, i. 252). A large amount of biographical material concerning Odo is collected in Mabillon's Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti (1685), vol. vii. pp. 124-99. It includes a contemporary memoir by Frater * Gaatoul and M. Brene t ascribe the authorship of th e Dialogue to Odon de Cluny a t th e end of th e 10th century. See Tribune de St. Uervait, 1902, pp. 126-7 Johannes, an Italian who was brought back from Rome by Odo in 939, and spent two years as a monk at Cluny in immediate attendance on the Abbot. Odo was brought up at the court of William, Duke of Aquitaine. At the age of 19 he took Holy Orders and joined the establishment of St. Martin's at Tours. He subsequently studied dialectics and music at Paris under Remy d'Auxerre, and on his return to Tours was appointed ' Archicantor,' in which capacity he composed three hymns and twelve antiphons in honour of St. Martin. In 909 he left Tours and entered the Benedictine monastery of Beaume (near Besanson), one of the dependencies of the great monastery of Cluny (near Macon). Here he was entrusted with the care of the choir-school, and here, if anywhere, he probably wrote the Dialogus. On the death of Berno in 927 he succeeded to the Abbacy of Cluny itself. Throughout his life he was distinguished for zeal and piety. He was buried in the crypt of St. Julian's at Tours. On the vexed question of the authorship of the Dialogus de musica we learn nothing from the biographers beyond the fact that Odo was a skilled teacher and composer of church music. The dialogue, which is between master and student, treats of the monochord and its use, the ' consonantiae et conjunctiones vocum,' i.e. the construction of plain-song melodies, and the eight ecclesiastical modes. In the prologue, addressed to his ' carissimi fratres,' the author states that he was induced to write in consequence of his success in training choirboys, but further on (Gerbert, i. 256 b) he speaks of an antiphon ' quae a Domno Oddone curiosissime est emendata,' a statement which has been held to show conclusively that Odo was not the author of the Dialogus. The diagram on p. 253 exhibits (1) the ' monochordum Guidonis,' not necessarily Guido of Arezzo, and (2) the gamut divided into tetrachords on Hucbald's system and with Hucbald's lettersigns, with the words * Enchiriadis Oddonis * added. In several of the MSS. collated by Gerbert this title ' Enchiridion,' i.e. Manual, is given to the Dialogus, and it has been generally assumed that this is the book referred , to by Guido d' Arezzo in his letter to the monk J Michael, where he recommends to students ' ' librum Enchiridion quem reverendissimus ! Oddo abbas luculentissime composuit ' (Gerbert, ii. 50). Further, most of the MSS. of the Dialogus name Odo as the author, so that the generally received opinion is not lightly to be set aside. Some writers, however, have claimed the Dialogus for Guido of Arezzo, on the ground of the addition of the note gamma ut at the bottom of the scale, the insertion of the ' monochordum Guidonis,' and the fact that it is usually found with Guido's writings and is actually ascribed to him in some of the earliest MSS. But gamma ut had certainly been introduced before Guido's time, and no other of the Guidonian ' inventions ' is to be found in the Dialogus. The problem is further complicated by the suggestion that the Enchiridion referred to by Guido is really the Musica enchiriadis generally attributed to Hucbald. For this again there is considerable authority, though it is possible that it is all derived from the statement of Guido as quoted above. Hermann Contractus, who died in 1055, speaks hesitatingly of * quidam enchiriadis musicae auctor,' but William of Hirschau (d. 1091) distinctly attributes it to a ' venerable Otto,' and many MSS. name Odo or Otto as the author of both the Musica enchiriadis and the Scholia enchiriadis. The question is elaborately discussed by Hans Muller in his Hucbald"s echte und unechte Schriften (Leipzig, 1884). Muller decides that neither Hucbald nor Odo was the author, but it may be questioned whether such a conclusion is justified by his premises. Of other treatises ascribed to Odo the best authenticated is a Tonarium printed by Coussemaker (Scriptores, ii. 117) from a MS. at St. Die, where it is entitled ' Intona rium a Domino Ottone ab b a te diligenter examinatum et ordinatum, a Guidone ecientissimo monaco, optimo muayco, p roba tum, legitime approbatum e t au ten tic a tum .' J. F. R. S.
ONDRL CEK, FRANZ
(b. Prague, Apr. 29, 1859 ; d. Milan, Apr. 13, 1922), violinist, of Czech parentage. His father, a good violinist, was the leader of a small orchestra performing in cafes, ballrooms, etc., and early conveyed a knowledge of his instrument to his son, who, at the age of 7, was able to take a part in the orchestra, and was known in Prague as a prodigy. In 1873 he was sent to the Conservatorium of his native town, where he received free tuition for three years. In 1876 he gave a concert at Prague. Wieniawski, who was present, after hearing Ondritfek play a movement from a concerto of Molique, stepped on to the platform and publicly embraced the young artist. The result of this successful appearance was that a rich merchant undertook his further education, and sent him to the Paris Conservatoire, where he entered the class of Massart, gaining a premier p r ix at the end of two years. Had he been eligible he would have won it in his first year. After leaving the Conservatoire he remained in France for two years, played in Paris at Pasdeloup's Concerts, and in other French towns, and then visited London, where he appeared at a concert of the Philharmonic Society, of which he was an honorary member. After returning for a short time to Bohemia, he made a series of tours on the continent, in the course of which he visited Berlin (in 1884) and gave two successful concerts in the opera-house. Later, ie played as a soloist in most musical centres of the wor ld : in Russia, Italy, Holland, America, the East, etc., and was the recipient of many orders and decorations. In 1911 he was appointed professor in the Vienna Conservatoire, remaining there until 1919, when he moved on to the Conservatorium at Prague. He collaborated with Dr. Mittelmann in a New Method of Learning the Higher Technique of Violin - Playing on Anatomical and Physiological Principles (1909). His compositions include a rhapsody for orchestra 4 Boheme,' a concerto and smaller pieces. He occasionally visited London, playing at the Popular Concerts and elsewhere. w. w. c.
ORNAMENTS
(Fr. agrements, properly agrements du chant or de musique; Ger. Manieren; Ital. abbellimenti; Eng. graces), are commonly described by the French word agrements (agremens), owing to the fact that they were standardised by the French. In the following articles the subject is treated under F r e n c h , G e r m a n and E n g l i s h , and to these are added an explanation of the purely vocal ornamentation developed in the earlier Italian schools of music. Certain ornaments introduced into vocal or instrumental melody, indicated either by signs, or by small notes, are performed according to certain rules. F r e n c h .-The custom of ornamenting the melody is as ancient as music ; perfect examples of agrements are to be found in Gregorian chant and in the measured music (Musica mensurata or Cantus mensurabilis) of the mediaeval ages. At the time of the Renaissance the principal part was frequently enriched with vocalisations, of which many specimens have been retained by the theorists. It is difficult to ascertain at what period the French style (gotit fra nai is) took b ir t li; it is inaccurate to impute the invention of agrements to Chambonnieres (1670), as already in 1636 the famous Pere Mersenne mentions them in his Harmonie universelle. Lully greatly contributed to codify their use. Between 1690 and 1800 the French agrements perfectly defined have remained unchanged ; their performance is absolutely necessary, for, VOL. m (says Blanchet in his Ar t du chant, 1756). ' they are greatly befitted to move powerfully the s o u l ; to deprive music of such ornaments would be depriving it of the most beautiful part of its essence.' A similar doctrine is to be found in Ph. E. Bach, in his Versuch Uber die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen, in 1753. (See below.) The principal agrements of the French School are the following : At the same time he warns against their too frequent use, and says they should be as the ornament with which the finest building may be overladen, or the spices with which the best dish may be spoilt. The agrements, according to C. P. E. Bach, are the Bebung,1 Vorschlag, Triller, Doppelschlag, Mordent, Anschlag, Schleifer, Schneller, and Brechung. JSehuntj. Vorschlag. Triller. r i Doppelschlag. Anschlag. is included as a species of triller. In addition to these, Marpurg treats of the Nachschlag or ' Aspiration,' which Emanuel Bach does not recognise, or at least calls ' ugly, although extraordinarily in fashion,' but which is largely employed by modern composers. Nachsctdaq. - ;- r - r " N f 111 E ngl ish.-The graces peculiar to English music differed considerably from the above. The ' Fitzwilliam Virginal Book,' which may be taken as typical of Elizabethan practice, that is, before the exertion of any French influence on English music, includes only two. These 1 The Bebung (Fr. balancement, Ita l. tremolo) cannot be executed on th e modern pianoforte. I t consisted in giving to th e key of the clavichord a certain trembling pressure, which produced a kind of pulsation of th e sound, without any intervals of silence. On stringed instruments a similar effect is obtained by a rocking movement of th e finger without raising it from the string. are : (1) The slide of a third upwards or double Written. Played. appoggiatura, occasionally treated as a mordent. (2) The shake, short or long. probably W r i t t e n . P l a y e d . (a) W r i t t e n . P l a y e d . ______ -S - 2 SS55 CSSS A complete table, though of a later date and devised primarily for stringed instruments, is given by Christopher Simp son (q.v.) in The Division Violist (1659). In giving it, Simpson admits his indebtedness to Col eman (q.v.) in the words, ' for these I am obliged to the everfamous Dr. Coleman.' The graces of this table are divided into two classes, the ' smooth and shaked graces.' The smooth graces are only adapted to stringed instruments, as they are to be executed by sliding the finger along the string ; they include the Plain-beat or Rise, the Backfall, the Double Backfall, the Elevation, the Cadent, and the Springer which * con- Plain-beat. Backfall. Double Backfall. S p r in g e r . C a d e n t . eludes the Sound of a Note more acute, by clapping down another Finger just a t the expiring of it .' The effect of this other finger upon the violin would be to raise the pitch of the last note but one (the upper of the two written notes) so that the Springer would resemble the French accent. The ' shaked graces ' are the Shaked Backfall Close Shake, a slight undulation of pitch by oscillation of the finger (note Simpson's curiosity of notation), Shaked Beat, Elevation and Cadent, which are similar to the plain graces with the addition of a shake, and lastly the Double Relish, of which no explanation in words is attempted, but an example in notes given as below. I t will be worth while to compare with the above the simpler list given in Henry Purcell's ' Choice S h a k e d B a c k f a l l . - Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinnet,' published by his widow (1696), the more so since the comparison emphasises the influence exerted by the French school between the times of Coleman and of Purcell. The following is condensed from the instructions given in the ' Choice Collection ' (edition 3, 1669). S h a k e . B e a t . P l a in N o t e a n d S h a k e . F o r e f a l l . S S z' reuther in two volumes of Novello's Music Primers.) F. T. B i b l .- E . D a n n r e u t h e r , M u r ic a l O rn am e n ta tio n ( 2 v o l s . ) j R . L a c h . S tu d ie n z u r Entu ric k lun gsge schichte d e r o rn am e n ta le n Melopo ie ( L e ip z ig , 1 9 1 3 ) . V ocal Ornaments o p t h e I tal ian S chool V ocal.--The origins of the various ornaments employed in vocal music are lost in the mists of antiquity. Between the time of Charlemagne and the close of the 16th century the Latin writers, beginning w ith the Romanian letters, which were marks of expression, used a set of terms which clearly described ornaments. The most important were crispalio, a sh a k e ; trepidatio, also meaning a shake, reverberalio 'mediaeval Latin) * beats '-perhaps the beginning of our vibrato-vinnulae ('sweet'V probably, though not certainly, mezza voce, voces tremulae, tremulous voices, copula, a passage sung by a tenor over a hold in the bass, and hocheti, meaning staccati (see H ock e t ). Appoggiaturas single and double, ascending and descending, were known in the 11th century. Grupetti were common from the earliest days, when they appeared in simple forms in the Kyrie. They were the roots of the 1 passages ' so much discussed toward the close of the 16th century. These passages disclosed themselves first in the simple variation form called diminutions, from which ultimately developed the elaborate floridity of 16th- and 17th-century music. A clear illustration of the construction of a passage in diminution form on a plain chant is furnished by Giovanni Battista Bovicelli, a famous teacLei, in his lierjole di musica (1594). The Ornaments used in later music of the classical period, Acciaccatura, Ap poggiatura, A rp eggio, Mo rd en t , P ral l -t r il l e r , Shake (Tr il l ) and T u rn , are further described under their own names. (See also the masterly treatise on Musical Ornamentation by E. Dann- trill existed at least as far back as the 3rd century, for it is defined by Pomponius Festus, the grammarian, who wrote at that time. The name was subsequently applied to other ornaments. At the time of Giulio Caccini, the end of the 16th century, the name trillo was applied to an ornament long since discarded. The example is from Herbst. - . i " |- - " i-f(bg- a s s - IS-E- . 'm? Ve - n i vo - - - o * o ni The trill of contemporaneous music was called gruppo by Caccini and his contemporaries, and written thus : 3 d 2 Johann Cruger, in his Precepta musicae practical figuralis (1625), and Johann Andreas Her bat in Musica practica sive lnstructio pro symphoniacis (1642), call this ornament tremolo. In the employment of florid passages much latitude was allowed to the singer, and Bovicelli lays stress on the importance of avoiding monotony by making rhythmic changes. A favourite device for this purpose was called the ' Lombard figure ' and was merely a syncopation in this form. The swell tone, later known as the viessa di voce, was assiduously cultivated in the late years of the 16th century, if not earlier, and was then practised in several forms under the general title of esclamazio. The esclamazio languida consisted of a crescendo, a diminuendo and a crescendo. The esclamazio viva was a diminuendo followed by a crescendo. The latter was not usually employed in dramatic rccitative, but was regarded as more suitable to canzone. The crescendi in these ornaments (which were also means of expression) did not go beyond a mezzo forte in Caccini's time. The 18th-century messa di voce was more vigorous and at one period was used on every long tone. An example from Caccini's ' Nuove musiche ' will throw light on the esclamazio. ?S' cm a r d i voce, esc I am. s p i r i t osa. D e h I d e h o . d o -ve s o n fu g - g i - t i S t -
OTTO, MELITTA, NEE ALVSLEBEN
(b. Dresden, Dec. 16, 1842 ; d. there, Jan. 13, 1893), was taught singing there by Thiele at the Conservatorium, and sang in opera as a light soprano from 1860-73 ; in 1866 she married Max Otto, commissioner of customs. Her parts comprised Anna in 1 Hans Heiling,' Rowena in ' Templer und Judin,' Queen of Night, Alice, Martha, Eva, etc. She acquired a great reputation as a concert singer, and was the solo soprano at the Beethoven Centenary at Bonn in 1871. She first appeared in England at Mme. Schumann's concert, St. James's Hall, Mar. 20, 1873 ; at the Crystal Palace, Mar. 22 ; at Manchester, in Bach's Passion music ; at the A(bert Hall, Apr. 2 and 7. She made a great success, and remained in England until 1875, appearing most frequently at the Crystal Palace and A(bert Hall, notably in the revivals of ' Theodora,' Oct. 30, 1873, and the ' Christmas Oratorio,' Dec. 15, 1873. She sang at the Philharmonic, Mar. 25, 1874; at the Leeds Festival in ' St. John the Baptist ' and Schumann's ' Paradise and the Peri,' etc., in 1874; at the Sacred Harmonic, the Wagner, Bache's, the Ballad and principal provincial concerts. She returned to Germany in 1875, and sang in opera at Hamburg, and from 1877- 1883 at Dresden. In 1879 she sang at the Cincinnati Festival. A. c.
OBERMEYER, JOSEPH
(b. Nezabudicz, Bohemia, in 1749), violinist. Kamel was his first master and, owing to the generosity of his patron Count Vincent Waldstein, Tartini was his second. He is said to have closely imitated the broad adagio playing of the great maestro. On his return to Bohemia he resumed his post of valet-de-chambre (which it need hardly be VOL. m observed was a household position different from that which is nowadays implied by the term) to Count Waldstein. Eventually he relinquished this situation, and becoming a farmer performed but rarely in public. In 1801 he reappeared at Prague with great success, and three years later his playing at some musical fetes at Strathaw was, according to Fetis, greatly admired. He was then 55. He was still alive in 1816. e. h.-a. B ib l .- F it is ; C l a r k e , Dictionary of Fiddlers ; Q.-L.
OIREACHTAS
(pronounced Urracktus). In 1896 the executive committee of the Gaelio League in Ireland decided on holding an annual Oireachtas, or Festival, at which competitions were to take place in various subjects, including literary and musical. The first Oireachtas was held in Dublin, in 1897, and was a marked success. Each year has shown that the Irish revival is gaining strength ; and the tenth Oireachtas, in Aug. 1906, was the most representative yet held. In the musical section, prizes are awarded for solo and choral singing, also for harp, fiddle, war pipes, uilleann (union) pipes, and flutes, as well as dancing. For the solo and choral competitions (as well as in the literary section) only Irish words are permitted, and there is a distinction made between ' native ' and ' non-native ' speakers. The Oireachtas, since 1900, lasts five days, but the musical element, which at first predominated, ia now (1926) mainly devoted to the language. w. h . o. F.
OPUS
Opu s -n umber, Op er a , (E u v r e . A method of numbering musical compositions in the order of their publication,. using the Latin word opus (work), appears first, though rather spasmodically, in the 17th century ; it began to come into general use in the time of Mozart, but was not fully established until Beethoven's time, the numbering not being carried out to all the published works of the former master. No rule is observed as regards the size of an opus ; for instance, Beethoven's op. 1 consists of three pianoforte trios, while Schubert's op. 1 is only the song 4 Erlkonig.' The opus-number has nothing to do necessarily with the date of composition, but only with that of the publication ; thus some early works, both of Schubert and Mendelssohn, were published (posthumously) with very late opusnumbers. On the other hand, many composers make a practice of assigning opus-numbers to their works on completion and quite irrespective of publication. m. ; addn. c.
ORTIGUE
Bessie Bell. oThe Bush aboon Traquair. Thro' the Wood, Laddie. Bless'd as the Immortal Gods. The Last time I came o 'er the moor. The Yellow-hair'd Laddie. oThe Bonny Boatman. Woe's my he a rt th a t we should sunder. The Broom of Cowdenknowea. A Cock Laird fu' cadgie. F y gar rub her o'er wi' Strae. Muirland Willy. Peggy, I must love thee. oAuld Rob Morris. Auld Lang Sine. My Apron Dearie. My Daddy's a Delver of Dikes. Wale, wale up yon Bank. Jo h n H ay's Bonny Lassie. Hap me with th y Petticoat. Bonny Christy. Nancy's to the Greenwood gane. The Highland Laddie. Blink o'er the burn. Sweet Betty. Tweed Side. Love is the cause of my mourning. Bonny Je an. Mary Scott. The Mill, Mill-O. I 'll never leave thee. Katherine Ogie. 'Ann thou were my ain thing. P olwart on the Green. A Health to Be tty. F y let us a ' to the bridal. Saw ye n a my Maggy. My Nannlo. Maggie's Tocher. Were n a my h e a r t light I wad die. Sow'r plumbs of Gallow Shiels. There's my thumb, I 'll n e 'er beguile ye. The Gaberlunzie Man. The Collier's Bonny Lassie. The Bob of Dunblain. The Carle he came o 'er the c roft. O'er Boggie. The Lass of Livingston. William and Margaret. oDown the bum, Davie. F . K .