Bartholomew in "Les Huguenots." All in all, though Meyerbeer's scoring is frequently brutal, it is intensely dramatic and original. VII. We have now traced the wonderful growth of orchestration through the entire eighteenth century and well into the nineteenth. And the contributions thereto by the great Italian and French masters are by no means to be underestimated even though the German classicists tower above them. A final summing up of their general methods of instrumentation will properly conclude this chapter. The classic symphony realizes its principal effects from the dialogue of instruments rather than from their collective forces. The primary object was clearness of polyphonic design, and since clearness of detail does not admit of great force, the first and second orchestral groups were rarely united other than in _forte_ passages. When examining the scores of the classics, it is important to keep in mind that in their day the numerical distribution of the string band was limited. Therefore force and volume of tone could only be obtained by keeping the intermediate and lower parts constantly in motion. Particularly the violas were inadequately represented, and it will be found that any important viola melody was almost invariably doubled by some other instrument. The classic use of the flute for _tuttis_ was generally like that of a four-foot organ stop. Many of the earlier functions of the oboe gradually passed to the more responsive clarinet. But the frequent employment of divided violas as auxiliary to the wind was due to the former absence of adequate contralto wind instruments. The larger symphonic orchestra of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven added two trumpets to the third group, acquiring thereby a feminine metallic diapason capable of masculine energy. In the exposition of their symphonies, the classicists usually gave the first theme to the strings, the second to the wood. The brass was reserved for climaxes, and the trumpets entered last. But the limitation of the "natural" trumpet was detrimental for employing it with invariable symmetry in the recurrence of thematic design. In employing the full orchestra, held chords were assigned to the second group as a support to the strings, whereas the third group added short rhythmic chords. Operatic effects are obtained by contrast of collective forces rather than by detail of polyphony. The earlier Italian composers made frequent use of loud-voiced instruments. Their successors, however, learned to rely more and more upon the strings, so that not until the advent of Spontini and Rossini were the proper functions of the brass or even of the wood again sufficiently recognized in Italy.