Orchestra and Orchestra of the Eleventh Century compared._ Now that we have become acquainted with all the instruments in the Orchestra, we must turn our attention to the Orchestra itself. We must consider the Orchestra as _one great instrument on which the conductor plays_. The Orchestra is made up of all these varied instruments, which, as we have seen, have been brought to perfection during centuries of use and experiment,—instruments of long ancestry and historical interest, instruments that have figured in song and story and romance. The Orchestra is, therefore, a very unique instrument itself. It holds within itself nearly every kind of tone from the deepest rumble of the bass tuba and growl of the double-bass to the cool, flowing notes of the clarinet and bassoon and to the penetrating call of the flute, the cry of the violin and scream of the piccolo. It holds within itself every kind of vibration from bowed, or plucked, strings, and air blown upon quivering reeds, or through pipes, or tubes, or horns; it has every kind of thump on tightly-stretched skin; it has every kind of rattle, clang and clash; and every kind of sharp blow, from the heavy stroke on the steel rod to the silvery notes of bells, or the brilliant, fiery sparks from the triangle. But there is one thing more that we have not yet taken into consideration,—and that is the _human_ element. What would these instruments be if there were no musicians to play them? Is there anything more melancholy than a case full of musical instruments hanging lifeless and silent in a museum? We recall the striking illustration Shakespeare makes of unused instruments in his _Richard the Second_, where the Duke of Norfolk, being banished, breaks forth with: “_A heavy sentence, my most sovereign liege,_ _And all unlook’d for from your highness’ mouth._ _The language I have learn’d these forty years,_ _My native English, now I must forego:_ _And now my tongue’s use is to me no more_ _Than an unstringed viol, or a harp;_ _Or like a cunning instrument cased up,_ _Or, being open, put into his hands_ _That knows no touch to tune the harmony._” In addition to the rich and varied instrumental material, we have _ninety_ personalities possessed of brains, emotions and artistic ideals and aspirations. We call the Orchestra an instrument, or even a machine; but let us think for a moment of these intelligent personalities behind their instruments, or merged into their instruments, and we shall realize what a _sensitive_ organization a Symphony Orchestra is.