Darren Wallace asks in 150526 MMDigest, "Can anyone tell me what
is the difference between a Hymn-playing box and an Oratorio box?
Is there indeed a difference?"

I am sure many will express an opinion on this so I hope my response
accords with others.  If one studies the gammes[*] of musical boxes by
most makers there will always be some that may have just one religious
air amongst others.  It may be a hymn, an aria or an oratorio.
Sometimes there is a national anthem in the mix.

The term Hymn Box has come into common use -- perhaps not so common at
the time the musical box was made -- because gammes[*] that comprised
a complete suite of hymns were very popular at the time.

Religion had a powerful grip on many parts of society such that it
was frowned upon if one did not recognise the Sabbath as a day of
church and religious contemplation whether of Catholic or Protestant
inclination.  Thus a box full of hymns may have been used for family
services or just for family/personal entertainment, mainly on the
Sabbath day!

Nicole is the best source of study because more of his hymn boxes
have been recorded than any other.  The first is about 1840 and, like
most of his, a 6-air movement.  About 1848 there were, surprisingly,
Mandoline hymn arrangements.  In 1856 there was a 10-air cylinder
musical box and by about 1860 the first Forte Piano Nicole 8-air
musical box.  By about 1863 the first two-per-turn Nicole appears.

The last recorded 'Nicole' hymn box was in 1889 but Charles Brun now
owned the business from about 1880 and it was in his 50,000 series.
Some of the most popular later versions were the Moody & Sankey hymn
boxes but they were not made by Nicole, as far as is known.

Oratorios should not be confused with hymns because they are a
different musical genre.  The first 4-air Oratorio Nicole version is
1849.  Both 4- and 6-air movements continue until the mid 1860s after
which date they become few and far between.  Two of the 4-air movements
are Forte Piano, both circa 1859.  The first 8-air movement appears in
1851 and makes an occasional appearance until the late 1870s, all of
which appear to be a 'standard' 8-air format.

The first 12-air two-per-turn [2/T] version is listed in 1860 and quite
a few of these are Forte Piano.  One-per-turn [1/T] 12-air movements
commence about 1870, only one of which is listed as Mandoline, circa
1870.  However, 12-air 1/T Mandoline movements are common in the 50,000
series.  2/T versions start with serial 37092, circa 1860, the last one
being serial 46265, circa 1873.  Two in the 40, 000 series are Forte
Piano.

So what is an Oratorio?  It is principally a vocal work, usually for
solo voice accompanied by choir, often with some kind of instrumental
accompaniment.  Hence it carries the etymology of an oration or spoken
statement, not necessarily religious but often so.  The oration is
usually in the form of words from a religious text.  Of course, musical
boxes could not sing but the listener would surely have the words in
'the mind's eye'.

The term Aria is, of itself, misleading when one sees other terms such
as Oratorio.  An aria is also a vocal solo, sometimes duet, piece used
especially in an oratorio or opera.  Popular in the 17th and 18th
centuries, it was usually in three sections and organised more formally
than a song.  The third section often repeated the first with the
second as a contrasting strain.

Thus, if one wants to be pedantic, the oratorio should not be confused
with Hymn Boxes, although one can find arias, oratorios and even
national anthems amongst the mix of a Hymn Box gammes.  Any musical
box with religious airs -- but with few, maybe no, hymns -- is best
classified as a Sacred Airs box.

Paul Bellamy

[*] Gamme.  A gamme is strictly the musical scale for every tooth on
a comb that accommodates all the airs pinned onto the cylinder.  The
comb and hence its group of airs is allocated a gamme number.  If the
gamme is known, there is a good chance that all the tunes are known
as well.  But be aware, sometimes the tunes are arranged in a different
order or perhaps one of the airs has been exchanged for another one
that still fits the tuning scale.  If so, the word bis may be found
somewhere on the movement, usually on the tune sheet.  If there is no
tune sheet, the gamme number can often be found on the lead weight of
the bass tooth.  It is French for 'repeat'.