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An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the opera. Their similarities include the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is musical theater, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece. There is little or no interaction between the characters, no props or elaborate costumes. The most important difference is their subject matter. Opera tends to deal with history and mythology, including age-old vices of romance, deception, and murder. The plot of an oratorio is often minimal and deals strictly with sacred subjects, making this form of entertainment acceptable and appropriate for performance in the church. Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints.

During the second half of the 17th century, there were trends toward the secularization of the religious oratorio. Evidence of this lies in its regular performance outside church halls in courts and public theaters. Whether religious or secular, the theme of an oratorio is meant to be weighty. It could include such topics as the creation of the world, the life of Jesus, or the career of a classical hero or biblical prophet. Other changes eventually took place as well, possibly because most composers of oratorios were also popular composers of operas. They began to publish the librettos of their oratorios as they did for their operas. Strong emphasis was soon being placed on arias while the use of the choir was diminishing. Female singers were becoming regularly employed, and replacing the male narrator with the use of recitatives. Eventually, Monteverdi composed Combattimo which is considered to be the first secular oratorio.

George Frideric Handel, most famous today for his Messiah, wrote secular oratorios based on themes from Greek and Roman mythology. He is also credited with writing the first English language oratorio.

Contents 1 Early history 2 Structure 3 List of notable oratorios 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

In the 17th century, composers made numerous attempts to create a religious opera to satisfy both public tastes and church restrictions. Emilio de’Cavalieri is known for the boldest undertaking with Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo, but this work was not successful. Meanwhile, religious communities were creating more elaborate musical programs for gatherings and prayer meetings. The halls where they worshiped were referred to as “oratories,” so the art form came to be known as the oratorio. The peak period for composition of oratorios is the 17th and 18th centuries.

By the mid-17th century, two types had developed:

• oratorio volgare (in Italian) - representative examples include:
  • Giacomo Carissimi's Daniele;
  • Marco Marazzoli's S Tomaso;
  • similar works written by Francesco Foggia and Luigi Rossi.

Lasting about 30-60 minutes, oratorio volgares were performed in two sections, separated by a sermon; their music resembles that of contemporary operas and chamber cantatas.

• oratorio latino (in Latin) - first developed at the Oratorio del SS. Crocifisso, related to the church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome;

The most significant composer of oratorio latino is Giacomo Carissimi, whose Jephte is regarded as the first masterpiece of the genre. Like most other Latin oratorios of the period, it is in one section only.

Oratorios usually contain:

• An overture, for instruments alone
• Various arias, sung by the vocal soloists
• Recitative, usually employed to advance the plot
• Choruses, often monumental and meant to convey a sense of glory. Frequently the instruments for oratorio choruses include timpani and trumpets.

(ordered chronologically by year of premiere)

• Johann Sebastian Bach, the Christmas Oratorio (1734)
• Johann Adolf Hasse "Serpentes ignei in deserto" - (1735, 1736 or 1739)
• George Frideric Handel, Israel in Egypt (1739), notable for being the source of the earliest known recording of classical music, made in 1888-06-29 on a wax cylinder.
• Handel, Messiah (1741). This is by far the most familiar and widely performed of oratorios, at least in English-speaking countries
• Handel, Samson (1743)
• Handel, Judas Maccabaeus (oratorio) (1747)
• Joseph Haydn, The Creation (1798)
• Joseph Haydn, The Seasons (1801)
• Felix Mendelssohn, Elijah (1846)
• Hector Berlioz, L'Enfance du Christ (1854)
• The Seven Last Words of Christ by Dubois
• Igor Stravinsky's "opera-oratorio" Oedipus Rex (1927)
• Artur Kapp, Hiiob (Job) (1929)
• Vangelis Papathanasiou, Mythodea (2001)

• Passion
• Requiem
• Mass
• Mass (as a musical form)
• Cantata

1. Bukofzer, Manfred F. Music in the Baroque Era. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Co., Inc, 1947.
2. Deedy, John. The Catholic Fact Book. Chicago, IL: Thomas Moore Press, 1986.
3. Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, grovemusic.com (subscription access).
4. Hardon, John A. Modern Catholic Dictionary. Garden City, NY: Double Day and Co. Inc., 1980.
5. New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
6. Randel, Don. “Oratorio”. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1986.

• History and development of the musical form.
• Thiruvasagam In Oratorio by Maestro Ilayaraaja.