Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Similar in length to an opera, an oratorio has recognizable characters and some sort of narrative. Like opera, oratorios tell a story, with particular singers assigned the roles of certain characters (usually, the soloists get the lead parts and the choir plays the role of Greek Chorus). But unlike operas, oratorios are strictly concert pieces, with no props or costumes. Roles are sung, but the plot is not acted out onstage.

Older oratorios are usually religious in nature, telling a story from The Bible or a saint's legend. The form was invented to keep the opera singers employed during Lent, when the theatres were closed down. However, in the 20th and 21st centuries, composers have used oratorios to cover a much wider range of subjects.

Oratorios are also similar to cantatas, in that cantatas are also large-scale vocal works and occasionally identifiable characters, but they usually do not tell a story (Bach's Coffee Cantata is a notable exception).

The generally recognized king of oratorios is George Frederic Handel (much as his contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach was the king of cantatas), who wrote lots of them because they were cheaper to produce than operas but brought in nearly as many people paying almost or just as much for the ticket (and so had higher profit margins—no fool, he). Handel's Messiah (the source of the famous Hallelujah chorus) is probably the best-known oratorio out there, though J.S. Bach's two extant oratorios, the St. Matthew Passion and the St. John Passion, are also well-known.

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Examples:

17th Century

• Louis-Nicolas Clérambault
  • L'histoire de la femme adultère ("The story of the adulterous woman"). Believed to be first performed in 1699.

18th Century

• Johann Sebastian Bach
  • St John Passion ("Passio secundum Joannem" in the original Latin, "Johannes-Passion" in Bach's native German). Anonymous libretto, very closely based on the biblical Gospel of John, but also incorporating poetry of unknown origin. First performed in 1724.
  • Easter Oratorio ("Oster-Oratorium" in the original German). Librettist believed to be Picander, as the oratorio is reworked from Bach and Picander's earlier Shepherds' Cantata. Based on The Four Gospels. First performed in 1725.
  • St Matthew Passion ("Passio Domini nostri J.C. secundum Evangelistam Matthæum" in the original Latin, "Matthäus-Passion" in Bach's native German). Libretto by Picander based on the biblical Gospel of Matthew, with some elements taken from the Song of Songs and other sources. First performed in 1727.
  • Christmas Oratorio ("Weihnachtsoratorium", in the original German). Librettist unknown, but suspected to be Picander. Based on The Four Gospels. Intended to be performed in six parts, each on a different day of Christmas. First performed in 1734.
  • Ascension Oratorio (Titled "Oratorium In Festo Ascensionis Xsti" by Bach, also titled in German as "Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen", which translates as "Laud to God in all his kingdoms", but widely known in German as "Himmelfahrtsoratorium"). Librettist unknown, but suspected to be Picander. Based on The Four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. Believed to be first performed in 1738.
• Antonio Caldara
  • La Conversione di Clodoveo Re di Francia ('"The Conversion of Clovis, King of France"). Libretto by Carlo Capece. First performed 1715.
• George Frederic Handel
  • Messiah. Libretto by Charles Jennens, based on The Bible (specifically, the King James Bible and Coverdale Bible translations). First performed in 1742.
  • An Occasional Oratorio. Libretto by Newburgh Hamilton, based on poetry by John Milton and Edmund Spenser. First performed in 1746.
• Antonio Vivaldi
  • Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie ("Judith triumphant over the barbarians of Holofernes"), often abbreviated to Juditha triumphans. Libretto (in Latin) by Iacopo Cassetti, based upon the biblical Book of Judith. Reportedly first performed in 1716.

19th Century

• Max Bruch
  • Moses. Libretto by Ludwig Spitta. First performed 1895.
• William Crotch
  • Palestine. Libretto by Reginald Heber. First performed in 1812.
• Frederick Ouseley
  • The Martyrdom of St Polycarp. First performed in 1854.
• George Perry
  • Elijah and the Priests of Baal. First performed in 1818.

20th Century

• Edward Elgar
  • The Apostles: Libretto by Elgar, based on The Bible. First performed in 1903.
• David Evans
  • Llawenhewch yn yr Iôr ('"Rejoice in the Lord"): First performed in 1906.

21st Century

• Richard Einhorn
  • The Origin. Libretto by Einhorn and Catherine Barnett, based on the writings of Charles Darwin. First performed in 2009.
• Julia Wolfe
  • Anthracite Fields. Libretto by Wolfe, based on speeches, interviews, history and adverts related to the Pennsylvania coal mining industry. First performed in 2014.
  • Fire in my mouth . Libretto by Wolfe, based on oral histories of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. First performed in 2019.
  • Her Story. Libretto by Wolfe, based on speeches by Sojourner Truth, letters by Abigail Adams and quotes from the American anti-suffrage movement. First performed in 2022.

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