An oratorio is a musical piece with a story or drama written for a choir, solo singers, and an instrumental group. It is similar to opera because both use a choir, soloists, an instrumental group, and solo songs. However, opera is a form of musical theater that includes stage sets, costumes, and actors performing on stage. Oratorios usually have little or no stage setup, with the choir playing a more important role in the story. Oratorios are often performed as concert pieces, though they may sometimes be staged like operas, and operas are sometimes performed without staging.

A major difference between opera and oratorio is the subject of their texts. Opera scripts can cover any topic, such as history, mythology, or real-life events. Oratorio texts often focus on religious themes, making them suitable for church performances. Catholic composers often used stories about saints and the Bible, while Protestant composers also used Bible stories but sometimes included stories about important religious figures, like Carl Loewe’s Jan Hus, which is about a religious reformer. Oratorios became popular in early 17th-century Italy partly because opera was widely performed, and the Catholic Church banned stage shows during Lent. During this time, oratorios became the main type of music performed for opera audiences.

Traditionally, oratorios focus on religious topics in a serious way. Oratorios about non-religious subjects are called "secular oratorios." In some historical times, this term might have seemed strange or contradictory. However, oratorios about non-religious topics have been written since the genre began.

History

The word "oratorio" comes from the Latin verb ōrō, which means to speak publicly, pray, or beg. It is also connected to the Greek word ará, meaning "prayer." The musical form called an oratorio was named after the church of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Rome, where special religious music was performed in the late 1500s. The word "oratorio" first appeared in English in 1727, while the word "oratory" was used earlier, starting in 1640.

Although some older plays and songs had elements similar to oratorios, the first known oratorio is Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo by Emilio de Cavalieri, written in 1600. Claudio Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624) is often considered the first secular oratorio, meaning it was not about religious topics.

Oratorios began in Italy with sacred dialogues, which were musical settings of Bible stories in Latin. These works were similar to motets, a type of religious music. They had strong storytelling and characters speaking to each other. One example is Teatro harmonico spirituale (1619) by Giovanni Francesco Anerio, which includes 14 dialogues. One piece, about the conversion of St. Paul, lasts 20 minutes and uses four soloists and a choir. The music often has complex, layered melodies similar to madrigals. The Congregazione dell'Oratorio, founded by Philip Neri, performed spiritual songs called laude. These grew in popularity and were later performed in special prayer halls. Sacred operas also influenced oratorios, making them longer, though they never exceeded 60 minutes. Cavalieri’s work is not technically an oratorio because it includes acting and dancing, but it uses a style called monody. The first piece officially called an oratorio was Oratorio della Purificazione by Pietro della Valle, though it was short and sometimes called a "dialogue."

By the late 1600s, oratorios were performed outside churches, in courts and public theaters. Oratorios often focused on serious themes, such as the creation of the world, the life of Jesus, or stories of heroes and prophets. Over time, oratorios changed. Many composers also wrote operas, so they began publishing their oratorio texts like they did for operas. More focus was placed on solo songs called arias, and the role of the choir decreased. Female singers were used more often, and the male narrator was replaced by recitatives, a type of singing that tells a story.

By the mid-1600s, two types of oratorios developed:

• Oratorio latino (in Latin) – First created at the Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso, connected to the church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. Important composers included Giacomo Carissimi, whose Jephte is considered the first masterpiece of the genre, and his student Marc-Antoine Charpentier in France.

• Oratorio volgare (in Italian) – Examples include works by Giacomo Carissimi, Marco Marazzoli, Francesco Foggia, Luigi Rossi, and Alessandro Stradella. These oratorios lasted 30–60 minutes and were split into two parts, with a sermon in between. Their music was similar to operas and chamber cantatas.

In the late Baroque period, oratorios became more like sacred operas. In Rome and Naples, Alessandro Scarlatti was a key composer. In Vienna, the poet Metastasio wrote oratorios set by composers like Caldara and Hasse. His most famous work, La passione di Gesù Cristo, was set by at least 35 composers between 1730 and 1790. In Germany, oratorios evolved from early works like Heinrich Schütz’s Christmas and Resurrection settings to the Passions of J. S. Bach, such as Der Tod Jesu by Telemann and Carl Heinrich Graun. Later, C. P. E. Bach introduced a more elegant style called the galante oratorio.

During the Georgian era, the German-born composer George Frideric Handel helped define the English oratorio. His most famous work, Messiah (1741), was based on religious themes. He also wrote Esther, the first English-language oratorio. His followers included the Italian composer Lidarti, who wrote a Hebrew version of Esther for the Jewish community in Amsterdam.

Joseph Haydn’s The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801) became the most famous oratorios from the Classical period. The Creation is based on the story of the world’s creation, while The Seasons includes more secular themes, like farming and music.

Britain continued to rely on German composers for oratorios. The Birmingham Festival commissioned works like Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah (1846), later performed in German as Elias. German composer Georg Vierling helped modernize the secular oratorio form.

John Stainer’s The Crucifixion (1887) became a popular piece for amateur choirs. Edward Elgar tried to revive the genre with works like The Light of Life and The Dream of Gerontius around the turn of the 20th century.

Oratorios returned to public attention in the 20th century with works like Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (1927), William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast (1931), and Paul Hindemith’s Das Unaufhörliche (1931). Other notable works include Arthur Honegger’s Le Roi David and Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1938), and Franz Schmidt’s The Book with Seven Seals (1938). Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time (1944) addressed events from World War II. Postwar oratorios include works by Dmitri Sh