Oratorio
Multi-movement work for soloists, choir and orchestra on a mostly sacred subject, not staged.
What it means
An oratorio is a multi-movement work for soloists, choir and orchestra on a mostly sacred subject, performed without scenery, costumes or acting. The story is conveyed through narrators, arias, recitatives and choruses. The name goes back to the oratory, the prayer hall in which the prayer and music exercises of the confraternity founded by Philip Neri took place in Rome.
Musical use
In the 17th century the oratorio developed in Italy into a genre of its own, to which Giacomo Carissimi contributed. Important works are Handel's Messiah (first performed in Dublin in 1742), Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (1734/35), Joseph Haydn's The Creation (1798) and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Elijah (1846). Secular subjects also occurred.
The oratorio should be distinguished from opera, which is staged, from the Passion, which tells the story of Christ's suffering, and from the cantata, which is shorter and more lightly scored.
Performance practice
When you sing in an oratorio, think of the narrative: the choir can be the people, the congregation or a commentator. Pay attention to clear diction and to coming together exactly with soloists and orchestra.