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oratorio
oratorio , musical composition employing chorus, orchestra, and soloists and usually, but not necessarily, a setting of a sacred libretto without stage action or scenery. The immediate forerunner of oratorio, Emilio del Cavaliere's sacred opera La rappresentazione di anima e di corpo applied the techniques of the newly created opera to the sacra rappresentazione, the Italian mystery play. Cavaliere's work was performed in 1600 in one of the buildings known as the oratories of St. Philip Neri . Soon afterward there developed the oratorio volgare, also in Italian, which employed a testo, or narrator, to advance the action of the story. By c.1640 the term oratorio had come to stand for the work itself rather than the place in which it was given, and 10 years later the Latin oratorio was given definitive form in the works of Giacomo Carissimi . His style was carried to France by his pupil Marc Antoine Charpentier, but the oratorio did not flourish there. Carissimi's influence is also discernible in the oratorios of Heinrich Schütz and of Handel. After Carissimi the only outstanding Italian oratorios are those of his pupil Alessandro Scarlatti, of which 14 are known. Scarlatti included recitative with developed arias in works that greatly resembled opera. Pietro Metastasio wrote a number of oratorios, several of which were set more than once. In Germany settings of the Passion assumed greater importance than the true oratorio, but the oratorios of Schütz are equaled only by those of J. S. Bach and Handel. Handel inaugurated the English oratorio, and his Messiah, although atypical among his own usually epic oratorios, became the prototype for the works of many later composers. Haydn's two great oratorios show the influence of Handel. Mendelssohn's highly dramatic Elijah and St. Paul exerted a strong influence, particularly in England, where the oratorio enjoyed great vogue throughout the 19th cent. A long succession of mediocre works, including several popular examples by Sir Arthur Sullivan, was followed by the more notable ones of Elgar and Walford Davies. Wagner, Liszt, Dvořák, Berlioz, and Franck all wrote romantic oratorios. In the 20th cent. Honegger's King David (1921) and Dance of the Dead (1940), Stravinsky's opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex (1927), Hindemith's Das Unaufhörliche (1931), William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast (1931), and Britten's War Requiem (1961) are noteworthy.
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"oratorio." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oratorio." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-oratorio.html "oratorio." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-oratorio.html |
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oratorio
oratorio.
1. Strictly, a mus. setting of a religious lib. for solo singers, ch., and orch., in dramatic form but usually perf. without scenery or costumes in concert-hall or church. The form originated in plays given in the Oratory of S. Philip Neri, Rome, in the mid-16th cent., the mus. form developing c.1600. The first oratorio was Cavalieri's La rappresentazione di anima e di corpo (The Representation of Soul and Body), a morality set to music and perf. in costume. Later oratorios, in concert-form, were written by Carissimi, A. Scarlatti, Schütz, Handel (esp. Messiah, the most popular of all oratorios), Haydn, Spohr, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn (Elijah). Elgar wrote 3 oratorios (but The Dream of Gerontius is not an oratorio). 2. The term is also applied to works similar to these cited above but on a non-religious subject, e.g. Handel's Semele, Tippett's A Child of our Time. Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex is described as an opera-oratorio. |
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-oratorio.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-oratorio.html |
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oratorio
oratorio. The musical setting of a religious libretto for soloists, chorus, and orchestra (or other accompaniment) without (in modern practice) the use of dramatic action, scenery, or costume. Oratorio apparently derives from the dramatic services of St Philip Neri (d. 1595) at the Oratory in Rome. The English oratorio, with its emphasis on the chorus, was essentially the creation of G. F. Handel (q.v.).
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-oratorio.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-oratorio.html |
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oratorio
or·a·to·ri·o / ˌôrəˈtôrēˌō; ˌär-/ • n. (pl. -os) a large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action.Well-known examples include Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, and Haydn's The Creation. |
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"oratorio." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oratorio." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-oratorio.html "oratorio." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-oratorio.html |
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oratorio
oratorio Form of sacred musical composition for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. The first of these compositions were presented in oratories (chapels) in 17th-century Italy. Outstanding examples are Handel's Messiah (1742) and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius (1900).
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"oratorio." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oratorio." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-oratorio.html "oratorio." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-oratorio.html |
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oratorio
oratorio a large-scale, usually narrative musical work for orchestra and voices, typically on a sacred theme, performed without costume, scenery, or action. The form arose in the early 17th century, from the services of the Oratory.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "oratorio." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "oratorio." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-oratorio.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "oratorio." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-oratorio.html |
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oratorio
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T. F. HOAD. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-oratorio.html T. F. HOAD. "oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-oratorio.html |
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Oratorio
Oratorio. The setting of a religious (usually Christian) text to music; the setting is extensive, with soloists, chorus, and instruments. It is not, however, like opera, in that it is not staged or acted out.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Oratorio.html JOHN BOWKER. "Oratorio." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Oratorio.html |
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oratorio
oratorio •Cleo • Carpaccio • Boccaccio
•capriccio • braggadocio • Palladio
•cardio • radio • video • audio • rodeo
•studio
•Caravaggio, DiMaggio
•adagio
•arpeggio, Correggio
•Sergio • radicchio • Tokyo • intaglio
•seraglio
•billy-o, punctilio
•folio, imbroglio, olio, polio, portfolio
•cameo • Romeo
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•Antonio • Scipio • Scorpio
•barrio, Mario
•impresario, Lothario, Polisario, Rosario, scenario
•stereo • embryo
•Blériot, Ontario
•vireo • Florio
•oratorio, Oreo
•curio • Ajaccio • Lazio • nuncio
•pistachio
•fellatio, Horatio, ratio
•ab initio, ex officio
•patio • Subbuteo • physio
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"oratorio." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oratorio." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-oratorio.html "oratorio." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-oratorio.html |
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