An oratorio () is a large
musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...
for
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
,
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
, and
soloists. Like most
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable
characters, and
arias. However, opera is
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece – though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas, and operas are sometimes presented in
concert form. In an oratorio, the choir often plays a central role, and there is generally little or no interaction between the characters, and no props or elaborate
costumes. A particularly important difference is in the typical subject matter of the text. Opera tends to deal with
history and
mythology, including age-old devices of
romance,
deception
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
, and
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
, whereas the plot of an oratorio often deals with
sacred topics, making it appropriate for performance in the
church.
Protestant composers took their stories from the
Bible, while
Catholic composers looked to the lives of
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
s, as well as to Biblical topics. Oratorios became extremely popular in early 17th-century Italy partly because of the success of opera and the Catholic Church's prohibition of spectacles during
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
. Oratorios became the main choice of music during that period for opera audiences.
History
Etymology
The word ''oratorio'' comes from the
Latin verb orare, to pray. Hence
oratory. The musical composition was "named from the kind of musical services held in the church of the
Oratory of St. Philip Neri
The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri ( la, Confoederatio Oratorii Sancti Philippi Nerii) abbreviated CO and commonly known as the Oratorians is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men (priests and lay-b ...
in Rome (''Congregazione dell'Oratorio'') in the latter half of the 16th cent."
1600, origins
Although medieval plays such as the
Ludus Danielis
The ''Play of Daniel'', or ''Ludus Danielis'', is either of two medieval Latin liturgical dramas based on the biblical Book of Daniel, one of which is accompanied by monophonic music.
The play itself dates from c. 1140. Two medieval plays of Dani ...
and
Renaissance dialogue motets such as those of the
Oltremontani Oltremontani ("those from over the Alps") were those of the Franco-Flemish School of composers who dominated the musical landscape of Northern Italy during the middle of the sixteenth Century. The role of the oltremontani composers at the ducal cour ...
had characteristics of an oratorio, the first oratorio is usually seen as
Emilio de Cavalieri
Emilio de' Cavalieri (c. 155011 March 1602), or Emilio dei Cavalieri, the spellings "del" and "Cavaliere" are contemporary typographical errors, was an Italian composer, producer, organist, diplomat, choreographer and dancer at the end of th ...
's ''
Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo
''Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo'' (Portrayal of the Soul and the Body) is a musical work by Emilio de' Cavalieri to a libretto by Agostino Manni (1548-1618). With it, Cavalieri regarded himself as the composer of the first opera or oratori ...
''.
Monteverdi composed ''
Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
''Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda'' (''The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda''), SV 153, is an operatic ''scena'' for three voices by Claudio Monteverdi. The libretto is drawn from Torquato Tasso's ''La Gerusalemme Liberata''. It was firs ...
'' which can be considered as the first
secular oratorio.
The origins of the oratorio can be found in sacred dialogues in Italy. These were settings of Biblical, Latin texts and musically were quite similar to
motets. There was a strong narrative, dramatic emphasis and there were conversational exchanges between characters in the work.
Giovanni Francesco Anerio's ''Teatro harmonico spirituale'' (1619) is a set of 14 dialogues, the longest of which is 20 minutes long and covers the
conversion of St. Paul and is for four soloists: Historicus (narrator),
tenor;
St. Paul, tenor; Voice from Heaven,
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
; and
Ananias, tenor. There is also a four-part chorus to represent any crowds in the drama. The music is often contrapuntal and
madrigal-like.
Philip Neri's
Congregazione dell'Oratorio featured the singing of spiritual
laude
The ''lauda'' (Italian pl. ''laude'') or ''lauda spirituale'' was the most important form of vernacular sacred song in Italy in the late medieval era and Renaissance. ''Laude'' remained popular into the nineteenth century. The lauda was often as ...
. These became more and more popular and were eventually performed in specially built
oratories
Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
(prayer halls) by professional musicians. Again, these were chiefly based on dramatic and narrative elements.
Sacred opera provided another impetus for dialogues, and they greatly expanded in length (although never really beyond 60 minutes long). Cavalieri's ''Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo'' is an example of one of these works, but technically it is not an oratorio because it features acting and dancing. It does, however contain music in the
monodic
In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...
style.
The first oratorio to be called by that name is
Pietro della Valle
Pietro Della Valle ( la, Petrus a Valle; 2 April 1586 – 21 April 1652), also written Pietro della Valle, was an Italian composer, musicologist, and author who travelled throughout Asia during the Renaissance period. His travels took him to the ...
's ''Oratorio della Purificazione'', but due to its brevity (only 12 minutes long) and the fact that its other name was "dialogue", we can see that there was much ambiguity in these names.
1650–1700
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
Creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
* Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
* Creationism, the belief tha ...
, 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
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
s of their oratorios as they did for their operas. Strong emphasis was soon placed on arias while the use of the choir diminished. Female singers became regularly employed, and replaced the male
narrator with the use of
recitatives.
By the mid-17th century, two types had developed:
* ''oratorio latino'' (in
Latin) – first developed at the
Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso
The Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso or the Oratory of the Most Holy Crucifix is a building in central Rome, Italy. Located next to the church of San Marcello al Corso, it served as a prayer hall and meeting house for the Archconfraternity of t ...
, related to the church of
San Marcello al Corso in
Rome.
The most significant composers of ''oratorio latino'' were in Italy
Giacomo Carissimi
(Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the ...
, 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), and in France Carissimi's pupil
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (34 works H.391 - H.425).
* ''oratorio volgare'' (in
Italian) – representative examples include:
** Giacomo Carissimi's ''Daniele''
**
Marco Marazzoli
Marco Marazzoli (1602? – 26 January 1662) was an Italian priest and Baroque music composer.
Early life
Born at Parma, Marazzoli received early training as a priest, and was ordained around 1625. He moved to Rome in 1626, and entered the s ...
's ''S Tomaso''
** similar works written by
Francesco Foggia
Francesco Foggia ( baptized 17 November 1603 – 8 January 1688) was an Italian Baroque composer.
Biography
Foggia was a boy soprano at the Collegium Germanicum of the Jesuits in Rome, and was a student of Antonio Cifra, and Paolo Agostini. ...
,
Luigi Rossi
Luigi Rossi (c. 1597 – 20 February 1653) was an Italian Baroque composer. Born in Torremaggiore, a small town near Foggia, in the ancient kingdom of Naples, at an early age he went to Naples where he studied music with the Franco-Flemish comp ...
,
Alessandro Stradella
Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with ...
Lasting about 30–60 minutes, ''oratori volgari'' were performed in two sections, separated by a
sermon; their music resembles that of contemporary operas and chamber
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
s.
Late baroque
In the late
baroque period oratorios increasingly became "sacred opera". In Rome and Naples
Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera.
...
was the most noted composer. In Vienna the court poet
Metastasio produced annually a series of oratorios for the court which were set by
Caldara
Caldara is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Antonio Caldara (1670–1736), Italian composer
* Domenico Caldara (1814–1897), Italian painter
* Emilio Caldara (1868–1942), Italian Socialist Party politician
* Jon Caldara, Ame ...
,
Hasse Hasse is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
* Clara H. Hasse (1880–1926), American botanist
* Helmut Hasse (1898–1979), German mathematician
* Henry Hasse (1913–1977), US writer of science fiction
...
and others. Metastasio's best known oratorio libretto ''
La passione di Gesù Cristo'' was set by at least 35 composers from 1730–90. In Germany the middle baroque oratorios moved from the early-baroque ''Historia'' style Christmas and Resurrection settings of
Heinrich Schütz, to the Passions of
J. S. Bach, oratorio-passions such as ''
Der Tod Jesu'' set by
Telemann and
Carl Heinrich Graun. After Telemann came the galante oratorio style of
C. P. E. Bach.
Georgian Britain
The
Georgian era
The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...
saw a German-born monarch and German-born composer define the English oratorio.
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
, most famous today for his ''
Messiah'' (1741), also wrote other oratorios based on themes from
Greek and
Roman mythology and Biblical topics. He is also credited with writing the first English language oratorio, ''
Esther''. Handel's imitators included the Italian
Lidarti who was employed by the Amsterdam Jewish community to compose a Hebrew version of ''Esther''.
Victorian era
Britain continued to look to Germany for its composers of oratorio. The
Birmingham Festival
The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running classical music festival of its kind. It last took place in 1912.
History
The first music festival, over three days in September 1768 ...
commissioned various oratorios including
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
's ''
Elijah'' in 1846, later performed in German as ''Elias''. German composer
Georg Vierling
Georg Vierling (5 September 1820 – 1 June 1901) was a German musician and composer. He is noted for modernizing the secular oratorio form.
Life and career
Georg Vierling was born in Frankenthal, and studied music with Christian Heinrich Rinck in ...
is noted for modernizing the secular oratorio form.
John Stainer
Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...
's ''
The Crucifixion'' (1887) became the stereotypical battlehorse of massed amateur choral societies.
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
tried to revive the genre around the turn of century with the composition of ''The Light of Life (Lux Christi)'', ''
The Dream of Gerontius'', ''
The Apostles'' and ''
The Kingdom''.
20th century
Oratorio returned haltingly to public attention with
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's ''
Oedipus Rex
''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...
'' in Paris (1927),
William Walton's ''
Belshazzar's Feast'' in Leeds (1931),
Paul Hindemith's ''Das Unaufhörliche'' in Berlin (1931),
Arthur Honegger's ''
Le Roi David'' and ''
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher
''Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' (''Joan of Arc at the Stake'') is an oratorio by Arthur Honegger, originally commissioned by Ida Rubinstein. It was set to a libretto by Paul Claudel, and the work runs about 70 minutes.
It premiered on 12 May 1938 in ...
'' in Basel (1938), and
Franz Schmidt's ''
The Book with Seven Seals
''The Book with Seven Seals'' (''Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln'') is an oratorio in German by the Austrian composer Franz Schmidt, on themes from the biblical Book of Revelation of Saint John. It was completed in 1937 and first presented in 1938 in ...
'' (''Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln'') in Vienna (1938).
Michael Tippett's oratorio ''
A Child of Our Time'' (first performance, 1944) engages with events surrounding the
Second World War. Postwar oratorios include
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
's ''
Song of the Forests
The ''Song of the Forests'' (''Песнь о лесах''), Op. 81, is an oratorio by Dmitri Shostakovich composed in the summer of 1949. It was written to celebrate the forestation of the Russian steppes (Great Plan for the Transformation of Nat ...
'' (1949),
Sergei Prokofiev's ''
On Guard for Peace'' (1950),
Vadim Salmanov
Vadim Nikolayevich Salmanov (4 November 1912, in Saint Petersburg – 27 February 1978, in Leningrad) was a Soviet composer. He is perhaps best known for his Symphony No. 2.
Salmanov learned to play the piano as a child from his father. At 1 ...
's ''Twelve'' (1957),
Alfred Schnittke's ''
Nagasaki'' (1958),
Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...
's ''
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with ...
'' (1958),
Krzysztof Penderecki's ''
St. Luke Passion'' (1966),
Hans Werner Henze's ''
Das Floß der Medusa
' (''The Raft of the Medusa'') is a secular oratorio by the German composer Hans Werner Henze. It is regarded as a seminal work in the composer's alignment with left-wing politics.
Background
Henze wrote it as a Requiem for Che Guevara, and set i ...
'' (1968),
René Clemencic
René Clemencic (27 February 1928 – 8 March 2022) was an Austrian composer, recorder player, harpsichordist, conductor and clavichord player.
Biography
Born in Vienna, Austria, Clemencic was educated at the Vienna University and studied further ...
's ''Kabbala'' (1992), and
Osvaldo Golijov's ''
La Pasión según San Marcos'' (2000).
Mauricio Kagel composed ''
Sankt-Bach-Passion'', an oratorio about Bach's life, for the tercentenary of his birth in 1985.
Oratorios by popular musicians include
Léo Ferré
Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released s ...
's ''
La Chanson du mal-aimé
''La Chanson du mal-aimé'' (English: ''Song of the Poorly Loved'') is an oratorio composed by Léo Ferré in 1952–53 on Guillaume Apollinaire's eponymous poem. This piece for four soloist singers, choir and orchestra is an example of an oratorio ...
'' (1954 and 1972), based on
Guillaume Apollinaire's poem of the same name,
Paul McCartney's ''
Liverpool Oratorio'' (1991) and
Mikis Theodorakis's
Canto General
''Canto General'' is Pablo Neruda's tenth book of poems. It was first published in Mexico in 1950, by ''Talleres Gráficos de la Nación''. Neruda began to compose it in 1938.
"Canto General" ("General Song") consists of 15 sections, 231 poems ...
and
Axion Esti
An axion () is a hypothetical elementary particle postulated by the Peccei–Quinn theory in 1977 to resolve the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). If axions exist and have low mass within a specific range, they are of interes ...
based on poems of
Pablo Neruda
Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...
and
Odusseas Elytis.
21st century
When
Dudley Buck
Dudley Buck (March 10, 1839October 6, 1909) was an American composer, organist, and writer on music. He published several books, most notably the ''Dictionary of Musical Terms'' and ''Influence of the Organ in History'', which was published i ...
composed his oratorio ''
The Light of Asia
''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879.
In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to describ ...
'' in 1886, it became the first in the history of the genre to be based on the life of
Buddha. Several late 20th and early 21st-century oratorios have since been based on Buddha's life or have incorporated Buddhist texts. These include
Somei Satoh's 1987 ''Stabat Mater'',
Dinesh Subasinghe's 2010 ''
Karuna Nadee'', and
Jonathan Harvey's 2011 ''Weltethos''.
[Clements, Andrew (22 June 2012)]
"''Weltethos'' – review"
'' The Guardian''. Retrieved 3 May 2013. The 21st century also saw a continuation of Christianity-based oratorios with
John Adams's ''
El Niño'' and ''
The Gospel According to the Other Mary
''The Gospel According to the Other Mary'' is an opera-oratorio by the American composer John Adams (composer), John Adams. The world premiere took place on May 31, 2012, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles with Gustavo Dudamel conducti ...
''. Other religions represented include
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
's ''
Thiruvasakam'' (based on the texts of
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
hymns to
Shiva). Secular oratorios composed in the 21st century include
Nathan Currier
Nathan Currier (born 1960, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) is an American composer.
Biography
Coming from a musical family, Currier is son of composer Marilyn Currier (1931) and brother of composer Sebastian Currier (1959).
His principal teachers wer ...
's ''
Gaian Variations'' (based on the
Gaia hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that help ...
),
Richard Einhorn Richard Einhorn (born 1952) is an American composer of contemporary classical music.
Einhorn graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 1975, and studied composition and electronic music with Jack Beeson, Vladimir ...
's ''
The Origin'' (based on the writings of
Charles Darwin),
Jonathan Mills
Jonathan Mills (born 12 February 1984) is a Wales, Welsh rugby union player. A lock forward, he previously played for Llandovery RFC Bath Rugby, Bath, Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets before joining London Welsh where he captained the side winning ...
' ''Sandakan Threnody'' (based on the
Sandakan Death Marches), and
Neil Hannon's ''To Our Fathers in Distress''. The oratorio ''
Laudato si''', composed in 2016 by
Peter Reulein on a
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Helmut Schlegel, includes the full Latin text of the
Magnificat, expanded by writings of
Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...
,
Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
and
Pope Francis.
''
Bruder Martin
is an oratorio composed by Thomas Gabriel to a libretto in German by Eugen Eckert. The work in seven scenes and a prologue is based on the life of Martin Luther. It was written for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The compositi ...
'' was composed by
Thomas Gabriel, setting a text by
Eugen Eckert
Eugen Eckert (born 1954) is a German social worker, minister, singer-songwriter and academic teacher. He is known for his lyrics for new spiritual songs (Neues Geistliches Lied), and his oratorios and musical plays.
Career
Born in Frankfurt am ...
about scenes from the life of
Martin Luther, for the 500th anniversary of the
Reformation in 2017.
See also
*
List of oratorios
*
Passion
*
Music for the Requiem Mass
*
Mass (liturgy)
*
Mass (music)
The Mass ( la, missa) is a form of sacred musical composition that sets the invariable portions of the Christian Eucharistic liturgy (principally that of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism), known as the Mass.
Most Mass ...
*
Oratorio Society (disambiguation) Oratorio Society may refer to:
*Oratorio Society of Baltimore
*Oratorio Society of Charlottesville-Albemarle
*Oratorio Society of Chicago
*Hong Kong Oratorio Society
*Jakarta Oratorio Society
*Laurel Oratorio Society
*Oratorio Society of Minnesota
...
References
* Bukofzer, Manfred F. ''Music in the Baroque Era.'' New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Co., Inc, 1947.
* Smither, Howard. ''The History of the Oratorio.'' vol. 1–4, Chapel Hill, NC: Univ. of N.C. Press, 1977–2000.
* Deedy, John. ''The Catholic Fact Book''. Chicago, IL: Thomas Moore Press, 1986.
* ''
Grove Music Online
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', ed. L. Macy
grovemusic.com(subscription access).
* Hardon, John A. ''Modern Catholic Dictionary.'' Garden City, NY: Double Day and Co. Inc., 1980.
* ''New Catholic Encyclopedia.'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
* Randel, Don. "Oratorio". ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music.'' Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1986.
* McGuire, Charles Edward. ''Elgar's Oratorios: The Creation of an Epic Narrative''. Aldershot: Ashgate Press, 2002.
* McGuire, Charles Edward. "Elgar, Judas, and the Theology of Betrayal." In ''19th-Century Music'', vol. XXIII, no. 3 (Spring, 2000), pp. 236–272.
*
Upton, George P.
The Standard Oratorios', Chicago, 1893
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017
Classical music styles