oratorio

Dramatic, musical setting of religious texts, scored for orchestra, chorus, and solo voices. Originally it was acted out with scenery and costumes, but gradually it became more commonly performed as a concert. Its origins lie in the Laude spirituali performed by St Philip Neri's Oratory in Rome in the 16th century, followed by the first definitive oratorio in the 17th century by Cavalieri. The form reached perfection in such works as Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (performed 1734-35), and George Handel's Messiah (1742).

The term is sometimes applied to secular music drama in which there is little or no stage action, as in Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex (1925-27) and Olivier Messiaen's St François d'Assise (1975-83). In the earliest oratorios there was often an element of ritual and spatial dramatization, and Bach himself introduced audience participation with the chorales of his St Matthew Passion (1727 or 1729). In 1993 Jonathan Miller reintroduced simple actions to a London performance of Bach's St John Passion (1724) with telling effect.