Oratorium#

Oratorio: Large-scale musical composition, usually on a sacred or semi-sacred subject, for solo voices, chorus and orchestra; first came to Austria from Italy in the mid-17th century and was promoted by the Counter-Reformation and the devoutly Catholic Habsburgs. The first oratorio to be performed at the Imperial Court was "Il sagrifizio d´Abramo" (1660). Side by side with the "classic" form (in Italian), composers at the Vienna Court developed a special form, the sepolcro, which was performed during Holy Week in semi-scenic form ("stile rappresentativo"). The principal composers were A. Bertali, P. A. and M. A. Ziani, C. A. Badia, G. B. Bononcini, G. Porsile, F. Conti, J. J. Fux and G. Reutter. Oratorio was also cultivated (in Latin and German) in monasteries, in particular by the Jesuits and Benedictines.

In Vienna, musical historicism favoured the production of oratorios by G. F. Haendel, which were models for W. A. Mozart and J. Haydn ("The Creation", "The Seasons"). In the 19th and 20th centuries, performances of oratorios as well as the production of new ones were greatly influenced by the classic repertoire (J. S. Bach, G. F. Haendel, J. Haydn, F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy). From among 20th-century oratorios, special mention should be made of A. Schoenberg´s "Jakobsleiter" and "Das Buch mit 7 Siegeln" by Franz Schmidt.

Literature#