Oratorio facts for kids

An oratorio is a special kind of music. It's like a big story told with music. You'll hear an orchestra, a choir, and solo singers. Oratorios usually tell stories from the Old Testament of the Bible. They can be quite long, sometimes two hours!

Think of an oratorio like an opera. But there's a big difference. In an opera, people act on a stage in costume. In an oratorio, the singers and musicians stay in one place. They perform in a concert hall or church. Oratorios became popular in the 18th century. The words were usually in the composer's own language, not Italian like many operas at that time.

How Oratorios Began

The idea of music-dramas in churches is very old. It goes back many centuries in western Europe. In Italy, both oratorios and operas were being created in the 17th century.

In Germany, composers like Heinrich Schutz wrote music that told stories. Later, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote Passions. These pieces told the story of the crucifixion. While not usually called "oratorios," they are very similar in style and purpose.

George Frideric Handel and Oratorios

The first really important composer of oratorios was George Frideric Handel. Handel was born in Germany, but he later became English. He had written many operas before. But in 1732, he started writing oratorios instead. Suddenly, people became very interested in this new musical form.

Handel used music similar to his operas. An oratorio would start with an overture. This is an introduction played by the orchestra. Then came recitative, which was like sung speech that told the story. After that were arias, which are beautiful songs for the solo singers. Finally, there were big choruses for the choir.

The choir was very important in oratorios. They had much more to sing than in most operas. This made choral societies very popular. This tradition spread from England, where Handel lived, to other countries in Europe.

Handel's Famous Oratorios

Handel’s most famous oratorio is Messiah. Unlike most of his other oratorios, Messiah does not tell a story from the Old Testament. Instead, it tells the story of the birth, life, and death of Jesus. In Britain, Handel’s Messiah is traditionally performed around Christmas.

Other well-known oratorios by Handel include Deborah, Saul, Samson, Judas Maccabaeus, and Solomon. Handel wrote all these oratorios using English words.

Oratorios Through the Centuries

Oratorios remained very popular in the 19th century. At the start of this century, Joseph Haydn wrote some of his best music in two oratorios. These were Die Schöpfung (The Creation) in 1798 and Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) in 1801.

Mendelssohn also wrote famous oratorios. These include St Paul, Elijah, and the Hymn of Praise. Other important Romantic composers who wrote oratorios were Dvořák, Berlioz, and Gounod.

In the 20th century, famous oratorios continued to be composed. Some examples are Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius in 1900, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast in 1931, and Tippett’s Child of our Time in 1941.

See also

• Oratorio (música) para niños (In Spanish)

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