12 minutes genre7/26/2023 Lasting about 30–60 minutes, oratorio volgares were performed in two sections, separated by a sermon their music resembles that of contemporary operas and chamber cantatas. similar works written by Francesco Foggia and Luigi Rossi.oratorio volgare (in Italian)-representative examples include:.Female singers became regularly employed, and replaced the male narrator with the use of recitatives.īy the mid-seventeenth century, two types had developed: Strong emphasis was soon placed on arias while the use of the choir diminished. They began to publish the librettos of their oratorios as they did for their operas. Other changes eventually took place as well, possibly because most composers of oratorios were also popular composers of operas. It could include such topics as Creation, the life of Jesus, or the career of a classical hero or Biblical prophet. Whether religious or secular, the theme of an oratorio is meant to be weighty. Evidence of this lies in its regular performance outside church halls in courts and public theaters. 1650–1700ĭuring the second half of the seventeenth century, there were trends toward the secularization of the religious oratorio. The first oratorio to be called by that name is Pietro della Valle’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. It does, however contain music in the monodic style. 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. Sacred opera provided another impetus for dialogues, and they greatly expanded in length (although never really beyond 60 minutes long). Again, these were chiefly based on dramatic and narrative elements. These became more and more popular and were eventually performed in specially built oratories (prayer halls) by professional musicians. Philip Neri’s Congregazione dell’Oratoriofeatured the singing of spiritual laude. The music is often contrapuntal and madrigal-like. There is also a four-part chorus to represent any crowds in the drama. Paul, tenor Voice from Heaven, bass and ananias, tenor. Paul and is for four soloists: Historicus (narrator), tenor St. 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. There was a strong narrative, dramatic emphasis and there were conversational exchanges between characters in the work. These were settings of Biblical, Latin texts and musically were quite similar tomotets. The origins of the oratorio can be found in sacred dialogues in Italy. Monteverdi composed Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda which can be considered as the first secular oratorio. The word oratorio, from the Italian for “pulpit” or “oratory,” was “named from the kind of musical services held in the church of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in Rome ( Congregazione dell’Oratorio) in the latter half of the sixteenth century.” 1600, origins of the oratorioĪlthough medieval plays such as the Ludus Danielis, and Renaissance dialogue motets such as those of the Oltremontani had characteristics of an oratorio, the first oratorio is usually seen as Emilio de Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo. Oratorios became the main choice of music during that period for opera audiences. Oratorios became extremely popular in early seventeenth-century Italy partly because of the success of opera and the Catholic Church’s prohibition of spectacles during Lent. Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints, as well as to Biblical topics. Opera tends to deal with history and mythology, including age-old devices of romance, deception, and murder, whereas the plot of an oratorio often deals with sacred topics, making it appropriate for performance in the church. A particularly important difference is in the typical subject matter of the text. In an oratorio there is generally little or no interaction between the characters, and no props or elaborate costumes. However, opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece-though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas, and operas are sometimes presented in concert form. An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias.
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