oratorio
[awr-uh-tawr-ee-oh, -tohr-, or-]
- an extended musical composition with a text more or less dramatic in character and usually based upon a religious theme, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and performed without action, costume, or scenery.
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Origin of oratorio
1625–35; < Italian: small chapel < Late Latin ōrātōrium oratory2; so named from the musical services in the church of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Rome
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for oratorio
Historical Examples
Needless to say, it was "not equal to Mr. Handel's oratorio of Esther or Deborah."
HandelEdward J. Dent
My part did not come until late in the second part of the oratorio.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
Not even his Puritanism could enjoy an unlimited diet of oratorio.
The Dominant StrainAnna Chapin Ray
The scenes themselves indicate the dramatic character of the oratorio.
The Standard OratoriosGeorge P. Upton
The motto of the oratorio is "Love is strong as death, and unconquerable as the grave."
The Standard OratoriosGeorge P. Upton
oratorio
- a dramatic but unstaged musical composition for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, based on a religious theme
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Word Origin
C18: from Italian, literally: oratory ², referring to the Church of the Oratory at Rome where musical services were held
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for oratorio
n.
"long musical composition, usually with a text based on Scripture," 1727 (in English from 1640s in native form oratory), from Italian oratorio (late 16c.), from Church Latin oratorium (see oratory (n.2)), in reference to musical services in the church of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Rome, where old mystery plays were adapted to religious services.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
oratorio
A musical composition for voices and orchestra, telling a religious story.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.