Saved By the Subtitles

I know you are probably thinking, "Oh, no, another post about opera" and you might be right... sorta... at least, the "oh, no" part... not the opera part... because this post is about the oratorio. Try not to get too excited...

Like an opera, an oratorio has an orchestra, soloists and a choir...and also music that you have to exert a little effort to get into. However, unlike opera, an oratorio usually has a religious theme. History lesson: in Italy during the early 17th century, Lent was strictly observed as a period of prayer and fasting, in preparation for Holy week. The Church forbade secular musical performances during the 40 days prior to the celebration of the Resurrection, apparently to satisfy itself that people were at least giving up something for Lent. Into this musical abyss, the oratorio was born.

When the word oratorio comes up in casual conversation, (which may not be all that often but work with me here) the first thing that comes to mind is probably Handel's Messiah. I always knew I liked Handel, most certainly because of his Messiah. But now I find I like him even more since I have discovered that, although he was German, he wrote the first oratorio in the English language and his subject was Esther (being a fan of both English and Esther.) I am getting ahead of myself here... In the early 1700's, he had been writing operas, which were not getting a lot of favorable attention. I guess it came to him one day that if he wrote an oratorio, he would be pretty much guaranteed an audience during Lent, which led to his first religious oratorio (Israel in Egypt) (a sell-out) and ultimately, to the Messiah.

Besides all the usual instruments--all the violins, flutes, oboes and the obligatory cello--oratorios are usually pretty big on trumpets and timpani. There are some monumental musical moments going on and the trumpet and timpani seem to be mandatory for those moments. That, of course, is my personal opinion but I think you would have to agree that nothing grabs your attention quicker than a trumpet and nothing accentuates a point better than a timpani!

Although there are soloists and ensembles, the backbone of the oratorio is the choir. Glorious music just sounds more glorious coming from a big choir. And with a religious theme, there is a lot of glorious going on.

The word "oratorio" means "hall for prayer" which I think refers to the fact that oratorios were originally performed in churches rather than opera houses or concert halls. However, the whole oratorio is almost like a prayer; at least that has been my experience. (which at this point is limited to Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah) Bach's Christmas Oratorio was written in 1734 in German, but happily for me, the performance I attended provided subtitles. Those subtitles not only saved the day for me but enriched, inspired, and fed my soul. And, probably, that is exactly what the church fathers wanted and what the oratorio composers intended.