Noun
A more or less dramatic text or poem, founded on some Scripture nerrative, or great divine event, elaborately set to music, in recitative, arias, grand choruses, etc., to be sung with an orchestral accompaniment, but without action, scenery, or costume, although the oratorio grew out of the Mysteries and the Miracle and Passion plays, which were acted.
Performance or rendering of such a composition.
Source: Webster's dictionaryA Study of Influence (Cambridge, 1991) and an attempt to adapt the structures of opera and oratorio to the medium of fiction, notably in the 'Cyclops' episode of Ulysses. Source: Internet
His next large-scale work was the sequel to The Apostles – the oratorio The Kingdom (1906). Source: Internet
He was the first to write an oratorio fully on the subject of the Book of Revelation (as opposed to a Last Judgement in a Requiem like that of Giuseppe Verdi ). Source: Internet
Harding, p. 185 His mutual regard for British choirs continued for the rest of his life, and one of his last large-scale works, the oratorio The Promised Land, was composed for the Three Choirs Festival of 1913. Source: Internet
A narrative upon the text of the oratorio was provided by the composer. Source: Internet
Composed and premiered in 1846, the oratorio was criticized by members of the New German School but nonetheless remains one of the most popular Romantic choral-orchestral works in the repertoire. Source: Internet