Oratorio

(or-a-to're-o.) (It., a chapel or an oratory: ap lace where these compositions were first performed. ] (Mus.) A kind of sacred musical composition, either purely dramatic or partaking both of the drama and the epic, in which the text is illustrative of some religious subject, sometimes taken directly from Scripture; and the music consists of recitatives, airs, duets, trios, quartets, choruses, accompanied by an orchestra, sometimes also by an organ, and introduced by an instrumental overture. The O. is not intended for scenic representation. By far the greatest master of O. was Handel (q. v.). [s. 666]