oratorio

noun

or·​a·​to·​rio ˌȯr-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-ˌō How to pronounce oratorio (audio)
ˌär-
plural oratorios
: a lengthy choral work usually of a religious nature consisting chiefly of recitatives, arias, and choruses without action or scenery

Examples of oratorio in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio was composed for the women of the Venetian girls’ orphanage Ospedale della Pieta, where the composer served as music director. Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024 Joined by triumphant bursts of strings and winds, John Thiessen’s bracing trumpet (celebrating the slaying of the enemies) brought the oratorio to an exuberant finish, the six singers aglow in a glorious polyphonic weave. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024 Jean-Baptiste Moreau, with a libretto by Jean Racine; the other an oratorio by Handel, with an English libretto by poet Samuel Humphreys. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024 Opera Idaho presents Critical Mass Vocal Artists in a performance of the three-part oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson. Michelle Jenkins, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Equal parts requiem, oratorio, and manifesto, Angel Island tells the collective story of Chinese immigrants held at a notorious detention center in San Francisco Bay. An Epic Set, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2024 Composer Alice Parker, who created arrangements of traditional hymns, as well as operas, oratorios and song cycles — one inspired by the sermons of Martin Luther King Jr. — is dead at 98. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2024 George Frideric Handel called his most enduringly popular oratorio simply Messiah — not The Messiah. Dallas News, 15 Dec. 2022 With this piece, Handel barges noisily through the swinging doors of the saloon of Eighteenth-century oratorio tradition, already fully at ease with the Baroque practice, begun a generation or two before, of alternating recitatives (sung dialogue) and arias. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oratorio.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from the Oratorio di San Filippo Neri (Oratory of St. Philip Neri) in Rome

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of oratorio was in 1724

Dictionary Entries Near oratorio

Cite this Entry

“Oratorio.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oratorio. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

oratorio

noun
or·​a·​to·​rio ˌȯr-ə-ˈtōr-ē-ˌō How to pronounce oratorio (audio)
ˌär-,
-ˈtȯr-
plural oratorios
: a vocal and orchestral work usually dramatizing a religious subject without action or scenery
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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