Often cited as the first oratorio is the February 1600 presentation at the Oratoria della Vallicella in Rome, called the “Representation of Soul and Body” (La rappresentazione di anima e di corpo) and written by the Italian composer Emilio de Cavalieri (1550–1602).

Why was the oratorio created?

Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints, as well as to Biblical topics. Oratorios became extremely popular in early 17th-century Italy partly because of the success of opera and the Catholic Church’s prohibition of spectacles during Lent.

Was the oratorio banned?

The Catholic Church essentially banned opera during the first decade of the 18th Century in Rome, leading to the rise of the Italian oratorio. …