[Classical] Masterpieces of oratorios. Recommended classical music.

The Promised LandJules Massenet

Jules Massenet – La Terre Promise Oratorio [After The Vulgate] (1897-99)

Jules Massenet, the French composer known for having many celebrated operas and for the frequently performed Méditation from Thaïs with its beautiful violin solo, also wrote several oratorios.

This oratorio is based on the episode in which the God of the Old Testament promises a land to the people of Israel.

It opens with an overture of grand and tragic character.

The work is a three-part oratorio with a French libretto based on Sylvestre de Sacy’s French translation of the Vulgate Bible.

The duty of the First CommandmentWolfgang Amadeus Mozart

W. A. Mozart – KV 35 – Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots

It is said to be one of Mozart’s early stage works and is sometimes classified as an oratorio.

Remarkably, he wrote it at the age of eleven, yet the piece already exhibits Mozart’s characteristic lightness and elegance.

Unfortunately, aside from the autograph score of the first part, the rest has been lost, and it is now rarely performed.

The Drama of Soul and FleshEmilio de’ Cavalieri

Emilio de’ Cavalieri, Rappresentazione Di Anima Et Di Corpo

Premiered in Rome in 1600, it is said to be the first composed oratorio.

While oratorios are typically vocal works with religious themes and no staging, this piece includes costumes and stage direction, so it is often considered, strictly speaking, closer to an opera.

GolgothaFrank Martin

Frank Martin: GOLGOTHA

The Swiss Protestant composer Frank Martin was born in Geneva, and while studying mathematics and physics at the University of Geneva, he also pursued composition and piano in earnest.

As modern music saw a steady collapse of tonality, Frank Martin opposed atonality and adhered to tonality.

Golgotha was composed in 1949, and it was performed in Japan in 1978 by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.

Song of the ForestDmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovich “Song of the Forests” Yevgeny Mravinsky

An oratorio composed in 1949 by the modern Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

It is said to be the most famous and representative of his songs.

It was written to praise the forestry projects of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet authorities demanded music that would be easily understood by the masses, and in line with that, this work—which extolled Stalin—was lavishly praised.

However, because its content differed from Shostakovich’s true feelings, it is said that at the time of the premiere he sat in his hotel room, sobbing and drinking vodka.