The Easter Oratorio (German: Oster-Oratorium), BWV 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, beginning with Kommt, eilet und laufet ("Come, hasten and run"). Bach composed it in Leipzig and first performed it on 1 April 1725.

Giuditta is based on the Biblical story of Judith, a beautiful Israelite widow who insinuates herself within the camp of the conquering Assyrian tribe and deceives their general, Holofernes, before decapitating him and carrying off his head in triumph. This is the second version of the oratorio, known as the Cambridge version after the location of the manuscript when it was turned up in modern times. Scarlatti had considered the original version, composed for Rome in 1693, to be his finest oratorio. This is no mean assessment from the composer of masterworks which have been more celebrated in our own time such as La Maddalena, for their expressive pathos and superbly grateful vocal lines.

Dieses Oratorium ist möglicherweise genau jenes Stück, mit dem Johann David Heinichen (1683-1749) sich die Kapellmeisterstelle am Dresdner Hof Augusts des Starken, des Kurfürsten von Sachsen und polnischen Königs, eroberte und so sein berufliches Schicksal an einen der glänzendsten Höfe Europas band. Das Werk entstand in Venedig, wo Heinichen während eines ausgedehnten Italienaufenthalts 1716 dem sächsischen Kurprinzen Friedrich August begegnete. Dieser zeigte sich von der Musik seines Landeskindes überaus begeistert und empfahl ihn nachdrücklich am heimischen Hof.

This is regarded as the archetype of the oratorio par excellence, as its creator’s most famous work – the «Messiah» by George Frideric Handel. The «Messiah» owes its fame less to the (undeniably high) quality of the composition than to its particular history of reception. This history was enriched by a veritable treasure when the Handel House Foundation in Halle was able to acquire a previously unknown score of the Italian-language version, which was first performed in Florence in 1768 and was long thought to have been lost. At the Innsbruck Festival, the wonderful work «Il Messia» will be performed under the direction of Alessandro De Marchi and with an outstanding soloist cast.

Dynamic are pleased to present the world première recording of Giovanni Legrenzis oratory Il Sedecia. The libretto tells the story of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, who reigned from 598 to 587 B.C. Since, as it is often the case, the score has no instrumental introductions or an epilogue, to open the two parts of the oratory and close the second, the present recording resorts to chamber sonatas taken from Legrenzis first instrumental collection Sonate a due, e tre Op. 2.

Les Voix Baroques and Arion Baroque Orchestra combine their outstanding talents for this new ATMA recording of Bach’s St. John Passion under the direction of organist and conductor Alexander Weimann. This recording was made in the chapel of the Grand Séminaire in Montreal, following performances in the 2010 Bach Festival.

The groundbreaking Roman composer Alessandro Stradella’s unjustly neglected oratorio ESTER, LIBERATRICE DEL POPOLO EBREO shines forth in a sparkling new release from Navona Records. Exploring themes of courage, self acceptance, ambition, justice, and power, this piece tells the story of Esther, a timid girl, secret Jew, and Persian Queen, who summons the bravery to save her people from annihilation. While the oratorio derives its narrative from the old testament’s The Book of Esther, this compelling story of a lone woman challenging an oppressive tyrant is sure to strike a chord, resonating powerfully for modern listeners as it recalls many ongoing conflicts in our world today.

Alessandro Scarlatti La Giuditta was written for five voices and instruments. In 1697, Scarlatti set a second libretto, this time written by Cardinal Ottoboni’s father, Antonio, in which the number of characters was reduced to three. We do not know the occasion for which this second setting was created and lack information on its first performance. The differences between the two versions are discussed in Brian Robins’ review of a previous recording, which interested readers will find in the Archive. (Robins states that the second version was written for Rome in 1700. The notes to Dynamic’s recording state that the first version was the one performed in 1700.)

This recording is of the rarely performed late fourth version of the St. John Passion. Cantus Cölln performs the entire work as a double vocal quartet, producing vocal brilliance and immaculate solo sections. The ensemble is one of the most renowned vocal groups for Renaissance and Baroque music.

This biblical story, with its historical references to specific cities, generals and kings, is accepted as canon by Roman Catholic theologians, although it doesn t appear in either Hebrew or Protestant scriptures. The Book of Judith is set in the time of the mighty Assyrian ruler Nebuchadnezzar, King of Nineveh. Seeking to expand his empire, the king sends armies, led by General Holofernes (Oloferne), to subdue neighboring kingdoms, all of whom surrender under his powerful forces. The only ones who refuse to capitulate are the Israelites, who cordon off their mountain passes and gather provisions to resist a siege. Instead of a massacre, Holofernes discovers and commandeers their water sources.

The Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra dedicates itself here to a “forgotten master”. In drastic, enigmatic images of the Apocalypse of St. John, Louis Spohr’s oratorio The Last Judgement deals with the fundamental questions of humanity: justice, responsibility and redemption. Shortly after its world premiere, one could say that this work was an international success. Since the Spohr Year of 2009 it has returned to concert stages all over the world and was performed brilliantly in Salzburg on 6 June 2013. OehmsClassics presents a live recording here of this concert from the Mozarteum.

Just before returning home at the end of his years of musical apprenticeship in Rome, the Portuguese composer Almeida composed this unusual oratorio based on one of the most bloddy episodes in the Old Testament, the decapitation of the Assyrian general Holofernes by Judith, a crucial episode in the struggle of the Jewis people against Nebuchadnezzar (588 B.C.). When it was revived in 1990 this powerful, at times sensual work was greeted as a 'revelation of Portuguese music'.

Benedetto Marcello (1686–1739), remembered best today for some attractive instrumental music, including some virtuosic works for oboe, and his satire of the opera house, Il teatro alla moda, also wrote a small group of oratorios, including a pair of allegorical pieces for the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin at Macerata. One of these was Il pianto e il riso delle quattro stagioni from 1733. It has been described as a "highly poetic, generally mellow, faintly comic" work, in which Marcello employed "the whole arsenal of techniques he had mastered over a quarter-century"; in fact, not only is there amazing attention to detail in the string articulation, but it also provides an important record of a composer's expectations of his string orchestra. Few oratorios from this locale and period are available in modern editions, and this example has all the formal characteristics associated with the genre of oratorio in the first half of the eighteenth century.

Jordi Savall's prolific output of recordings on Alia Vox is hard to pigeonhole because his expansive repertoire runs from some of the most obscure early music of the Old and New Worlds, to well-established classics like George Frederick Handel's Messiah. Recorded live at a December, 2017 concert in the Chapelle Royale du Chateau de Versailles, this performance of Messiah is based on the 1741 autograph score in the British Library in London, essentially re-creating the Dublin version, with restored oboe parts taken from the part-books for the 1754 Foundling Hospital version, and with four vocal soloists instead of Handel's original group of nine.

This was, at one time, the most popular piece of music that Haydn composed. It was originally written as a series of eight slow movements (an introduction, then the seven "words") and a final "earthquake" designed to be performed in a Spanish church during Holy Week. So famous did the music become that some hack made a vocal version of the work, which Haydn felt he could do much better himself. So he created this oratorio, as well as making (or approving) arrangements for string quartet and solo piano! For the vocal version, he divided the work into two parts and added a stunning introduction to the second part for wind band alone.