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oratorio
6 dictionary results for: oratorio
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
or·a·to·ri·o 
[awr-uh-tawr-ee-oh, -tohr-, or-] Pronunciation Key
[awr-uh-tawr-ee-oh, -tohr-, or-] Pronunciation Key –noun, plural -ri·os.
| an extended musical composition with a text more or less dramatic in character and usually based upon a religious theme, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and performed without action, costume, or scenery. |
[Origin: 1625–35; < It: small chapel < LL ōrātōrium oratory2; so named from the musical services in the church of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Rome]
]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| or·a·to·ri·o
(ôr'ə-tôr'ē-ō', -tōr'-, ŏr'-) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. or·a·to·ri·os A musical composition for voices and orchestra, telling a sacred story without costumes, scenery, or dramatic action. [Italian, after Oratorio, the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri at Rome, where famous musical services were held in the 16th century.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
oratorio
oratorio
"long musical composition, usually with a text based on Scripture," 1727 (in Eng. 1644 in native form oratory), from It. oratorio (late 16c.), from Church L. oratorium (see oratory (2)), in ref. to musical services in the church of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Rome, where old mystery plays were adapted to religious services.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| oratorio | |
noun | |
| a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text [syn: cantata] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
oratorio
oratorio
A musical composition for voices and orchestra, telling a religious story.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Oratorio
Or`a*to"ri*o\, n. [It., fr. L. oratorius belonging to praying. See Orator, and cf. Oratory.]1. (Mus.) A more or less dramatic text or poem, founded on some Scripture nerrative, or great divine event, elaborately set to music, in recitative, arias, grand choruses, etc., to be sung with an orchestral accompaniment, but without action, scenery, or costume, although the oratorio grew out of the Mysteries and the Miracle and Passion plays, which were acted. Note: There are instances of secular and mythological subjects treated in the form of the oratorios, and called oratorios by their composers; as Haydn's "Seasons," Handel's "Semele," etc. 2. Performance or rendering of such a composition.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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