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1. Concept and definition Oratorio is a genre of vocal music that emerged in Italy in the first half of the 17th century, spreading rapidly throughout Europe and surviving to this day. Its roots, however, lie farther back in developments in the history of music, religion, and piety in the 16th century. In general, oratorio is defined as a “setting for concert performance of a specially-prepared, generally substantial, spiritual, and non-liturgical text, the parts being divided among several solo and/or choral voices” [5. 741]. Subjects range from biblical episodes and fig…

1. Concept The Passion oratorio (or Passion cantata) is a subcategory of the musical genre of the oratorio, where the subject matter relates to the New Testament story of the Passion (literally, the suffering and death of Jesus). It therefore relates closely to the Passion play and musical Passion, to whose earlier traditions it is also indebted. It shares musical structures with the Passions of the 18th century (in which the text of the Gospel is accompanied by interludes of reflection…

1. Definition and development Cantorate in the early modern period primarily denoted the office of cantor as it gradually emerged as a structure within a municipal community during the Reformation in Lutheran regions of Germany, and to some extent in the Baltic, Scandinavia, and Slovakia. There was no equivalent Catholic office. The key responsibilities of the cantor were to provide musical and scholarly instruction at the local Latin school, for which his own academic studies were an important prec…

1. Catholic 1.1. Scope and meaningIn the Catholic context, public worship, specifically liturgy (Greek leitourgía, "congregational act of worship"; German Gottesdienst, "divine service"), is a general term referring to gatherings in which the Church performs rituals to commemorate salvation granted by God through Jesus Christ and offers him worship, thanks, and prayer. The Mass (re-enacting in sacramental form the death and resurrection of Christ) is the central focus and epitome of this practice. The term "ac…