List of oratorios

This is a chronological list of oratorios from the 16th century to the present.

In some cases only the date of composition is known.

In others, the oratorio has only been heard on a recording.

There is considerable overlap between the oratorio and the cantata, especially during the 19th century.

The works listed below are those that have most often been referred to as oratorios.

First page of the first part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio (1734)
A recently discovered portrait, inscribed by the artist as representing Charpentier, but dating circa 1750, [ 2 ] about 40 years after his death.
First edition of Vivaldi 's Juditha triumphans , the only one of his four oratorios to have survived
The final bars of the "Hallelujah" chorus, from Handel's Messiah , original manuscript
Manuscript score of Elgar 's The Dream of Gerontius , signed by Elgar and the performers of the premiere in 1900
The Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where John Adams 's El Niño premiered in 2000
Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, where Jörg Widmann 's Arche premiered in 2017