Oratorio refers to a lengthy compilation of pieces for solo, chorus and instrumentation. Perhaps a short oratorio could be likened to a Cantata. Have not heard a direct reference to "short oratorio" in my educational experiences. A "Cantata".
The poem set to music is called oratorio. A story set to music is called cantata.
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Libretto
Christmas Oratorio, Coffee Cantata, Double Violin Concerto in D Minor
Oratorio. The most famous oratorio is undoubtedly Handel's Messiah.
It could be any of the following: Opera, oratorio, cantata, scena, song, chorale, mass, passion, vespers, litany ... The list is not exhaustive!
Like the oratorio and opera, the cantata will have multiple short contrasting sections, or movements, like arias (solo singer), duets, and choruses. These are generally strung together with recitative (that operatic sing-talking) and almost always have a bunch of instruments accompanying them. Cantatas can be tough to spot in a crowd, being similar to the oratorio and the opera. Think of it like a continuum. Opera is the big monster of vocal music. High drama; complex; long. Then comes the oratorio - Opera's little brother. They tend to be shorter, don't have sets and staging, etc. Smaller than the oratorio is the cantata. Fewer performers and even shorter. If you go even smaller than the cantata - you hit the ballade. The cantata was hugely popular in Italy in the 1600's. So popular that many composers wrote them as their primary work. Most of these were secular (non-church-related) pieces. Right around 1700 Germany took hold of the form, and brought it to church. The German cantatas tended to be more dramatic and more complex than the earlier Italian ones. Most styles of music get larger and more complex over time, and the cantata is no exception. It does have a problem, though. If a cantata gets too long and complex - it runs smack into the oratorio. So the cantata and oratorio started to meld into each other in the mid to late 1700s.
An oratorio is a piece of music which is especially based on one or a series of incidents relating to a religion. Most of the oratorios were composed in Baroque period; Handel and J. S. Bach were among principal composers. An oratorio is a large scale work for orchestra and a vocal choir and some examples are Messiah (Handel) and Christmas Oratorio (Bach).
Cantata Performers are individuals that sing in a Cantata. A Cantata is basically a choir that sings music mostly from the Baroque period.
The best selling Christmas cantata is "This Day is Born Emmanuel - A Christmas Cantata". You can find other Christmas cantata on the Choral Music website.
oratorio