The Canadian author RJ Anderson once said: "I have heard the universe as an oratorio sung by a master choir of stars, accompanied by the orchestra of the planets and the percussion of satellites and moons". The genre of the oratorio was established and popularized during the 17th century. This type of music is mainly known for its diverse use of orchestral style and various instruments. The oratorios were very similar to the operas, however they were primarily focused on presenting biblical and religious stories rather than romance or drama. As for earlier sacred music, oratorio featured a more emotional audience involvement through the use of monologues or duets. The presentation of religious stories in this style, rather than the prayer songs that had been seen previously in church history, made the religious messages easier for the congregation to follow. Furthermore, the style of oratory differed in its use of narrative, dialogue, and commentary. During the mid-17th century, the oratorio genre evolved to differentiate itself from earlier church musical traditions and was performed in a different setting and musical style, giving rise to new composers and compositions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Oratories were typically performed within a theater, just as an opera would be performed. However, unlike an opera, the oratorio had a much smaller cast and featured little acting. Voice actors would instead stand in one place and deliver their lines in the form of narration. In some cases the actors used monologues to express their emotions, while in other cases the narrator or sole performers expressed the thoughts and emotions of the main characters on stage. With this, oratorios were typically recitatives, arias, duets or instrumental preludes and refrains with narrative, dialogue and commentary combined. These vocal works, or Libretti, were often in Latin or Italian, and later in English. Many of these performances focused on religious issues and were described through the narrator and chorus rather than being directed. The speakers' purpose was to make the Bible stories easier for the audience to understand and keep them engaged during the show. To do this, composers would take creative license and modify the literal text of the Old and New Testaments by running phrases and dialogue during performance rather than reading them directly from the Bible. Many of the topics included the life of Jesus, creation stories, or other important biblical stories. In the early 17th century, many of the settings of these Latin biblical texts were very similar to motets with a strong narrative and dramatic emphasis with conversational exchanges between the actors. Towards the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century the oratories became secularised. For this reason, regular performances outside ecclesiastical halls, in courts and in public theaters became more widespread. One of the most revolutionary oratorio periods in the history of music was the Baroque period. This period is commonly known as “sacred work,” sharing similar characteristics to previous works but focusing on biblical content. Some of the musical characteristics of Baroque music included a figured bass, dissonance and chromaticism, a very metric and very free tempo. Through these characteristics, the music contained clear impulses throughout the songs. These characteristics were often represented in one of the most important musical forms, the Basso Continuo, which si.