ine." He gave to the
oratorio more breadth, boldness, and dignity of style, improved the form
of the aria, made the accompanied recitative more dramatic, and developed
the treatment of several instruments, among them the trumpet, whose real
beauty and effect he was the first to bring out. Mazzocchi is chiefly
known by his oratorio, "Querimonia," produced in Rome in 1631, which is
said to have drawn tears from all who heard it. Federici wrote two
oratorios, "Santa Cristina," and "Santa Caterina de Sienna," in both of
which "interstitial" accompaniment is used for the first time; that is,
the violins, instead of accompanying the voice, repeat portions of the
melody in short symphonies. Pistocchi was one of the most prominent
stage-singers of his time, and established a school of singing at
Bologna. His most famous oratorio is entitled "Maria Vergine addolerata,"
and is without overture or chorus. Burney notes that in the close of this
work degrees of diminution of sound, such as "piano," "piu piano," and
"pianissimo," are used for the first time. Caldara wrote a large number
of oratorios, mostly adapted to the poetry of Zeno and Metastasio, which
are said to have been delightful productions. Colonna, who was a
contemporary of Stradella, but not so famous, has left one oratorio, "St.
Basil," which is highly praised. Bononcini also, who afterwards became a
rival of Handel in England, wrote several oratorios before he went to
that country, the best of which is entitled "San Girolamo della Carita."

The conclusion of this period brings us to the second stage in the
evolution of the oratorio; namely, the passion-music, which may be
regarded as the connecting link between the earlier form as developed by
the Italian composers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the
oratorio as it appeared after it had felt the mighty influence of Handel.
The passion-music was the direct outgrowth of the passion-play. It
portrayed the passion of Christ. Its earliest forms are found in the
"Passio secundum Matthaeum" by Stephani, a Nuremberg composer who
flourished in the sixteenth century; in a hymn-book published in 1573 by
Keuchental; and in Selenica's hymn-book, which appeared in 1587. Heinrich
Schuetz, however, was the first to establish the passion-music in genuine
oratorio form. He was born in 1585, and died in 1672. The pupil of an
Italian master, the famous Gabrielli of Venice, he retained the Italian
forms, but added to them