A Proposed Continuum of Musical Development:
From Monastic Drama to the Oratorio

THIS EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE

Elizabeth Dyer
Photo: Lisa Peperkorn.

Wednesday 18th June, 2008
Dept. of Music, University of York

Fuller report to follow shortly

The advent of the oratorio in Italy in the mid-seventeenth century was preceded by a surge of sacred dramatic music in the colleges and seminaries of the Benedictine, Augustinian, and Jesuit orders. Many of the composers of the music for monastic drama also composed oratorios; many of the early oratorio composers were also Jesuits. Thus it is perhaps not surprising that a musical development continuum from monastic drama to oratorio can be demonstrated. It is now possible to validate this proposed continuum of development because of new research in monastic drama reuniting performance programs with musical scores.

Previously, scholars of the oratorio genre, many of whom were unaware of the extent or even existence of monastic drama, labelled musical works from monastic dramas variously as sacred madrigals, motets, Latin oratorios, sacred opera, or a host of lesser-known sacred music sub-genres. Now, for the first time, a collection of musical works known to have been performed in monastic colleges and seminaries has been identified and analysed. When presented on the continuum, will monastic drama prove sufficiently different so as to be a distinct genre? Or will monastic drama be revealed as merely a pre-oratorio subset?

Elizabeth Dyer was a recipient of an STR Research Award this year, for a project on a documented performance of Daphis, a rare 18th Century Jesuit drama, and she is presented this informal talk on a portion of her project at the University of York.