The Oratorio in Bologna 1650-1730

Following Victor Crowther's earlier study of the oratorio in Modena, his continuing research has led him to survey the oratorio form in the historic city of Bologna. Three hundred performances of oratorios were given in the salons, churches, and oratories of Bologna in the period 1659-1730. The author here offers the first critical survey of this huge and largely unknown repertory, describing in detail oratorios by composers such as Bononcini, Cazzati, Colonna, and Perti.