ABSTRACT
The number of solo roles in the surviving oratorios varies from four to seven singers, with the majority of scores requiring two sopranos, an alto, tenor, and bass. A connection between Francesco Bartolomeo Conti oratorios and events related to the imperial realm has already been suggested for Il Gioseffo and Il martirio di S. Lorenzo. Oratorio performances, as reported in the Wienerisches Diarium, traditionally occurred within the framework of a Thursday afternoon Lenten service. Arias that exhibit dance-like qualities are commonly found in oratorios written for the court in Vienna, as Johann Josef Fux contribution to the genre demonstrates. The choral numbers which conclude the two parts of the oratorio open directly with a short homophonic section for the chorus which, in turn, functions as an introduction to the choral fugue. Conti’s ten extant oratorios reveal the work of a composer who took seriously the texts that he set to music.
