=Oratorio in Italy after Carissimi=.—After the beginning made by Carissimi, the next work of importance in Oratorio is that of =Alessandro Scarlatti=, who established the Aria form as explained in the study of the Opera. The composers of the Italian school of the last part of the 17th and the early part of the 18th century used practically the same methods in Opera and Oratorio, the difference being mainly in the character of the text, and in the earnestness or religious feeling of the composer. Scarlatti is also signalized by his improvements in the Recitative, which resulted in several forms made use of by his successors, _Recitativo Secco_ and Accompanied Recitative. He wrote ten oratorios. Contemporaries whose work should be mentioned are =Antonio Caldara= (1678-1763) and =Leonardo Leo= (1694-1746), a pupil of Scarlatti, who wrote nearly a hundred works for the church, the chief one being the oratorio, _Santa Elena al Calvario_ and a _Miserere_ for a double choir. He was strong in his writing for chorus, making splendid use of the fugal style. Another contemporary of the first rank was =Alessandro Stradella= (1645-1681), whose oratorio, _San Giovanni Battista_ (St. John the Baptist) is a most beautiful work. It contains a free treatment of the accompanying instruments, the arias are clear and well-designed, the chorus writing for five parts is effective as well as ingenious, and the work as a whole shows considerable power of dramatic expression, forming a sort of transition between Scarlatti and Handel. Stradella is said to have been a pupil of Carissimi.