A historic concert

It could not be otherwise. As far as I know, there has never been a performance of an oratorio performed at the Oratory of St John’s Co-Cathedral dealing with the very subject depicted by Caravaggio in his masterpiece at the back of that historic space. Composer Stradella, who was also to come to a sticky end, composed his San Giovanni Battista in 1675. The piece is a setting of the final phase of the saint’s life, climaxing in the latter’s beheading. Just like in any oratorio, the action has to be imagined, hinted at by the music and the text. However, in this case the climactic moment was... This article is part of our premium content. Full story is available on Times of Malta Premium.