Oratorio credited with writing the first English language oratorio, "Esther". Handel's imitators included the Italian Lidarti who was employed by the Amsterdam Jewish community to compose a Hebrew version of "Esther". Britain continued to look to Germany for its composers of oratorio. The Birmingham Festival commissioned various oratorios including Felix Mendelssohn's "Elijah" in 1846, later performed in German as "Elias". German composer Georg Vierling is noted for modernizing the secular oratorio form. John Stainer's "The Crucifixion" (1887) became the stereotypical battlehorse of massed amateur choral societies. Edward Elgar tried to revive the genre around the turn of century with the composition
Paul Edwards (composer) was recorded on LP by Canterbury Cathedral Choir and subsequently heard in the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast on the BBC Television by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge in 2000. His music has been recorded on several CDs. Edwards finds inspiration for his compositions in the English countryside, in particular that of Norfolk. He also enjoys driving and photographing buses and coaches. Paul Edwards (composer) Paul Christison Edwards (born ) is an English organist and composer of music for the Anglican Church. Paul Edwards was brought up in the village of Turvey in Bedfordshire and educated at