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 Keenan (composer) Paul Keenan (composer) Paul Keenan (1 August 1956 – 26 June 2001) was a British 20th Century contemporary classical composer. His body of composition spans 27 years, though consistently explores his fascination with both Anglo-Saxon texts (from "The Exeter Book") and the natural world. Keenan was born in Birmingham where he attended St Philip's Grammar School. He went on to study composition with Anthony Gilbert at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 1999 he was awarded a PhD in Composition from the University of Edinburgh, supervised by Nigel Osborne and Peter Nelson. Keenan also studied privately with Bill Hopkins.