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
Rob Gardner (composer) television composition program. Among the oratorios by Gardner are "He is Jesus Christ", "Joseph Smith the Prophet", "Saints and Pioneers" and "Lamb of God". He composed and conducted the production of the YouTube video "Manger of Bethlehem". He also has composed the musicals, "Blackbeard" and "The Price of Freedom" (with Mckane Davis). Gardner is also a co-founder and president of the nonprofit organization Spire Music. He also helped found the group Cinematic Pop. Rob Gardner (composer) Rob Gardner (born 1978) is an American Latter-day Saint composer of primarily oratorios. One of his most widely performed works is his oratorio "Lamb