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
Leo Edwards (composer) opera "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin. Leo Edwards (composer) Leo Edwards (21 February 1886 – 12 July 1978) was a Broadway composer. He was the brother of Gus Edwards, who was also a Broadway composer. Edwards was born Leo Simon in the German Empire. He appeared in vaudeville and worked for music publishing firms as a staff writer. His Broadway credits include "The Wizard of Oz", "The Blue Paradise", and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1921 and 1923. Edwards co-wrote the popular song "My Fantasy" with Paul Whiteman and Jack Meskill, which is an adaptation of