Hiérodrame [Gr. ἱερὀς, sacred and δρᾶμα, drama] is a French musical work for two or more voices,with a plot drawn from the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

. The term was generally used as a synonym for oratorio

Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

 in France in the 1750s-1780s. Scored for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, the hiérodrame was similar to the grand motet

Motet

In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...

 in its structure of solo airs and choruses; however, the texts were taken from newly-composed French poems, rather than Latin psalms

Psalms

The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...

.

French oratorios were performed at the Concert Spirituel

Concert Spirituel

The Concert Spirituel was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790; later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, London and elsewhere...

, rather than in church. Works that were performed at the Concert Spirituel and described as hiérodrames include Le sacrifice d'Abraham (1780, words by Voltaire

Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

, music by Cambini); Samson (1783, words by Voltaire, music by Valentin

Valentin

Valentin is a masculine given name. It comes from the Latin name Valentinus. Valentín is a Spanish form of Valentinus. Valentin or Valentín may refer to:*The Nazi Germany code name for the Valentin submarine pens*Valentín, a 2002 Argentine film...

), and Absalon (1786, words by Moline

Moline

- Places :In the United States:* Moline, Illinois the largest city of that name in the U.S.* Moline Township, Rock Island County, Illinois* Moline, Kansas* Moline, Michigan* Moline, Ohio- Other uses :* Moline-Knight, an early American automobile...

, music by Henri Montan Berton

Henri Montan Berton

Henri Montan Berton was a French composer, teacher, and writer, and the son of Pierre Montan Berton.-Career:...

).