La Resurrezione was the first sacred Oratorio* by Handel, composed in Rome in 1708, on the occasion of an arranged joust between Alessandro Scarlatti and him. Romans were very impressed. So am I.

* different from the Oratorios destined for the religious office by J. S. Bach , it appears to be lyric works for the theatre, of which the story is taken from the Holy Scriptures, and which can be distinguished from the opera by the important presence of the choir and by the lack of scenic action.