Handel Society Choir & Orchestra - Israel in Egypt - Part I Contd. b
4 views · Published 26 March 2016 · 2:15 · Indexed 5 October 2026
Channel: LIMO Recording Studio · 2016 · Music
Israel in Egypt Israel in Egypt, HWV 54 is a biblical oratorio by George Frideric Handel, widely believed to be based on a text by C. Jennens (also the compiler of the Messiah text). Premiered in 1739, it recycles music for previous compositions and reworks melodies by other composers. The first version of the piece is in three parts rather than two, the first part more famous as The ways of Zion do mourn, with altered text as "The sons of Israel do mourn" lamenting the death of Joseph. This section precedes the Exodus, which in the tripartite version is Part II rather than Part I. George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music. He received critical musical training in Halle, Hamburg and Italy before settling in London (1712) and becoming a naturalised British subject in 1727. By then he was strongly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition. Within fifteen years, Handel, a dramatic genius, started three commercial opera companies, to supply the English nobility with Italian opera, but the public came to hear the vocal bravoura of the soloists rather than the music. In 1737 he had to deal with a physical breakdown, changed direction and adressed middle class. As Alexander's Feast (1736) was received well Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742) he never performed an Italian opera again. Handel was partly successful with his performances of English Oratorio on mythical or biblical themes, but when he arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital (1750) the critique ended. The pathos of Handel's oratorio is an ethical one, they are hallowed not by liturgical dignity but by the moral ideals of humanity. Almost blind, and having lived in England for almost fifty years, he died a respected and rich man.
