Handel’s Grand Oratorio: Israel in Egypt

The two genres which really made George Frideric Handel a rock star in 18th century London were Opera and Oratorio. The Operas, which assured his fame, were staged theatre events on secular and classical themes. The Oratorios, presented in concert without staging, were what occupied Handel during the season of Lent in which the performance of opera was proscribed. He wrote numerous of these large scale works mainly on Biblical subjects from the Hebrew Bible (a notable exception being, of course, MESSIAH.) After that most famous work, ISRAEL in EGYPT was one of the most popular works during his lifetime, presented more or less continually after writing it until his death. The work is extraordinary in that it contains an enormous number of choral movements, with relatively few arias for soloists, making it one of the most challenging and satisfying works for choruses to present, and captivating audiences to this day. It is a monumental pinnacle of the Oratorio genre, which retells the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of captivity in Pharoah’s Egypt, including the miracle of salvation at the parting of the Red Sea – the work’s climax. A tour de force for both chorus and orchestra, we are delighted to be presenting this performance on the Lane Series in the recital hall at UVM.

with soloists

Myriam Leblanc, soprano (Montreal)

Nicholas Burns, alto (Vancouver)

Ryan Matos, tenor (Burlington)

Aldeo Jean, tenor (Montreal)

Sumner Thompson, baritone (Boston)
William Kraushaar, bass (Montreal)

THE BURLINGTON BAROQUE FESTIVAL SINGERS