Maulbronn Monastery Edition - G.F.Handel: Oratory Judas Maccabaeus - 2 CDs

<body> <div align="center"> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="S20JudasMaccab.html" target="_parent"><img src="../../Images/COVERJUDAS.jpg" alt="SCROLL FOR INFORMATION" align="BOTTOM" border="0"></a></p>   <p></p> <p></p> <p></p>   <p></p> <table class="tabelletitel" width="60%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"> <p class="bodyblueheadline"><font size="4">George Frideric Handel: </font><font size="6">Judas Maccabaeus<b> - </b></font><font size="4">English Oratorio in three acts </font>performed according to the traditions<br> of the time by Sinéad Pratschke ~ Soprano, Catherine King ~ Mezzo-Soprano, Charles Humphries ~ Countertenor, Mark Le Brocq ~ Tenor, Christopher Purves ~ Bass, Maulbronn Chamber Choir, Musica Florea Prague (on period instruments). Conductor: Jürgen Budday.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter">A concert recording from the UNESCO monument Monastery Maulbronn - 2-CD-Box, DDD, ca. 150 min., KuK 71, ISBN 3-930643-71-5</p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br>   <p></p>   <p></p> <table class="tabelletect" width="660" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p class="bodyblueheadline"><font size="5">Performance & Opus</font></p> <p class="Inhalt"><font size="6">T</font>his recording is part of a cycle of oratorios and masses, performed at Maulbronn monastery over the past years. The series combines authentically performed baroque oratorios with the optimal acoustics and atmosphere of this unique monastic church. This ideal location demands the transparency of playing and the interpretive unveiling of the rhetoric intimations of the composition, which is especially aided by the historically informed performance. The music is exclusively performed on reconstructed historical instruments, which are tuned to the pitch customary in the composers lifetime (a = 415 Hz).</p> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p>  <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p></p> <table class="tabelletect" width="660" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p class="bodyblueheadline"><font size="5">Artists</font></p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Sinéad Pratschke ~ Soprano<br> </b>Sinéad Pratschke studied at the University of Western Ontario (B.Mus.), the Royal College of Music (M.Mus.) and the National Opera Studio of Great Britain. Summer courses have taken her to Tanglewood, USA, Banff, Canada, and the Britten-Pears School at Aldeburgh where she has worked with Graham Johnson, Elly Ameling, Suzanne Danco and Hugues Cuénod as well as Sergei Leiferkus, Martin Isepp and Phyllis Curtin among others.<br> Operatic roles include Zélinde La Guirlande for Musikfestspiele Sanssouci, Berlin, Musetta La Boheme for Scottish Opera, creating the title role in Gwyneth and the Green Knight for Music Theatre Wales at the Royal Opera House, Tytania A Midsummer Night's Dream on tour in The Netherlands, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Thérèse in Les Mamelles de Tirésias for Pimlico Opera, The Dragon of Wantley (Margery) with Opera Restor'd at the Palau de la Musica, Barcelona, The Magic Flute (Pamina ) for Central Festival Opera and in concert at the Barbican Centre, London, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Snape Maltings Proms and Opera Ontario, Candada, Orfeo ed Euridice (Euridice) for Opera Spezzata, Acis and Galatea (Galatea) for European Chamber Opera, Dorinda in Handel's Orlando for New Chamber Opera as well as Bastienne Bastien et Bastienne in a double bill alongside Haydn's L'Isola dishabitata for English Pocket Opera Company.<br> Concert engagements have included Apollo e Dafne (Dafne) with Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, J. S. Bach's Magnificat at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Judas Maccabaeus and Samson at the Maulbronn Handel Festival, Germany, Messiah with Le Parlement de Musique in Rennes, France, the Mozart Mass in C Minor at the Arlesheim Mozart Festival, Switzerland and the opening of the Guelph Civic Center in Canada. Recital appearances have included the Aldeburgh Festival and the Songmakers Almanac with Graham Johnson at St. John's, Smith Square. Her recordings include Judas Maccabaeus, Samson and Rodrigo's Ausencias de Dulcinea with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for EMI. Her numerous awards include grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. She is also teaches for the University of Guelph.</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Catherine King ~ Mezzo-Soprano</b><br> The English mezzo-soprano, Catherine King, began her vocal studies as a choral scholar at Trinity College Cambridge followed by a period at the Guildhall in London, and later study with Josephine Veasey. Catherine King regularly performs music covering a vast period from the present day back to the 11th century, and in many languages (often with period pronunciation). She has performed with many of the UK's leading ensembles and orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Taverner Consort, Northern Sinfonia, the Nash Ensemble, the Gabrieli Consort and Players, Gothic Voices, London Baroque, Fretwork, Singcircle, the New London Consort, Florilegium and The Academy of Ancient Music. She also makes regular appearances in Brirish and European festivals, including at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester, Edinburgh International Festival, the Lufthansa Festival at St John's Smith Square and the Bruges Early Music Festival, Belgium. Recent appearances (2001) include Prague, Hamburg, Paris, the USA, live BBC broadcasts from the Wigmore Hall and St John's, Smith Square. Well known as a versatile early music specialist, Catherine King's duo with lutenist Jacob Heringman and the group Virelai seek to bring life to long forgotten music, performing it with a freshness which belies the years since its writing. Catherine King frequently performs from the full range of great oratorios throughout the country. As well as works by Händel, Bach and Mozart, she has sung larger scale pieces such as Elgar's Music Makers and Verdi's Requiem. She has recently performed and recorded Händel's Judas Maccabaeus in Germany, Bach arias in Oslo and Lyon, given several performances of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius in Britain, and a series of lute song recitals in the USA. She has also recorded and premiered songs written for her by a number of composers, most recently at the Spitalfields Festival in London with a commission by Andrew Keeling. Opera performances include Mercedes (Carmen) and Diane (Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie), the latter under William Christie. In December 2002 performerd Messiah with Robert King and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway. Contemporary performances include new works in London Spitalfields Festival with Sing Circle, Tippett's Crown of The Year with the Nash Ensemble, as well as premieres of specially commissioned songs performed in the USA , and on radio and CD. Recordings include recitals for Radio Three and on CD with her duo partner lutenist Jacob Heringman, pianist Wayne Marshall, and with leading early music ensembles, including GothicVoices, Fretwork, London Baroque, the New London Consort, the Consort of Musicke and the Taverner Consort. The many CDs she has released during the past five years include the award winning 'Airs de cour' CD for Linn Records, lute songs by Mudarra and Milán (ASV), 20th century songs by Barber and a recording of music by Hildegard of Bingen and Jean Catoire (Virgin Classics). Recent recording project have included Bach Mezzo Arias, for Linn Records, and a disc of songs by Verdelot to coincide with concerts at the Wigmore Hall, London.</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Charles Humphries ~ Countertenor </b><br> Charles Humphries studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Charles Brett, Michael Chance and James Bowman, and continues his studies with Paul Farrington. He appears regularly as a soloist, not only alongside the recognized baroque ensembles of Britain, but also in his own right throughout the UK and Europe. These appearances include venues such as the Barbican Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels as well as the cities of Copenhagen, Oslo, Prague and Warsaw. Conductors that he has worked for as a soloist include Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Hickox, Robert King, Paul McCreesh, Nicholas McGegan and James O'Donnell. Operatic engagements have included Delfa Giasone (Cavalli) at the Megaron, Athens, the title-role in Pompeo Magno (Cavalli) at the Varazdin Festival of Baroque Music, Croatia, Lichas Hercules at the Hans-Otto Theater, Potsdam, the title-role in Lucio Silla at the Handel Festival, Karlsruhe, the title-role in Tamerlano for the Britten-Pears School and The Sorceress Dido and Aeneas for the King's Consort. Recent concert highlights have included the Chichester Psalms with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Hamor Jephtha at the Lufthansa Baroque Festival, televised performances of Judas Maccabaeus in Slovenia, Messiah with the Ulster Orchestra under Nicholas Kraemer, Monteverdi Vespers 1610 at the BBC Proms, Pergolesi Stabat Mater with the Northern Chamber Orchestra and a recital at the Halle Festival with Trevor Pinnock. Charles Humphries recently sang Tolomeo Giulio Cesare for the Norwegian National Opera. His recordings include Jephtha and Judas Maccabaeus (K&K Verlagsanstalt), Messiah (Capriccio) and Vivaldi Cantatas (ASV).</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Mark Le Brocq ~ Tenor<br> </b><b><i><img class="artistthumbs" src="../../Images/Artists/Marc_LeBrocq.jpg" alt="Mark LeBrocq - Tenor (Belshazzar, Arioch)" height="221" width="300" align="RIGHT"></i></b>Mark Le Brocq held a choral scholarship at St Catherine's College, Cambridge where he read English. He won several prizes and awards at the Royal Academy of Music including the Blyth Buesset Opera Prize, the Royal Academy of Music Club Prize and the Worshipful Company of Musicians' Medal. He was formerly a company principal with the English National Opera. Over the years, the tenor has worked together with many important directors, including David Alden, David Poutney, Jonathan Miller, Niklaus Lehnhoff, Graham Vick and David Freeman. He performed regularly with the Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh. He sang with Monserat Caballé and Dennis O'Neill in Verdi Opera Galas in Bath, the Mozart and the Verdi Requiems in the Barbican Centre, London and the Mozart Requiem with The English Concert under Trevor Pinnock in Salzburg.</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Christopher Purves ~ Bass<br> </b>Christopher Purves received vocal instruction from David Keren and Diane Forlano. He made his solo debut at the 1988 Aix-en-Provence Festival, appearing in a Mozart program with "The Sixteen" ensemble under the direction of Harry Christophers. He has appeared as soloist in numerous operas (including works by Mozart and Monteverdi) and major Handel oratorios. He has made an earlier appearance in Maulbronn in a production of Judas Maccabaeus. His concert engagements have taken him to major concert halls throughout the world in the company of such ensembles and conductors as The Sixteen, Philippe Herreweghe, Richard Hickox, the Gabrieli Consort Covent Garden, John Taverner and the Academy of Ancient Music.</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Maulbronn Chamber Choir (Maulbronner Kammerchor) </b><br> The Maulbronn Chamber Choir was founded by its director, Jürgen Budday, in 1983 and is one of the top choirs in Germany today. In addition to learning a baroque oratorio, the ensemble compiles a sacred and secular a-cappella programme every year, its focal point being 19th and 20th century literature. First prize at the Baden Württemberg Choir Competition in 1989 and 1997, second prize at the Third German Choir Competition in Stuttgart in 1990, and a victory at the Fifth German Choir Competition in Regensburg in 1998 document the chamber choir's extraordinary musical standard. The Maulbronn Chamber Choir has received, among others, invitations to the Ettlingen Palace Festival, the chamber music series of the Dresden Philharmonic, the cloister concerts at the Walkenried convent, the First International Festival of Sacred Music in Rottenburg, and the European Music Festival in Passau. The choir has also made a name for itself internationally. The 1983 debut tour through the USA with concerts in, among others, New York and Indianapolis, and the participation in the Festival of Music in New Harmony, Indiana, as well as concert tours through numerous European countries, Israel, Argentina (1993 and 1997), South Africa, and Namibia (2001) were all greeted with similar enthusiasm by the public and critics alike. The third tour through South America followed in autumn 2003 with concerts in Argentina and Uruguay.</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Musica Florea Prague </b>(on period instruments)<br> The Musica Florea ensemble was established in 1992 by a group of young professionals who united their common interest in the study and authentic performance of Baroque music on period instruments. The ensemble very soon achieved their first major successes under the guidance of violoncellist and conductor Marek tryncl. The first of these included a performance of Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis by Jan Dismas Zelenka at the Prague Spring International Music Festival in 1995. They were also presented with the highest award for their very first CD recording of the same Mass in the prestigious French music magazine Diapason in April of that year. The ensemble was subsequently invited to perform at several of the most important festivals in the Czech Republic including Prague Spring 1995, St. Wenceslas Festival 1995, Ceský Krumlov International Music Festival 1996, Festival Concentus Moraviae 1996, 1997 (2000), The Strings of Autumn Festival 1996, 1997, 1998, Musica Ecumenica 1998, and regularly to the Valtice Castle Baroque Summer. The ensemble has also performed at numerous foreign music festivals including Stary Sacz in Poland; Tours, Alencon, Le Mans, and Flers in France; Pro Musica Antiqua Bremen 1997 in Germany; the Central European Festival of Concert Art 1998 and Musica Nobilis 1998 in Slovakia; the 1998 Breice Early Music Festival in Slovenia; the 1998 French Institute Early Music Festival and the 1999 Sopron Early Music Days in Hungary; and Europalia 98 in Belgium. Commissioned by several international festivals for the 1997/98 season, they performed various larger works: J. S. Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243) at the Festival Concentus Moraviae 1997, M. A. Charpentier's Te Deum at the Valtice Festival 1997, and Henry Purcell's The History of Diocletian with the Ensemble Philidor and Les Musiciens du Paradis in France. In September 1998, Musica Florea invited the Slovakian Baroque music orchestra Musica Aeterna and the French Ensemble Philidor to perform a celebration concert together as a large 18th-century Baroque orchestra to present the major orchestra works by J. D. Zelenka at the opening concert of The Strings of Autumn 98 Festival in the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle. December 1998 was devoted to a broad presentation of Czech Republic culture in the very center of Europe, Brussels, where Musica Florea performed at the prestigious Europalia 98 Festival with great success. Mr. Hadelin Donnet, General Music Program Director of Europalia 98 for Czech Radio 3, Vltava, observed,  it was a very challenging pleasure to hear that in the Czech Republic Baroque music is performed on such a high standard, comparable with all the top ensembles of Europe. Listening to the Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis of Czech Jan Dismas Zelenka performed by Musica Florea was unforgettable musical experience completing the musical program of Europalia 98. In 1994, Musica Florea began a series of unique recording sessions for Studio Matou of works by P. J. Vejvanovsky, J. H. Schmelzer, H. I. F. Biber, Ph. J. Rittler, and other composers from the Kromeriz archives. Musica Florea's magnificent performances with Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Koená earned the ensemble their latest recording success, accompanying arias taken from cantatas and oratorios by J. S. Bach. The recording of these, published under the Archiv Production label of the world-renowned Polygram-Deutsche Grammophon company, won the Golden Harmony Award for best Czech CD recording of 1997. Great success at Slovenia's 1998 Breice Early Music Festival opened further commissioned cooperation with Slovene Radio Broadcasting in 1999. During the 1999/2000 season, the ensemble performed the music for the Baroque opera Castor et Pollux by J. Ph. Rameau at the Estates Theater of the National Theater Opera in Prague. This was the first performance of a Baroque opera in the modern history of Czech music realized in the period style on period instruments and with period ballet sections, costumes, and scenery, and lighting. During the following two seasons, the ensemble enjoyed some very interesting tours abroad. As a part of the unique Bach 2000 project of the Melbourne International Festival of Arts, Musica Florea along with fifteen other outstanding ensembles of the world performed almost all the cantatas, Masses, and oratorios of J. S. Bach. Later they also toured Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary. For Prague's City of Culture 2000 program, the ensemble prepared a unique historical scenic performance of the coronation oratorio Sub Olea Pacis et Palma Virtutis by J. D. Zelenka, which also opened the Europa Musicale festivals in Germany and the Czech Republic; further special performances of the oratorio were booked for Hungary, Poland, and other venues in Germany. Presenting a broad palette of Baroque music programs reflecting the works of Central European masters of the époque, the ensemble also toured Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary. For the 2000/2001 season, Musica Florea prepared new recording sessions for the Supraphon Recording Company (Czech Republic) and Pure Classics (Germany,) as well as a special live recording for the European Broadcasting Union in March 2000 with Magdalena Koená. In 1997 Czech TV filmed a documentary about the ensemble, Who is Marek tryncl and Musica Florea?, and in 1998 they performed in a documentary dedicated to P. J. Vejvanovský and in the artistic documentary The Last Day in Bohemia about J. Haydn. The ensemble appears live on Czech television and radio as well, and the members of Musica Florea are much sought-after as guest performers at concerts both in the Czech Republic and abroad.</p> <p class="Inhalt"><b>Jürgen Budday ~ Conductor<i><br> </i></b><b><img class="artistthumbs" src="../../Images/Artists/Juergen_Budday.jpg" alt="Jürgen Budday (Conductor)" height="217" width="300" align="LEFT"></b>Jürgen Budday is director of church music and artistic director of the concert series at the monastery of Maulbronn, of the cantor choir and of the Maulbronn Chamber Choir. He studied music education, church music and musicology at the Academy of Music in Stuttgart and, since 1979, has taught at the Evangelic Theology Seminar in Maulbronn. For his teaching and artistic activity, he has received many awards, including the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande (German Cross of Merit) and the Bruno-Frey Prize from the State Academy, Ochsenhausen. Since 2002, Jürgen Budday has also held the chair of the choral committee of the German Music Council. Several concert recordings have been made under his artistic direction. They have often received international recognition and high praise from critics. These have included the Handel oratorios Jephtha, Samson, Judas Maccabaeus and Saul with Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Nancy Argenta and Stephen Varcoe.</p> </td> </tr> </table>   <p><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </p> <table class="tabelletect" width="660" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b><i>"The upbeat in the CD edition is a drum beat... </i></b><i><br> the technical sounding, outstandingly successful recording supplies the discography of the work with an interesting and worth listening to variant on the recordings by Harnoncourt, Gardiner, Marriner and Creed."</i></p> <p class="InhaltRight" align="RIGHT"><i>(Dr. Karl-Georg Berg, DIE RHEINPFALZ)</i></p> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p>   <p></p> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p></p> <table class="tabelletect" width="660" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p class="bodyblue"><font size="5">Tracklist</font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><font size="4">CD 1</font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter">1. Overture<br> <b>Act I<br> </b>2. Mourn, Ye Afflicted Children (Chorus)<br> 3. Well May Your Sorrows (Recitative)<br> 4. From This Dread Scene (Aria)<br> 5. For Sion Lamentation Make (Chorus)<br> 6. Not Vain Is All This Storm Of Grief (Recitative)<br> 7. Pious Orgies, Pious Airs (Aria)<br> 8. Oh, Father, Whose Almighty Pow'r (Chorus)<br> 9. I Feel The Deity Within (Recitative)<br> 10. Arm, Arm, Ye Brave (Aria and Chorus)<br> 11. 'Tis Well, My Friends (Recitative)<br> 12. Call Forth Thy Pow'rs, My Soul (Aria)<br> 13. To Heav'n's Almighty King (Recitative)<br> 14. O Liberty, Thou Choicest Treasure (Aria)<br> 15. Come, Ever Smiling Liberty (Aria)<br> 16. 'Tis Liberty, Dear Liberty Alone (Aria)<br> 17. Come, Ever Smiling Liberty (Duet)<br> 18. Lead On, Lead On (Chorus)<br> 19. So Will'd My Father (Recitative)<br> 20 Disdainful Of Danger (Semi-Chorus)<br> 21. Ambition, If E'er Honour (Recitative)<br> 22. No, No Unhallow'd Desire (Aria)<br> 23. Haste We, My Brethren (Recitative)<br> 24. Hear Us, O Lord (Chorus)<br> <b>Act II</b><br> 25. Fall'n Is The Foe (Chorus)<br> 26. So Rapid Thy Course Is (Air)<br> 27. Well May We Hope (Recitative)<br> 28. Sion Now Her Head Shall Raise (Duet)<br> 29. Tune Your Harps (Chorus)<br> 30. Oh Let Eternal Honours (Recitative)<br> 31. From Mighty Kings (Aria)<br> 32. Hail, Judea, Happy Land (Duet & Chorus)<br> 33. Thanks To My Brethren (Recitative)</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><font size="4">CD 2</font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter">1. How Vain Is Man (Aria)<br> 2. O Judas, O My Brethren (Recitative)<br> 3. Ah! Wretched Israel (Aria and Chorus)<br> 4. Be Comforted (Recitative)<br> 5. The Lord Worketh Wonders (Aria)<br> 6. My Arms! Against This Gorgias (Recitative)<br> 7. Sound An Alarm (Aria and Chorus)<br> 8. With Pious Hearts (Aria)<br> 9. Ye Worshippers Of God (Recitative)<br> 10. Wise Man, Flatt'ring (Aria)<br> 11. Oh! Never Never Bow We Down (Duet and Chorus)<br> <b>Act III<br> </b>12. Father Of Heaven (Aria)<br> 13. See, See Yon Flames (Accompagnato)<br> 14. Oh Grant It, Heav'n (Recitative)<br> 15. So Shall The Lute And Harp Awake (Aria)<br> 16. From Capharsalama (Recitative)<br> 17. See The Conqu'ring Hero Comes (March and Chorus)<br> 18. Sing Unto God (Chorus)<br> 19. Sweet Flow The Strains (Recitative)<br> 20. With Honour Let Desert Be Crown'd (Aria)<br> 21. Peace To My Countrymen (Recitative)<br> 22. To Our Great God (Chorus)<br> 23. O Lovely Peace (Aria)<br> 24. Rejoice, Oh Judah (Aria)<br> 25. Hallelujah (Chorus)</p> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p> <p><br> <br> <br> <br> </p> <p><a name="libretto"></a></p> <p><br> <br> <br> <br> </p> <p></p> <table class="tabelletect" width="660" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p class="bodyblue"><font size="5">Libretto</font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <b><font size="5">CD I</font></b></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <b>Georg Friedrich Händel:<br> JUDAS MACCABÄUS</b></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <b>1. OVERTURE<br> </b>(keine Tempoangabe) - Allegro - Lentement - Allegro</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <font size="5">Act I</font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <i>Israelitische Männer und Frauen wehklagen über den Tod von Mattahias,<br> Vater des Judas Maccabäus.</i></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>2. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Mourn, ye afflicted children, the remains<br> of captive Judah, mourn in solemn strains; your sanguine hopes of liberty give over;<br> your hero, friend, and father is no more.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>3. RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>Well may your sorrows, brethren, flow in all the expressive signs of woe: Your softer garments tear, and squalid sackcloth wear, your drooping heads with ashes strew, and with the flowing tear your cheeks bedew.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>RECITATIVE Israealitish woman<br> </b>Daughters, let your distressful cries and loud lament ascend the skies; your tender bosoms beat, and tear, with hands remorseless, your dishevelled hair; for pale and breathless, Mattathias lies, sad emblem of his country's miseries!</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>4. DUETT Israelitish man and woman<br> </b>From this dread scene, these adverse powers. Ah! whither shall we fly? Oh Solyma! thy boasted towers in smoky ruins lie.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>5. CHORUS Israelites</b><br> For Sion lamentation make, with words that weep, and tears that speak.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>6. RECITATIVE Simon<br> </b>Not vain is all this storm of grief; to vent our sorrows, gives relief. Wretched indeed! But let not Judah's race their ruin, with desponding arms embrace. Distractful doubt and desperation ill become the chosen nation. Chosen by the great I AM, the Lord of Hosts, who, still the same, we trust, will give attentive ear to the sincerity of prayer.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>7. AIR Israelitish man<br> </b>Pious orgies, pious airs, decent sorrow, decent prayers, will to the Lord ascend, and move his pity, and regain his love.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>8. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Oh Father,whose Almighty power the heavens, and earth and seas adore; the hearts of Judah, thy delight, in one defensive band unite. And grant a leader bold, and brave, if not to conquer, born to save.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>9. ACCOMPANIED RECITATIVE Simon<br> </b>I feel, I feel the Deity within, who, the bright Cherubim between, his radiant glory erst displayed; To Isreal's distressful prayer he hath vouchsafed a gracious ear, and points out Maccabaeus to their aid:<br> Judas shall set the captive free, and lead us to the victory.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>10. AIR Simon<br> </b>Arm, arm, ye brave! a noble cause, the cause of Heaven your zeal demands. In defence of your nation, religion, and laws, the Almighty Jehovah will streng-then your hands.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>We come, we come, in bright array, Judah, thy sceptre to obey.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>11. RECITATIVE Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>'Tis well, my friends; with transport I behold the spirit of our fathers, famed of old for their exploits in war. Oh, may their fire with active courage you, their sons, inspire: As when the mighty Joshua fought, and those amazing wonders wrought, stood still, obedient to his voice, the sun, till kings he had destroyed, and kingdoms won.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>12. AIR Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>Call forth thy powers, my soul, and dare the conflict of unequal war. Great is the glory of the conquering sword, that triumphs in sweet liberty restored. Call forth thy powers, my soul, and dare the conflict of unequal war.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>13. RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>To Heaven's Almighty King we kneel,<br> for blessings on this exemplary zeal. Bless him, Jehovah, bless him, and once more to thy own Israel liberty restore.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>14. AIR Israelitish man<br> </b>Oh liberty, thou choicest treasure, seat of virtue, source of pleasure! Life, without thee, knows no blessing, no endearment worth caressing.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>15. AIR Israelitish woman<br> </b>Come, ever-smiling liberty, and with thee bring thy jocund train. For thee we pant, and sigh for thee, with whom eternal pleasures reign.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>16. AIR<br> </b>'Tis liberty, dear liberty alone, that gives fresh beauty to the sun; that bids all nature look more gay, and lovely life with pleasure steal away.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>17. DUET Israelitish woman and man<br> </b>Come, ever-smiling liberty, and with thee bring thy jocund train. For thee we pant, and sigh for thee, with whom eternal pleasures reign.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>18. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Lead on, lead on! Judah disdains the galling load of hostile chains.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>19. RECITATIVE Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>So willed my father, now at rest in the eternal mansions of the blest: "Can ye behold", said he, "the miseries, in which the long-insulted Judah lies? Can ye behold their dire distress, and not, at least, attempt redress?" Then , faintly, with expiring breath, "Resolve, my sons, on liberty or death!" We come! oh see, thy sons prepare the rough habiliments of war; with hearts intrepid, and revengeful hands, to execute, oh sire, thy dread commands.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>20. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Disdainful of danger, we'll rush on the foe, that Thy power, oh Jehovah, all nations may know.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>21. RECITATIVE Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>Ambition! If ever honour was thine aim, challenge it here: The glorious cause gives sanction to thy claim.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>22. AIR<br> </b>No unhallowed desire our beasts shall inspire, nor lust of unbounded power! But peace to obtain: Free peace let us gain, and conquest shall ask no more.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>23. RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>Haste we, my brethren, haste we to the field, dependant on the Lord, our strength and shield.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>24. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Hear us, oh Lord, on Thee we call, resolved on conquest, or a glorious fall.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <font size="5">Act II</font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <b>25. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Fallen is the foe; so fall Thy foes, oh Lord! Where warlike Judas wields his righteous sword.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>RECITATIVE Israelitish man</b><br> Victorious hero! Fame shall tell, with her last breath, how Apollonius fell, and all Samaria fled, by thee pursued through hills of carnage and a sea of blood; while thy resistless prowess dealt around, with their own leader's sword, the deathful wound. Thus, too, the haughty Seron, Syria's boast, before thee fell, with his unnumbered host.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>26. AIR<br> </b>So rapid thy course is, not numberless forces withstand thy all-conquering sword. Though nations surround thee, no power shall confound thee,till freedom again be restored.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>27. RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>Well may we hope our freedom to receive, such sweet transporting joys thy actions give.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>28. DUET Israelitish woman and man<br> </b>Sion now her head shall raise, tune your harps to songs of praise.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>29. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Tune your harps to songs of praise, Sion now her head shall raise.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>30. RECITATIVE Israelitish woman<br> </b>Oh let eternal honours crown his name; Judas! first worthy in the rolls of fame. Say, "He put on the breast-plate as a giant, and girt his warlike harness about him; in his acts he was like a lion, and like a lion's whelp roaring for his prey."</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>31. AIR Israelitish woman<br> </b>From mighty kings he took the spoil, and with his acts made Judah smile. Judah rejoiceth in his name, and triumphs in her hero's fame.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>32. DUET Israelitish man and woman & Chorus<br> </b>Hail, hail, Judea, happy land!<br> Salvation prospers in his hand.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>33. RECITATIVE Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>Thanks to my brethren; but look up to Heaven; to Heaven let glory and all praise be given; to Heaven give your applause, nor add the second cause, as once your fathers did in Midian, saying, "The sword of God and Gideon". It was the Lord that for his Israel fought, and this our wonderful salvation wrought.</p> </td> </tr> </table> <p><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </p> <table class="tabelletect" width="660" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p class="bodyblue"><b><font size="5">CD II</font></b></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <b>Georg Friedrich Händel:<br> JUDAS MACCABÄUS</b></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <b>1. AIR Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>How vain is man, who boasts in fight the valour of gigantic might! And dreams not that a hand unseen directs and guides this weak machine.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>2. RECITATIVE Messenger<br> </b>Oh Judas! oh my brethren! New scenes of bloody war in all their horrors rise. Prepare, prepare, or soon we fall a sacrifice to great Antiochus; from the Egyptian coast, (where Ptolemy hath Memphis and Pelusium lost) he sends the valiant Gorgias, and commands his proud, victorious bands to root out Isreal's strength, and to erase every memorial of the sacred place.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>3. AIR Israelitish man<br> </b>Ah! wretched Israel! fallen, how low, from joyous transport to desponding woe.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Ah! wretched Israel! fallen, how low, from joyous transport to desponding woe.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>4. RECITATIVE Simon<br> </b>Be comforted, nor think these plaques are sent for your destruction, but for chastisement. Heaven oft in mercy punisheth, that sin may feel its own demerits from within, and urge not utter ruin. Turn to God, and draw a blessing from His iron rod.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>5. AIR Simon<br> </b>The Lord worketh wonders his glory to raise; and still, as he thunders, is fearful in praise.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>6. RECITATIVE Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>My arms! against this Gorgias will I go. The Idumean governor shall know, how vain, how ineffective his design, while rage his leader, and Jehovah mine.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>7. AIR<br> </b>Sound an alarm! your silver trumpets sound, and call the brave, and only brave, around. Who listeth, follow: to the field again! Justice with courage is a thousand men.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>We hear, we hear the pleasing, dreadful call, and follow thee to conquest; if to fall, for laws, religion, liberty, we fall.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>RECITATIVE Simon<br> </b>Enough! to Heaven we leave the rest. Such generous ardour firing every breast, we may devide our cares; the field be thine, oh Judas, and the sanctuary mine; for Sion, holy Sion, seat of God, in ruinous heaps, is by the heathen trod; such profanation calls for swift redress, if ever in battle Israel hopes success.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>8. AIR Simon<br> </b>With pious hearts, and brave as pious, oh Sion, we thy call attend, nor dread the nations that defy us, God our defender, God our friend.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>9. RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>Ye worshippers of God, down, down with the polluted altars, down; hurl Jupiter Olympus from his throne, nor reverence Bacchus with his ivy crown and ivy-wreathed rod. Our fathers nover knew him, or his hated crew, or, knowing, scorned such idol vanities.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>No more in Sion let the virgin throng, wild with delusion, pay their nightly song to Ashtoreth, yclept the Queen of Heaven. Hence to Phoenicia be the goddess driven, or be she, with her priests and pageants, hurled to the remotest corner of the world, never to delude us more with pious lies.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>10. AIR Israelitish man<br> </b>Wise men, flattering, may deceive you with their, vain mysterious art; magic charms can never relieve you, nor can heal the wounded heart. But true wisdom can relieve you, godlike wisdom from above; this alone can never deceive you, this alone all pains remove.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>11. DUET Israelitish woman and man<br> </b>Oh! never, never bow we down to the rude stock or sculptured stone: but ever worship Isreal's God, ever obedient to his awful nod.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>12. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>We never, never will bow down to the rude stock or sculptured stone.<br> We worship God, and God alone.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><br> <font size="5">Act III<br> </font></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>12. AIR Israelitish man<br> </b>Father of Heaven! from Thy eternal throne, look with an eye of blessing down, while we prepare with holy rites, to solemnize the feast of lights. And thus our grateful hearts employ; and in Thy praise this altar raise, with carols of triumphant joy.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>13. ACCOMPANIED RECITATIVE Israelitish man<br> </b>See, see yon flames, that from the altar broke, in spiry streams pursue the trailing smoke. The fragrant incense mounts the yielding air; sure presage that the Lord hath heard our prayer.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>14. RECITATIVE Israelitish woman<br> </b>Oh grant it, Heaven, that our long woes may cease, and Judah's daughters taste the calm of peace;<br> sons, brothers, husbands to bewail no more, tortured at home, or havocked in the war.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>15. AIR<br> </b>So shall the lute and harp awake, and sprightly voice sweet descant run, seraphic melody to make, in the pure strains of Jesse's son.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>16. RECITATIVE Messenger<br> </b>From Capharsalama, on eagle wings I fly, with tidings of impetuous joy: Came Lysias, with his host, arrayed in coat of mail; their massy shields of gold and brass, flashed lightning over the fields, while the huge tower-backed elephants displayed a horrid front; but Judas, undismayed, met, fought, and vanquished all the rageful train. Yet more, Nicanor lies with thousands slain; the blasphemous Nicanor, who defied the living God, and, in his wanton pride, a public monument ordained of victories yet ungained.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>RECITATIVE Messenger<br> </b>But Io! the conqueror comes; and on his spear, to dissipate all fear, he bears the<br> vaunter's head and hand, that threatened desolation to the land.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>17. CHORUS Israelitish youths<br> </b>See, the conquering hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums. Sports prepare, the laurel bring, songs of triumph to him sing.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>DUET Isrealitish virgins<br> </b>See the godlike youth advance! Breathe the flutes, and lead the dance; Myrtle wreaths, and roses twine, to deck the hero's brow divine.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>See, the conquering hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums. Sports prepare, the laurel bring, songs of triumph to him sing.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>MARCH</b></p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>18. SOLO Israelitish man/woman & Chorus (Israelites)<br> </b>Sing unto Got, and high affections raise, to crown this conquest with unmeasured praise.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>19. RECITATIVE Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>Sweet flow the strains, that strike my feasted ear; angels might stoop from heaven, to hear the comely song we sing, to Israel's Lord and King. But pause awhile: due obsequies prepare to those who bravely fell in war.<br> To Eleazar special tribute pay; through slaughtered troops he cut his way to the<br> distinguished elephant, and, whelmed beneath the deep-stabbed monster, triumphed in a glorious death.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>20. AIR Judas Maccabaeus<br> </b>With honour let desert be crowned, the trumpet never in vain shall sound; but, all attentive to alarms, the willing nations fly to<br> arms, and conquering or conquered, claim the prize of happy earth, or far more happy skies.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>21. RECITATIVE Eupolemus<br> </b>Peace to my countrymen; peace, and liberty. From the great senate of imperial Rome, with a firm leaque of amity, I come. Rome, whatever nation dare insult ur more, will rouse, in our defence, her veteran power, and stretch her vengeful arm, by land or sea, "To curb the proud, and set the injured free".</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>22. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>To our great God be all the honour given, that grateful hearts can send from earth to Heaven.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>RECITATIVE Israelitish woman<br> </b>Again to earth let gratitude descend, praiseworthy is our hero and our friend. Come then, my daughters, choicest art bestow, to weave a chaplet for the victor's brow; and in your songs for ever be confessed the valour that preserved, the power that blessed, blessed you with hours, that scatter, as they fly, soft quiet, gentle love, and boundless joy.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>23. DUET Israelitish woman and man<br> </b>Oh lovely peace, with plenty crowned,come, spread thy blessings all around. Let fleecy flocks the hills adorn, and valleys smile with wavy corn. Let the shrill trumpet cease, nor other sound, but nature's songsters wake the cheerful morn.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>24. AIR Simon<br> </b>Rejoice, oh Judah! and, in songs divine, with Cherubim and Seraphim, harmonious join.</p> <p class="InhaltCenter"><b>25. CHORUS Israelites<br> </b>Hallelujah! Amen.<br> Recoice, oh Judah! and, in songs divine, with Cherubim and Seraphim, harmonious join.<br> Hallelujah! Amen.</p> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p>  <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p></p>  </div> </body>