"The tremendous impact of Handel's oratorios... Israel in Egypt"
(Wolfram Frey in "Pforzheimer Zeitung")

Dear ladies and gentlemen,
dear friends of K&K,

"No historical painting and no Hollywood movie of monumental proportion comes close to the visual power and the expressiveness of the music by George Frideric Handel, which he composed for the biblical story of the exodus of the Israelites from the Egyptian slavery... "Israel in Egypt" occupies most impressively the tremendous impact and power of Handel's oratorios..." These words were written about the concert in the church of Maulbronn Monastery in 2009.

Indeed... the fifth of the nineteen oratorios which Handel composed in England shows impressively, that words and music can have an impact - even without visual stimulation.

During the second half of the 17th century there were trends toward the secularization of the religious oratorio. Evidence of this lies in its regular performance outside church halls in courts and public theaters. Whether religious or secular, the theme of an oratorio is meant to be weighty. It could include such topics as Creation, the life of Jesus, or the career of a classical hero or biblical prophet. Other changes eventually took place as well, possibly because most composers of oratorios were also popular composers of operas. They began to publish the librettos of their oratorios as they did for their operas. George Frideric Handel also wrote secular oratorios based on themes from Greek and Roman mythology. He is also credited with writing the first English language oratorio.

"Israel in Egypt" was written in 1738, the composition of the whole colossal work occupying but twenty-seven days. It was first performed April 4, 1739, at the King's Theatre, of which Handel was then manager. It is essentially a choral oratorio. It comprises no less than twenty-eight massive double choruses, linked together by a few bars of recitative, with five arias and three duets interspersed among them. Unlike Handel's other oratorios, there is no overture or even prelude to the work. Therefore - exactly how conductor Jürgen Budday did it - many artists starts the performance of "Israel in Egypt" with the Overture from the Oratorio "Solomon". Especially because of the fact, that Handel replaced in 1756 the first part of "Israel in Egypt" (which was originally a funeral anthem for Queen Caroline) through an shortened version of the first act from his oratorio "Solomon".

The main parts in "Israel in Egypt" are performed by the chorus, which is a contrast to Handel's earlier oratorios. This oratorio contains 28 double-choruses!

Finally we are proud to present you in our Maulbronn Monastery Edition the 10th Handel-Oratorio from this concert-cycle, which is documented on disc, and invite you viewing all details, a photo gallery of the performance, a music-video and our selection of MP3 music files from the 2-CD-Box at: http://www.kuk-art.com/en/c/handel-israel.html.

We wish you a lot of pleasure
and stay with kindest regards

Josef-Stefan Kindler
& Andreas Otto Grimminger
K&K Verlagsanstalt Germany
www.kuk-art.com
mail@kuk-verlagsanstalt.com

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	George Frideric Handel Israel in Egypt Unedited version of the English Oratorio HWV 54 from 1739, performed according to the traditions of the time with Miriam Allan & Sarah Wegener ~ Soprano David Allsopp ~ Altus/Countertenor Benjamin Hulett ~ Tenor Steffen Balbach & Daniel Raschinsky ~ Bass Hanoverian Court Orchestra Maulbronn Chamber Choir Conductor: Jürgen Budday
	A concert in the church of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery, Sept. 2009 2-CD-Box, DDD, Duration: ca. 96 minutes, KuK 17, ISBN 978-3-930643-17-2, EUR 33,-
Purchase	All Details ~ Photo Gallery ~ MP3 Music Files ~ MusicVideo

This live recording is part of a cycle of oratorios and masses, performed in the basilica of Maulbronn Abbey under the direction of Jürgen Budday. The series combines authentically performed oratorios and masses 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 composer's lifetimes (this performance is tuned in a' = 415 Hz). With "Israel in Egypt" you listen to the 10th Handel-Oratorio from this concert-cycle, which is documented on disc.

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