Israel In Egypt February 3, 2006

Australian Intervarsity Choral Festival Presents:

Handel's Israel in Egypt

Conductor - Graham Abbott
Orchestra - Adelaide Art Orchestra

Tickets - A Reserve: Adults $58, PSU $50, B Reserve: Adults $48, PSU $44

Israel in Egypt tickets are available through BASS now!

Israel in Egypt - George Frederic Handel

First performed in April 1739, this was the second of four oratorios to come from composer Georg Frideric Handel and librettist Charles Jennens. Together the pair wrote Saul in the previous year, and later went on to write Messiah (1742) and Belshazzar (1745).

Israel in Egypt is based principally on the Old-Testament stories in Exodus, detailing the Israelites time in Egypt, and their escape. Its libretto is taken from Exodus and three of the Psalms. It is set apart from other works particularly by its unusual balance of solo and chorus movements. Only a third of its movements are solos or duets, making it a very popular choice for choirs, and an ideal choice for an Intervarsity Choral Festival.

Israel in Egypt is a well cited example of the common habit at the time of 'borrowing' from other composers, and includes many snippets from other works. The very observant may see where Handel borrowed from Israel in Egypt when writing the score for Messiah...

Whilst Handel originally wrote the oratorio in three parts, the first part of Israel in Egypt is often omitted, as it makes the work very heavy.