On ClassicsToday: BR Chorus in Handel’s Glorious Occasional Oratorio
Filling In The Gaps: Handel’s Glorious Occasional Oratorio
by Jens F. Laurson
When bonnie Prince Charlie, Charles Edward Stuart, south towards London went, he was bent on the disposition King George II to put the House of Stuart back on the British throne. The conglomerate of warring Scottish brutes setting out to sack the capital to settle the succession the old-fashioned way was met with some anxiety in the metrop. Handel, having come from the German principality, knew that his bread was buttered on the House of Hanover’s side: A rousing oratorio to lift the spirits was in order. Enter the “Occasional Oratorio”, put together – on very short notice – for just that occasion. (Joshua, Alexander Balus, and Judas Maccabeus were also written around the time to extoll his erstwhile and once-again overlords’ virtues.)
George Frideric Handel’s Occasional Oratorio—essentially a pastiche cantata—was meant to buck up the London crowds (and curry political favor) as England was facing a war of succession from Jacobite Charles Edward Stuart. The work presents us with a conundrum: Those for whom having the fringe ... Continue Reading [Insider content]
George Frideric Handel’s Occasional Oratorio—essentially a pastiche cantata—was meant to buck up the London crowds (and curry political favor) as England was facing a war of succession from Jacobite Charles Edward Stuart. The work presents us with a conundrum: Those for whom having the fringe ... Continue Reading [Insider content]
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