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 10^th Handel-Oratorio from this concert-cycle, which is documented on disc.

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", the fifth of the nineteen oratorios which Handel composed in England, 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".

Handel's London oratorios usually includes three parts or acts. However, "Israel in Egypt" has been published and almost performed with two parts, which follows the compositional technique for Oratorios in Italy.

The first part describes "the exodus" of the Israelites from Egypt to escape the slavery. Six bars of recitative for tenor suffice to introduce the first part, "Exodus", and lead directly to the first double chorus, the theme of which is first given out by the altos of one choir with impressive pathos. The chorus works up to a climax of great force on the phrase ("And their Cry came up unto God"), the two choruses developing with consummate power the two principal subjects - first, the cry for relief, the second, the burden of oppression; and closing with the phrase above mentioned, upon which they unite in simple but majestic harmony. Then follow eight more bars of recitative for tenor, and the long series of descriptive choruses begins, in which Handel employs the imitative power of music in the boldest manner.

The second part, "The Song of Moses", is basically a huge praise and victory anthem, which reflects the persecution and salvation. It ends in praise and glory to the Lord. A few bars of recitative referring to the escape of Israel, the choral outburst once more repeated, and then the solo voice declaring ("Miriam the prophetess took a trimbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances; and Miriam answered them"), lead to the final song of triumph. That grand, jubilant, overpowering expression of victory which, beginning with the exultant strain of Miriam ("Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously"), is amplified by voice upon voice in the great eight-part choir, and by instrument upon instrument, until it becomes a tempest of harmony, interwoven with the triumph of Miriam's cry and the exultation of the great host over the enemy's discomfiture, and closing with the combined power of voices and instruments in harmonious accord as they once more repeat Miriam's words ("The Horse and his Rider hath He thrown into the Sea").

Six bars of recitative for tenor ("Now these arose a new King over Egypt which knew not Joseph") suffice to introduce the first part, and lead directly to the first double chorus ("And the Children of Israel sighed"), the theme of which is first given out by the altos of one choir with impressive pathos. The chorus works up to a climax of great force on the phrase ("And their Cry came up unto God"), the two choruses developing with consummate power the two principal subjects -- first, the cry for relief, the second, the burden of oppression; and closing with the phrase above mentioned, upon which they unite in simple but majestic harmony. Then follow eight more bars of recitative for tenor, and the long series of descriptive choruses begins, in which Handel employs the imitative power of music in the boldest manner. The first is the plague of the water turned to blood ("They loathed to drink of the River") -- a single chorus in fugue form, based upon a theme which is closely suggestive of the sickening sensations of the Egyptians, and increases in loathsomeness to the close, as the theme is variously treated. The next number is an aria for mezzo soprano voice ("Their Land brought forth Frogs"), the air itself serious and dignified, but the accompaniment imitative throughout of the hopping of these animals. It is followed by the plague of insects, whose afflictions are described by the double chorus. The tenors and basses in powerful unison declare ("He spake the word"), and the reply comes once from the sopranos and altos ("And there came all manner of flies"), set to a shrill, buzzing, whirring accompaniment, which increases in volume and energy as the locusts appear, but bound together solidly with the phrase of the tenors and basses frequently repeated, and presenting a sonorous background to this fancy of the composer in insect imitation. From this remarkable chorus we pass to another still more remarkable, the familiar "Hailstone Chorus" ("He gave them Hailstones for Rain"), which, like the former, is closely imitative. Before the two choirs begin the orchestra prepares the way for the on-coming storm. Drop by drop, spattering, dashing, and at last crashing, comes the storm, the gathering gloom rent with the lightning, the fire that ran along upon the ground." But the storm passes, the gloom deepens, and we are lost in vague, uncertain combination of tones where voices and instrument are seem to be groping about, comprised in the marvelously expressive chorus ("He sent a thick Darkness over all the Land"). From the oppression of this choral gloom we emerge, only to encounter a chorus of savage, unrelenting retribution ("He smote all the First-born of Egypt"). After this savage mission is accomplished, we come to a chorus in pastoral style ("But as for His people, He led them forth like Sheep"), slow, tender, serene, and lovely in its movement. The following chorus ("Egypt was glad"), usually omitted in performance, is a fugue, both strange and intricate. The next two numbers are really one. The two choruses intone the words ("He rebuked the Red Sea"), in a majestic manner, accompanied by a few massive chords, and then pass to the glorious march of the Israelites ("He led them through the deep") -- an elaborate and complicated number, but strong, forcible, and harmonious throughout, and held together by the stately opening theme which the basses ascend. It is succeeded by another graphic chorus ("But the Waters overwhelmed their Enemies"), in which the roll and dash of the billows closing over Pharaoh's host are closely imitated by the instruments, and through which in the close is heard the victorious shout of the Israelites ("There was not one of them left"). Two more short choruses -- the first ("And Israel saw that great work") and its continuation ("And believed the Lord"), written in church style, close this extraordinary chain of choral pictures.

The second part, "The Song of Moses", opens with a brief but forcible orchestral prelude, leading directly to the declaration by the chorus ("Moses and the Children of Israel sang this Song"), which, taken together with the instrumental prelude, serves as a stately introduction to the stupendous fugued chorus which follows ("I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the Horse and his Rider hath He thrown into the Sea"). It is followed by a duet for two sopranos ("The Lord is my Strength and my Song") in the minor key -- an intricate but melodious number, usually omitted. Once more the chorus resumes with a brief announcement ("He is my God"), followed by a fugued movement in the old church style ("And I will exalt Him"). Next follows the great duet for two basses ("The Lord is a Man of War") -- a piece of superb declamatory effect, full of vigor and stately assertion. The triumphant announcement in its closing measures ("His chosen Captains also are drowned in the Red Sea") is answered by a brief chorus ("The Depths have covered them"), followed by four choruses of triumph -- ("Thy right Hand, O Lord"), an elaborate and brilliant number; ("And in the greatness of Thine excellency"), a brief but powerful bit; ("Thou sendest forth Thy Wrath"); and the single chorus ("And with the Blast of Thy nostrils"), in the last two of which Handel again returns to the imitative style with wonderful effect, especially in the declaration of the basses ("The Floods stood upright as an Heap, and the Depths were congealed"). The only tenor aria in the oratorio follow these choruses, a bravura song ("The Enemy said, "I will pursue'"), and this is followed by the only soprano aria ("Thou didst blow with the Wind"). Two short double choruses ("Who is like unto thee, O Lord") and ("The Earth swallowed them") lead to the duet for the contralto and tenor ("Thou in Thy Mercy"), which is the minor, and very pathetic in character. It is followed by the massive and extremely difficult chorus ("The People shall hear and be afraid"). Once more, after this majestic display, comes the solo voice, this time the contralto, in a simple, lovely song ("Thou shalt bring them in"). A short double chorus ("The Lord shall reign for ever and ever"), a few bars of recitative referring to the escape of Israel, the choral outburst once more repeated, and then the solo voice declaring ("Miriam the prophetess took a trimbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances; and Miriam answered them"), lead to the final song of triumph -- that grand, jubilant, overpowering expression of victory which, beginning with the exultant strain of Miriam ("Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously"), is amplified by voice upon voice in the great eight-part choir, and by instrument upon instrument, until it becomes a tempest of harmony, interwoven with the triumph of Miriam's cry and the exultation of the great host over the enemy's discomfiture, and closing with the combined power of voices and instruments in harmonious accord as they once more repeat Miriam's words ("The Horse and his Rider hath He thrown into the Sea").

The Libretto:
~ As Website ~
~ As File (PDF) ~

Miriam Allan (Soprano I)
Miriam Allan, master class graduate student of Emma Kirkby and Julianne Baird and winner of the London Handel Competition 2003, was born in Newcastle (Australia) in 1977. She studied at Newcastle University and graduated from there with several distinctions. She has performed the most important works of Bach, Handel and Purcell with leading choirs and orchestras such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonic. She has also appeared as a guest with the Song Company and Sounds Baroque, including at their concertante performances. In addition to this she also gives recitals. In the summer of 2003, she sang not only the title role in the Handel opera "Semele" for the Pinchgut Opera, she also appeared in the world premiere of "Dreaming Transportation" at the Sidney Festival and sang in the first Australian performance of Bach's St Mark Passion by the Sidney Philharmonic under Arno Volmer as well as performing in Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater". Meanwhile, Miriam Allan lives in London, where she teaches singing at the Westminster Under School. She performs with ensembles such as Concerto Copenhagen, Israel Camerata, the London Handel Orchestra, the Leipzig Chamber Orchestra or Concerto Köln and is working with conductors like Trevor Pinnock, Sir John Elliot Gardiner and William Christie.

Sarah Wegener (Soprano II)
The British/German Soprano with "silver soprano of Strauss dimensions" (orpheus international) has become an international sought-after interpret within a very short time. Sarah Wegener studied with Prof. Bernard Jaeger-Böhm in Stuttgart. After passing with distinction in 2006, she continued her studies in the class of Lied interpretation, working with Cornelis Witthoefft. 2007 she won the 1st prize of the "International Max-Reger-Competition for Lied" in Weiden. Sarah Wegener has been invited to prominent festivals like the Salzburg Biennale, thde Bachfest Leipzig and "La folle jourée" Nantes, to the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, to "De Singel" Antwerp, the "Opéra Garnier" Paris, the Philharmony Luxembourg and the Konzerthaus Berlin, where she made her debut performing "Ein deutsches Requiem" by Johannes Brahms. In 2011 Mrs. Wegener will give a concert at the Schwetzingen Festival. Because of her enormous gamut and of her exceptional skills, compositions by modern composers belong also to her repertoire - she perfomed, for example, the premiere of a song cycle by Georg Friedrich Haas.

David Allsopp (Altus, Countertenor)
The "highly intelligent, vocally brilliant countertenor" David Allsopp began his musical training at an early age as a chorister at Rochester Cathedral and went on to spend four years as a choral scholar at the King's College in Cambridge. From there he moved to the renowned Westminster Cathedral Choir where he combined his growing career as a soloist with the daily services. David sings with many of London's major consort groups and has toured extensively both in Europe and further afield. On the solo platform, he has given many performances - although he specialises mainly in Baroque repertoire, his background means that he is equally at home with renaissance and medieval works and with more modern composers such as Britten and Tavener. Recent appearances have seen David in venues such as Karlsruhe Opera House, the Musikverein in Vienna and St John's, Smith Square in London.

Benjamin Hulett (Tenor)
The young and honoured British Tenor is currently principal tenor at the Hamburg State Opera and recently made his debut at the "Bayerische Staatsoper" Munich as "Oronte" in Handel's Alcina. He has appeared for example at the BBC Proms under Sir Andrew Davies, Sir Roger Norrington and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw under Phillippe Herreweghe, Markus Stenz and Jos van Veldhoven, the Halle Handel Festival under Howard Arman and Frieder Bernius. Other concert appearances include those with the BBC Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, RPO, King's Consort, Wiener Akademie, Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre des Champs-Elysees, Stavanger Symphony and Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestras. Benjamin Hulett studied musicology at the New College in Oxford and opera and vocal technique at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Steffen Balbach (Bass I)
Steffen Balbach was born in 1971 and studied church music at the College of Church Music in Esslingen. He was full time cantor of the Christus-Church in Donaueschingen and completed his vocal studies at the Freiburg Conservatory with the highest possible point count. Since then, he has sung the bass and baritone parts of countless oratorios, cantatas and masses. In 2001 he reached the final round of the renowned international vocal competition Belvedere in Vienna. Stefan Balbach works with the choir of Radio Bavaria and the Gewandhaus-Kammerchor, Leipzig. He has been a choir member and soloist of the National Opera in Stuttgart since 2002.

Daniel Raschinsky (Bass II)
The German bass-baritone was born in 1983. He attended the Christophorusschule in Altensteig, where he received piano lessons and choral singing training supported by a scholarship. As a member of the Christophorus-Kantorei he performed concerts and participated in numerous national and international choir competitions. In 2005 Mr. Raschinsky began to study singing at the "University of music and performing arts" in Stuttgart under Prof. Jaeger-Böhm - since 2008 with Prof. Dunja Vejzovic. Beside performances as a soloist Mr. Raschinsky has been a member of the "Stuttgart Chamber Choir", the "Wuerttemberg Chamber Choir" and the "Circus Musicus" under Prof. Dieter Kurz. His repertoire spans opera, major parts in the great oratorios, as well as Lieder literature and contemporary music.

Maulbronn Chamber Choir (Maulbronner Kammerchor)
The Maulbronn Chamber Choir was founded in 1983 and counts today as one of the renowned chamber choirs in Europe. Awards like the first places at the Baden-Württemberg Choir Competitions in 1989 and 1997, the second place at the German Choir Competition in 1990, the first prize at the German Choir Competition in 1998 and the second place at the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf 2008 show the extraordinary musical calibre of this ensemble. The Chamber Choir has managed to make quite a name for itself on the international scene, too. It was received enthusiastically by audiences and reviewers alike during its debut tour through the USA in 1983, with concerts in New York, Indianapolis and elsewhere. Its concert tours in many European countries, in Israel and Argentina as well as in South Africa and Namibia have also met with a similar response.

Hanoverian Court Orchestra (Hannoversche Hofkapelle)
The Hanoverian Court Orchestra under concertmistress Marlene Goede-Uter remains totally faithful to the tradition of historic court orchestras. Performing on reconstructed historical instruments the sound of this ensemble is hallmarked by the fact that the musicians also have experience of playing with different music ensembles on the European Baroque scene and view historical performance practices as a means of keeping current. The repertoire of the Orchestra is not restricted to the many forms of Baroque music alone, but also includes classical works, with Mozart operas and the Romantic era being particularly favoured. Their constant involvement with 17th and 18th-century music has made the Court Orchestra musicians masters of their respective instruments. The result is the expressive and elegant style of playing, that assures the orchestra its prominent position. The Hanoverian Court Orchestra has been the "orchestra in residence" at the Herrenhausen Festival Weeks since 2006.

Jürgen Budday (Conductor)
is artistic director and founder of the Maulbronn Chamber Choir. He studied church music and musicology at the Academy of Music in Stuttgart from 1967 to 1974 and, since 1979, he has taught at the Evangelical Seminar in Maulbronn. This also involved his taking over as artistic director of the Maulbronn Monastery Concerts and the cantor choir. In 1992, he was named Director of Studies, in 1995 came the appointment as Director of Church Music and in 1998 he was awarded the "Bundesverdienstkreuz" (German Cross of Merit) as well as the Bruno-Frey Prize from the State Academy in Ochsenhausen for his work in music education. At the Prague International Choir Festival, Jürgen Budday received an award as best director and, since 2002, he has also held the chair of the Choral Committee with the German Music Council. Jürgen Budday has started a cycle of Handel oratorios that is planned to span several years, which involves working with soloists like Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Nancy Argenta and Mark Le Brocq (to name but a few). The live recordings of these performances, that have received the highest praise from reviewers, has won him international recognition. Till these days 10 oratorios by G.F.Handel are documented on discs.

"No conductor and no choir have so consistently recorded so many Handel oratorios as Jürgen Budday and his Maulbronn Chamber Choir."
(Dr. Karl Georg Berg, Handel Memoranda Halle 2008)