HANDEL: Israel in Egypt – Rosemary Joshua, soprano / Atsuko Suzuki, soprano / Gerhild Romberger, alto / Kobie van Rensburg, tenor / Simon Pauly, baritone / Thomas Hamberger, bass-baritone / Harald Hoeren, harpsichord / Christoph Lehmann and Max Hanft, organ / Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Concerto Köln / Peter Dijkstra – BR-Klassik 900501 (2 discs), 65:52; 40:13 [Distr. by Naxos] **1/2:
Written in 1739, Israel in Egypt is one of the first oratorios Handel wrote once Italian opera’s well ran dry in London. Ever the entrepreneur, when the opera season of 1738-39 was cancelled for lack of subscriptions, Handel immediately started work on two very different projects: Saul and Israel in Egypt. Saul is a typical Handelian operatic oratorio in the vein of Solomon, Samson, or Jephtha. But Israel in Egypt is an oratorio without protagonists—except for the chorus, which does the lion’s share of scene painting and storytelling throughout the work. Israel represented an experiment for Handel, and it failed with the public, though the press was appreciative. However, Handel did not repeat the experiment, and Israel fell into disfavor until later generations discovered how magnificently it could shake the rafters, especially with the augmented choral forces that became typical of latter day Handel festivals. Ever since, it’s been in the repertoire of most choral organizations worth their salt.
The original version of the oratorio had three parts. For the first part, Handel shrewdly converted, almost without change, the Funeral Anthem he’d written on the death of Queen Caroline in 1737. This anthem became the lament of the Israelites for their fallen leader Joseph. Listeners complained that the work was too long, so in subsequent performances, Part I was dropped. This is how the oratorio was most often performed and recorded until fairly recently.
But in this form, there’s a problem: Handel did not provide a sinfonia as an opening number, so instead, when performed as a two-part oratorio, Israel begins with a tenor recitative. Most modern recordings of the work thus are of the tripartite version, and this is probably the way it should be heard. But the first part is something of a drag. Lovely though it is in parts, it is slow and somber throughout, and its texture is decidedly lightweight compared to the declamations of the double chorus and big orchestra, complete with three trombones, that follow in Parts II and III.
So Israel in Egypt is a problem work, but it is also Handel at his most magnificent. He never wrote a chorus grander than the final one, “Sing Ye to the Lord.” And the tone painting in the choruses depicting the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea are so vivid they inspired Haydn to create his own magic in his oratorios The Creation and The Seasons.
For me, Israel in Egypt starts with Part II. I confess that I listen politely to Part I but then get really engaged when Handel unleashes those almighty plagues. At this point, I was worried that conductor Peter Dijkstra was going to wade through the work at a snail’s pace; the first couple of choruses are slower, less energetic than I’ve heard elsewhere. But then everyone seems to get fired up, and tempi throughout the rest of the work seem judicious, apt. The chorus sings with heart and conviction, while Concerto Köln turns in its typically lusty performance. It’s always fun to hear these musicians even when they get carried away, as they do in some of their orchestral recordings. Here, they keep things in perspective, turning in a performance with both fire and nuance.
The soloists are mostly good, too, especially the always reliable Rosemary Joshua, who’s in fine form in her solos and duet. The only iffy soloist is alto Gerhild Romberger; she’s somewhat challenged by biblical English. But this is a small matter, really, in a work where the chorus is the star.
There’s a bigger issue, however. Maybe taking their cue from the reaction of early audiences, Dijkstra and his forces give us an abbreviated version of the oratorio. There’s a good twenty or twenty-five minutes worth of music missing, including some of the better bits from Parts II and III. A sounder approach, in my view, would have been to follow tradition and cut Part I altogether. The work has been successfully recorded in this form before.
As it is, I can’t really recommend the current recording, though it has its points—not when there are fine alternatives around, especially Andrew Parrott’s on Virgin, available at bargain prices. It’s very well sung and played and recorded in a more natural surround. Dijkstra’s recording, taken from a live performance, is powerful but close up and shallow in perspective. So if you want to know what Israel in Egypt is all about, my advice is to look elsewhere.
-Lee Passarella
