Handel | Israel in Egypt
Saison
2026/2027
Oratorio in 3 parts, with a libretto based on the Bible (Exodus, Psalms 105 and 106)
Driven by an epic spirit, Israel in Egypt, with a text drawn from the Holy Scriptures, makes the choir its central character. Handel’s music is brilliantly descriptive, with a particular focus on nature. The composer sets the plagues of Egypt to music (frogs, hail, pestilence, etc.), as well as the crossing of the Red Sea.
Distribution
Thaïs Raï-Westphal soprano
Mélissa Petit soprano
Avery Kathleen Amero alto
Ru David Charlesworth tenor
Andreas Wolf bass-baritone
Matthieu Walendzik baritone
Le Concert Spirituel choir and orchestra
Hervé Niquet conductor
Program
George Frideric Handel
Oratorio in three parts
Part I (Prologue) – The Lamentations of the Israelites for the Death of Joseph (will not be performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées)
Part II – Exodus
Intermission
Part III – Moses' Song
Production
Le Concert Spirituel
Duration
2h
with intermission
Photo credit
Hervé Niquet at the 2018 Festival Berlioz (c) Bruno Moussier
Additional information
This program was recorded in November 2023 at the Arsenal de Metz for Alpha Classics and is available to stream on all major platforms.
In Israel in Egypt, Handel develops his text using biblical quotations to recount, through a series of tableaux, the story of the Jewish people's liberation from the Egyptian yoke, beginning with the famous episode of the ten plagues of Egypt: the waters of the Nile turning to blood, the invasion of frogs, the deluge of hail, the destruction of crops by locusts, and the death of the firstborn.
Guided by God, the Jewish people set out, crossing the miraculously dried-up Red Sea, which closes just as miraculously and violently over the Egyptian horsemen in pursuit. In the second part, rich in grand choral passages, the choir and soloists sing the praises and greatness of the Lord.
For this recording, Hervé Niquet has included as an introduction to this work the Organ Concerto HWV 295, nicknamed "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale" due to the motifs in the second movement, which was composed by Handel as an interlude for Israel in Egypt during its premiere in 1739 at the King’s Theatre in London.
