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2 CD -
2292-46447-2 - (p) 1991
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Georg
Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) |
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Theodora |
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Oratorio in
three parts - Text: Thomas Morell |
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Overture
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3' 15" |
CD1-1 |
Act I |
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53' 36" |
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Recitative: "'tis Dioclesian's natal day"
- (Valens) |
0' 33"
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CD1-2 |
- Air: "Go,
my faithful soldier" - (Valens) |
2' 09" |
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CD1-3 |
- Chorus:
"And draw a blessing down" - (Chorus of
Heathens) |
2' 15" |
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CD1-4 |
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Recitative: "Vouchsafe, dread Sir" -
(Didymus, Valens) |
1' 00" |
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CD1-5 |
- Air:
"Racks, gibbets, sword and fire" -
(Valens) |
2' 50" |
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CD1-6 |
- Chorus:
"For ever thus stands" - (Chorus of
Heathens) |
2' 02" |
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CD1-7 |
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Recitative: "Most cruel edict" - (Didymus) |
0' 31" |
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CD1-8 |
- Air: "The
raptur'd soul" - (Didymus) |
3' 47" |
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CD1-9 |
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Recitative: "I know thy virtues" -
(Septimius) |
0' 42" |
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CD1-10 |
- Air:
"Descend, kind pity" - (Septimius) |
6' 57" |
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CD1-11 |
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Recitative: "Through hard, my friends" -
(Theodora) |
0' 28" |
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CD1-12 |
- Air:
"Fond flatt'ring world" - (Theodora) |
3' 58" |
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CD1-13 |
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Recitative: "Oh bright example" - (Irene) |
0' 29" |
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CD1-14 |
- Chorus:
"Come, mighty Father" - (Chorus of
Christians) |
3' 02" |
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CD1-15 |
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Recitative: "Fly, fly, my brethren" -
(Messenger, Irene) |
1' 00" |
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CD1-16 |
- Air: "As
with rosy steps" - (Irene) |
5' 19" |
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CD1-17 |
- Chorus:
"All pow'r in heaven above" - (Chorus of
Christians) |
2' 20" |
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CD1-18 |
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Recitative: "Mistaken wretches" -
(Septimius) |
0' 24" |
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CD1-19 |
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Recitative: "Deluded mortal!" - (Theodora,
Septimius) |
0' 45" |
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CD1-20 |
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Accompanied Recitative: "Oh worse than
death indeed" - (Theodora) |
0' 31" |
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CD1-21 |
- Air:
"Angels, ever bright and fair" -
(Theodora) |
2' 53" |
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CD1-22 |
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Recitative: "Unhappy, happy crew" -
(Didymus, Irene) |
0' 47" |
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CD1-23 |
- Air:
"Kind Heaven" - (Didymus) |
2' 36" |
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CD1-24 |
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Recitative: "Oh love, how great thy pow'r"
- (Irene) |
0' 23" |
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CD1-25 |
- Chorus:
"Go, gen'rous pious youth" - (Chorus of
Christians) |
5' 15" |
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CD1-26 |
Act II |
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45' 27"
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Recitative: "Ye men of Antioch" - (Valens) |
0' 34" |
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CD1-27 |
- Chorus:
"Queen of summer" - (Chorus of Heathens) |
0' 47" |
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CD1-28 |
- Air:
"Wide spread" - (Valens) |
2' 28" |
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CD1-29 |
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Recitative: "Return, Septimius" - (Valens) |
0' 33" |
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CD1-30 |
- Chorus:
"Venus laughing from the skies" - (Chorus
of Heathens) |
1' 30" |
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CD1-31 |
- (Largo) |
1' 12" |
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CD2-1 |
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Recitative: "Oh thou bright sun" -
(Theodora) |
0' 37" |
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CD2-2 |
- Air:
"With darkness deep" - (Theodora) |
3' 59" |
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CD2-3 |
- (Largo) |
1' 56" |
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CD2-4 |
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Recitative: "But why art thou disquieted"
- (Theodora) |
0' 27" |
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CD2-5 |
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Recitative: "Septimius, I am a Christian"
- (Didymus, Septimius) |
0' 45" |
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CD2-6 |
- Air:
"Though the honours" - (Septimius) |
3' 54" |
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CD2-7 |
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Recitative: "Oh save her then" - (Didymus,
Septimius) |
0' 41" |
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CD2-8 |
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Recitative: "The clouds begin to veil" -
(Irene) |
0' 37" |
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CD2-9 |
- Air:
"Defend her, Heaven" - (Irene) |
5' 34" |
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CD2-10 |
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Recitative: "Or lull'd with grief" -
(Didymus) |
0' 21" |
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CD2-11 |
- Air:
"Sweet rose and lily" - (Didymus) |
2' 50" |
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CD2-12 |
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Recitative: "Oh save me, Heaven" -
(Theodora, Didymus) |
1' 12" |
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CD2-13 |
- Air: "The
pilgrim's home" - (Theodora) |
3' 06" |
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CD2-14 |
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Accompanied Recitative: "Forbid it,
Heaven" - (Didymus) |
0' 36" |
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CD2-15 |
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Recitative: "Ah! what is liberty" -
(Theodora, Didymus) |
0' 55" |
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CD2-16 |
- Duet: "To
theem thou glorious son" - (Theodora,
Didymus) |
4' 53" |
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CD2-17 |
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Recitative: "'tis night" - (Irene) |
0' 29" |
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CD2-18 |
- Chorus:
"He saw the lonely youth" - (Chorus of
Christians) |
5' 12" |
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CD2-19 |
Act III |
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28' 22" |
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- Air:
"Lord to thee" - (Irene) |
4' 49" |
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CD2-20 |
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Recitative: "But see! the good, the
virtuous Didymus" - (Irene, Theodora) |
0' 40" |
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CD2-21 |
- Chorus:
"Blest be the hand" - (Chorus of
Christians, Theodora) |
3' 14" |
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CD2-22 |
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Recitative: "Ah, Theodora! whence this
sudden change" - (Irene, Theodora) |
0' 57" |
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CD2-23 |
- Duet:
"Whither, princess, do you fly?" - (Irene,
Theodora) |
1' 35" |
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CD2-24 |
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Recitative: "She's gone" - (Irene) |
0' 29" |
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CD2-25 |
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Recitative: "Dwells there such virtuous
courage" - (Septimius) |
0' 14" |
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CD2-26 |
- Air:
"From virtue springs" - (Septimius) |
3' 18" |
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CD2-27 |
- Air:
"Cease, ye slaves" - (Valens) |
1' 10" |
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CD2-28 |
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Recitative: "Oppose not, Didymus" -
(Theodora) |
0' 28" |
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CD2-29 |
- Chorus:
"How strange their ends" - (Chorus of
Heathens) |
2' 26" |
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CD2-30 |
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Recitative: "On me your frowns" -
(Didymus, Theodora, Valens) |
0' 45" |
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CD2-31 |
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Recitative: "And must such beauty suffer?"
- (Didymus, Theodora, Septimius) |
0' 45" |
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CD2-32 |
- Duet:
"Streams of pleasure" - (Didymus,
Theodora) |
3' 57" |
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CD2-33 |
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Recitative: "Ere this their doom is past"
- (Irene) |
0' 19" |
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CD2-34 |
- Chorus:
"Oh Love divine" - (Chorus of Christians) |
3' 03" |
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CD2-35 |
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Roberta Alexander,
Theodora, a Christian of noble
birth |
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Jochen Kowalski,
Didymus, a Roman officier,
converted by Theodora
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Jard van Nes,
Irene, a Christian
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Hans Peter
Blochwitz, Septimius, a
Roman officier, his friends |
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Anton Scharinger,
Valens, President of Antioch
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Alois Glaßner,
Messenger |
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Arnold Schönberg
Chor, Chorus of Christians,
Chorus of the Heathens
/ Erwin Ortner, Leitung |
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CONCENTUS MUSICUS
WIEN (mit
Originalinstrumenten)
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Erich Höbarth, Violine |
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Lila Brown, Viola |
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Alice Harnoncourt, Violine |
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Herwig Tachezi, Violoncello |
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Andrea Bischof, Violine |
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Max Engel, Violoncello |
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Karl Höffinger, Violine |
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Eduard Hruza, Violone |
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Helmut Mitter, Violine |
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Andrew Ackerman, Violone |
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Anita Mitterer, Violine |
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Sylvie Summereder, Flauto
traverso |
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Peter Schoberwalter, Violine |
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Hans Peter Westermann, Barockoboe |
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Walter Pfeiffer, Violine |
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Marie Wolf, Barockoboe |
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Annemarie Ortner, Violine |
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Milan Turković, Barockfagott |
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Gerold Klaus, Violine |
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Hector McDonald, Naturhorn |
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Christine Busch, Violine |
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Alois Schlor, Naturhorn |
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Maria Kubizek, Violine |
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Karl Steininger, Naturtrompete |
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Peter Schoberwalter junior, Violine |
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Hermann Schober, Naturtrompete |
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Christian Tachezi, Violine |
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Michael Vladar, Pauken |
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Editha Fez, Violine |
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Herwig Tachezi, Violoncello
continuo |
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Lynn Pascher, Viola |
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Herbert Tachezi, Cembalo &
Orgel |
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Charlotte Geselbracht, Viola |
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Luca Pianca, Laute |
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Dorle Sommer, Viola |
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Nikolaus
Harnoncourt, Leitung |
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Luogo
e data di registrazione
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Großer Saal,
Konzerthaus, Vienna (Austria) - 6 marzo
1990 |
Registrazione
live / studio
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live |
Producer
/ Engineer
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Wolfgang
Mohr / Helmut Mühle / Michael Brammann
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Prima Edizione CD
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Teldec
"Das Alte Werk" - 2292-46447-2 - (2 cd)
- 62' 43" + 67' 57" - (p) 1991 - DDD |
Prima
Edizione LP
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Notes
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Oratorios, according
to Charles Burneys
"General History
of Music” (London
1776/89), “had never
been tried out
in England, neither in
public nor in private
performance, until l720,
when Handel composed his sacred drama
`Esther”. In Italy, on the
other hand, “they
were already generally known in the
previous century”
(Burney is referring here to
the 17th
century). And it was there,
in the Promised
Land of music, that
Handel became acquainted
with the oratorio
genre during his sojourn
from 1706 to l7l0.
He presented his
first attempt
on an oratorio in Rome
in l708 - “La Resurrezione”
(HWV 47). After
this, however, his
allention was fully
occupied with opera. He
returned to
London, where
audiences could enjoy one or sometimes
even two new works a
year from Handel’s
pen at the
Queen's Theatre in Haymarket.
Changing times, however,
and in parlicular the
social and cultural
changes in England during the
first decades of the
l8th century,
left their
mark in the realm of
music, too. John Gay
made these changes the
subject of
his “Beggars Opera” of 1728:
the monopoly on culture
formerly held by the aristocracy
fell increasingly into the
hands of the
bourgeoisie; the
previous system of
patronage of the
arts was succeeded by
commercialisation,
and the layman with
a wide range of interests
began to replace the
elitist
connoisseur. Henceforth, the middle
class demanded a say in the
arts too,
and expected art
to be intelligible
to the
public at large, to
offer clarity and
simplicity
in the spirit
of the Enlightenment. Following the
example of the
golden age of lhe Renaissance,
Handel’s contemporaries saw the
era they lived in as the
"silver age of the
Renaissance". A parallel to
the Rome of The Pax
Augusta was
deliberalely created:
according to the
way the l8th
century Englishman saw his own time,
social developments came
about less through
revolutionary
upheaval than as a result
of a lengthy
but constant
process of humanisation.
The Church of England gave its
support to
such ideas, which had their
roots principally in the
rationalism of the
Enlightenment, and
preached practical
humanitarianism and
patriotic conviction; thus the basic
principles of Christian belief were equated
with national ideals. And from this
perspective, the English evolved
feelings of affinity with the chosen
people of the Old Testament and the
Early Christians.
Thus Handel was able to rely on his
audience's sympathetic approval in his
choice of oratorio subjects,
with which he affirmed this close
connection between national and
religious identity, in the final
analysis. In fact,
he could be all the more certain of
the public’s acceptance, since, unlike
opera with its Italian
librettos, the oratorios set English
texts that were easy to understand.
And the soloists were not Italian
opera singers as a rule, but English
singers with firm
roots in church music.
If, however, they did come from Italy,
like the contralto Gaetano Guadagni,
later the “foremost singer of his
time” (Burney) - Handel wrote the part
of Didymus in his “Theodora” for him
-, then they certainly brought
experience in interpreting the Italian
concertante style with them. This was
one of the “ingredients” of Handel’s
artistic ideal, which he developed
from a truly cosmopolitan attitude.
Handel blended all musical styles
current at the time - the solemn
pathos and also the dance character of
Lully’s French suites, the polyphony
of the Germans, and the native English
choral tradition of the church anthems
and the style of Henry Purcell - to
form a highly individual synthesis
that was to remain unique.
Handel was able to draw on a copious
range of experience when composing his
oratorios, “Theodora” among them. He
managed to complete this large-scale
work in an incredibly short time -
from 28th June to 31st
July 1749 - and the
first pertormance took place on 16th March
of the following year in the Theatre
Royal in Covent Garden The ageing
Handel regarded “Theodora” as his most
important oratorio, according to the
librettist Thomas Morell;
the audience, however, was not equally
forthcoming with praise, as in fact
was the case with almost every other
performance of a Handel oratorio given
in the composer's lifetime. They
appear to have found the lofty
ideals of the text, which sings the
praises of youth’s
ability to love, of fidelity, courage
and steadfastness, and exhorts the
listener to tolerance, somewhat
inaccessible.
Morell fashioned an oratorio text in
three parts based on Robert Boyle’s
novella “The Martyrdom
of Theodora and of Didymus”, published
in 1687. The
historic background is the time of the
persecution of the Christians in the
last period of the Roman Empire,
beginning with the reign of Diocletian
(from 284 onwards) and ending with the
fall of the Empire in 476. The city of
Antioch in Syria, the place where the
disciples were "recommended to the
grace of God for the work which they
fulfilled” (Apostles 14,
xvi), was part of the Roman Empire at
the time
Theodora, a
"Christian woman of
noble origin”, lives
in Antioch, When Valens,
the Roman governor of the city, orders
the population to celebrate the
name-day of the Emperor according to
pagan tradition, Theodora refuses. The
incensed Valens threatens her with
prison and death, and will not listen
to Didymus, a Roman officer who
loves Theodora and has been converted
to Christianity by her, when he begs
him to show humanity and tolerance:
“Ought we not to leave the free~born
mind of man still
ever free?” Theodora is cast into the
dungeons, and Didymus then attempts to
rescue her with the aid of his friend
Septimius. They swap clothes, and he
takes Theodora’s place in prison. But
their ruse is discovered, and Didymus
is sentenced to death. Theodora is
thrown back into prison to await death
together with her lover.
Handel's setting ot the Theodora story
consists of 11
choruses, three duets and a
considerable number of arias. As in
nearly all of his
works, he made use of both his own
music and that of other composers (for
15 numbers) and made
extensive cuts after the première,
revising several numbers and adding
new material. The result is a
grandiose document of
Handel’s old age, where the composer's
ardour is subdued, his powers of
dramatic expression audibly turned
inwards. Handel speaks to us here as a
mature man, aware of the
transience of all earthly things -
as for
example in Theodora's C minor aria
“Fond flatt’ring world,
adieu!” The cry
of farewell is symbolised
melodically by a step of a second. The
composer gave this aria the
tempo marking "Larghetto",
which is descriptive
of both
Theodora's personality, and the basic
character of the whole
oratorio. In fact,
unlike in opera, the
characters here do not actually
undergo any development in the course
of the action.
Didymus, for instance, is given
clealrly defined contours from the
outset in the tender E flat
aria “Sweet rose and
lily, flow'rt form!",
depicting his love for
Theodora which he believes will
overcome all obstacles. And in the
same way, the
cruel character of the
governor Valens
is portrayed
unambiguously with the
marking “Pomposa” and
the dotted rhythm in the style of a
French overture. The choruses of the
pagans and the Christians provide a cleverly
planned architectural framework for
the whole work. While the pagans,
taking up the melodic
form and rhythmic
structure of Valens's aria, mark the
starting point of the drama in their
first, D major
chorus “And draw a
blessing down...", in the G minor
closing chorus the Christians declare
the lesson to
be learnt from the
martyrdom of the two lovers; "Oh
Love divine, thou source of fame..."
Nele Anders
Translation:
Clive Williams
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Nikolaus
Harnoncourt (1929-2016)
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