When George Frideric Handel moved from northern
Germany, his lifelong home, to Italy in 1706, it was
for the purpose of gathering firsthand knowledge of
Italian opera. However, Handel's decision to travel to
Rome near the end of that first Italian year (or
perhaps at the start of the next) must have been a bit
counterproductive, since Papal edict had put an end to
all theatrical entertainment in the city all the way
back in 1677. Handel had no trouble finding employment
as a composer of pure sac...(+)
When George Frideric Handel moved from northern
Germany, his lifelong home, to Italy in 1706, it was
for the purpose of gathering firsthand knowledge of
Italian opera. However, Handel's decision to travel to
Rome near the end of that first Italian year (or
perhaps at the start of the next) must have been a bit
counterproductive, since Papal edict had put an end to
all theatrical entertainment in the city all the way
back in 1677. Handel had no trouble finding employment
as a composer of pure sacred music, however, and spring
and summer of 1707 saw the composition of a large
proportion of his wonderful Latin-texted choral works,
including the large-scale Dixit Dominus for vocal
solists, chorus, and string orchestra, HWV 232.
The Dixit Dominus is a musical setting in eight
sections of Psalm 109, to which is added a setting of
the Lesser Doxology that normally follows the reading
of a psalm. Handel essentially crafted the text into a
half-hour oratorio, finding, as so many Italian
composers had already done, that Church authorities
didn't seem to mind if one indulged in full-blown
operatic style as long as the subject remained
appropriate for sacred services. The lyric arias and
dramatic choruses in the work are very similar to those
one finds in Handel's English oratorios of many decades
later, even if they show a little less aristocratic
flair.
A sizable instrumental introduction, full of dramatic
violin arpeggios, ushers in the opening chorus, "Dixit
Dominus Domine meo." The alto (or, more properly,
countertenor) aria "Virgam virtutis" is by comparison
far more relaxed, while the soprano's first aria offers
the opportunity for both exquisite cantabile and
refined melismatic exercise. The second chorus,
"Iuravit Dominus," is a striking thing, bursting forth
rapidly after a mysterious opening, but then moving
almost immediately back -- via a very dramatic grand
pause -- to the chromatic quagmire of the opening;
again things rush forth, this time maintaining velocity
until the end. The second half of the psalm verse begun
in "Iuravit Dominus" is given in the next chorus, "Tu
es sacerdos." The chorus and five soloists (two
sopranos, alto, tenor, and bass) join forces for the
next two numbers, "Dominus a dextris" and "Iudicabit in
nationibus." "De torrente in via bibet" is a very
dissonant duet for two sopranos, while the final
Doxology ("Gloria Patri...") moves forward along very
melismatic lines. The final Amen is in the traditional
fugal style
Although originally composed for Chorus & Orchestra, I
created this Interpretation of the "Tecum principium"
(In the day of thy power) from "Dixit Dominus" (HWV 232
Mvt. 3) for Flute & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION