SKU: BA.BA10726-01
ISBN 9790006575596. 33 x 26 cm inches. Text Language: Italian. Preface: Pacholke, Michael.
In the brief half-year period from August 14, 1736, to January 27, 1737, Georg Friedrich Handel achieved an unprecedented level of productivity in his opera compositions, creating three operas. Additionally, in March 1737, he also composed a largely new oratorio titled â??Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità â? (â??The Triumph of Time and Truthâ?) HWV 46b. The libretto of this oratorio closely corresponds to that of the oratorio â??La Bellezza ravveduta nel trionfo del Tempo e del Disingannoâ? (â??Beauty Reconciled in the Triumph of Time and Enlightenmentâ?) HWV 46a written in 1707. With â??La Bellezza ravvedutaâ?, Handel composed an allegorical and particularly dramatic oratorio right at the beginning of his oratorio compositions. In this work, there is no chorus inclined towards reflection. Not only do the four allegorical figures, Bellezza (Beauty), Piacere (Pleasure), Tempo (Time), and Disinganno (Enlightenment), listen to each other and react to the ideas presented by the others, but this prevailing dramatic principle of dispute is also found in the recitatives.In 1737, when reworking the oratorio material as â??Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità â?, Handel approached the task pragmatically. He needed a new non-dramatic work to fulfill the eveningâ??s program for his audience at the Covent Garden Theatre during the fasting season when theatrical performances were prohibited. Although he had excellent Italian vocal soloists, notorious for their pronunciation in Handelâ??s English oratorios and who naturally preferred singing in Italian, Handel found a solution. It was evident to Handel that, in response to the ban on performances of his Italian operas during the fasting season of 1737, he should promptly create a new oratorio in the Italian language but following the three-part â??Englishâ? oratorio form that he had developed in â??Estherâ? HWV 50b in 1732. Unlike in Rome in 1707, he had access to a chorus in London in 1737, and the English oratorio, with its substantial choral sections, a preference for concert-like rather than dramatic composition, and frequent inclusion of organ concertos loosely related to the narrative, was already established.The new volume of the HHA includes the original version of the 1737 premiere as well as all the surviving early and later versions (the latter being exceptional highlights) of individual musical pieces from â??Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità â?.
SKU: BA.BA04025-01
ISBN 9790006443222. 33 x 26 cm inches. Text Language: English.
Handelâ??s â??Semeleâ?, which premiered in February 1744, is based on an adapted version of William Congreveâ??s opera libretto titled â??The Story of Semeleâ?, originally published in 1706. However, neither Handel nor his librettist referred to â??Semeleâ? as an opera or an oratorio, which, according to the understanding at the time, would have required a biblical and/or Christian subject matter. Contemporary audiences also disagreed on the genre. The problematic classification as an oratorio has persisted into the present day, likely due to the edition labeled as such by Chrysander. The â??Halle Handel Editionâ? (HHA) distances itself from this classification and, considering the available sources, refrains from assigning a genre label.Congreve deviates from the mythological source multiple times in order to create tensions among the characters. The desired marriage between Semele and Athamas, whom she does not love, is an addition by Congreve to provoke the envy of her sister Ino, who desires Athamas herself. Therefore, Ino sees her own advantage in Semeleâ??s abduction by Jupiter. While Jupiterâ??s wife Juno decides to destroy Semele out of jealousy for his relationship with her, Jupiter brings Ino to his palace to console Semele. The vengeful Juno takes advantage of Inoâ??s presence and transforms into her likeness, persuading Semele to carry out a plan that later proves fatal. In the end, Ino emerges as the winner, as she is able to convince their father, Cadmus, to marry her to Athamas. The appearance of Apollo in the final scene to announce that Semeleâ??s immortal son Bacchus was saved from her ashes provides little consolation. However, this twist allows the drama to conclude with exuberant joy and a magnificent final chorus after the tragic scenes in the third act, culminating in the death of the protagonist.Handelâ??s autograph score shows significant deviations from and numerous revisions of the original version premiered. All surviving early versions, the musical movements deleted before the premiere, and the version of the December 1744, are given in the appendix to the HHA.
