Alexander's Feast

SKU: CA.5507549

ISBN 9790007171315. Text language: German/English.

For the magnificent opening of the oratorio season at the beginning of 1736 Handel presented a composition which, like hardly any of his other oratorios, gave him the opportunity to display his musical artistry: John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music, published in 1696, demonstrates the power of music by the example of the ancient hero, Alexander the Great. From the impressive lament on the death of Darius, the King of Persia, to the boisterous Praise of Bacchus Handel avails himself of the entire breadth of the musical representation of the emotions and the possibilities for expression. In the text by Newburg Hamilton added at the end of work St. Cecilia elevates the events of the ancient heathen story, which Handel expressed in plastic, skillful polyphony. Later, this homage to the patron saint of church music, Handel also present the opportunity to perform the work on St. Cecilia's Day (22 November). For the first time the present new edition is based consistently on Handel's conducting score, which he used for his own performances of the oratorio, thus not only eliminating timeworn errors, but also offering clarity concerning the choruses, the arias and recitatives, actually performed in Handel's concerts, as well as their sequence of performance. The new Carus edition offers two performance versions: the version of the premiere in 1736, as well as a revised version from 1751. Furthermore, the inclusion of the Concerto for Harp HWV 294 (CV 55.294) is also possible; Handel composed this work especially for Alexander's Feast (as an illustration of Timotheus, the ancient poet who played the lyre). For this purpose the edition contains the appropriate alternatives for the sequence of the movements. Score and part available separately - see item CA.5507500.

SKU: CA.5507505

ISBN 9790007171230. Text language: German/English.

For the magnificent opening of the oratorio season at the beginning of 1736 Handel presented a composition which, like hardly any of his other oratorios, gave him the opportunity to display his musical artistry: John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music, published in 1696, demonstrates the power of music by the example of the ancient hero, Alexander the Great. From the impressive lament on the death of Darius, the King of Persia, to the boisterous Praise of Bacchus Handel avails himself of the entire breadth of the musical representation of the emotions and the possibilities for expression. In the text by Newburg Hamilton added at the end of work St. Cecilia elevates the events of the ancient heathen story, which Handel expressed in plastic, skillful polyphony. Later, this homage to the patron saint of church music, Handel also present the opportunity to perform the work on St. Cecilia's Day (22 November). For the first time the present new edition is based consistently on Handel's conducting score, which he used for his own performances of the oratorio, thus not only eliminating timeworn errors, but also offering clarity concerning the choruses, the arias and recitatives, actually performed in Handel's concerts, as well as their sequence of performance. The new Carus edition offers two performance versions: the version of the premiere in 1736, as well as a revised version from 1751. Furthermore, the inclusion of the Concerto for Harp HWV 294 (CV 55.294) is also possible; Handel composed this work especially for Alexander's Feast (as an illustration of Timotheus, the ancient poet who played the lyre). For this purpose the edition contains the appropriate alternatives for the sequence of the movements. Score available separately - see item CA.5507500.

SKU: CA.5507519

ISBN 9790007171438. Text language: German/English.

For the magnificent opening of the oratorio season at the beginning of 1736 Handel presented a composition which, like hardly any of his other oratorios, gave him the opportunity to display his musical artistry: John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music, published in 1696, demonstrates the power of music by the example of the ancient hero, Alexander the Great. From the impressive lament on the death of Darius, the King of Persia, to the boisterous Praise of Bacchus Handel avails himself of the entire breadth of the musical representation of the emotions and the possibilities for expression. In the text by Newburg Hamilton added at the end of work St. Cecilia elevates the events of the ancient heathen story, which Handel expressed in plastic, skillful polyphony. Later, this homage to the patron saint of church music, Handel also present the opportunity to perform the work on St. Cecilia's Day (22 November). For the first time the present new edition is based consistently on Handel's conducting score, which he used for his own performances of the oratorio, thus not only eliminating timeworn errors, but also offering clarity concerning the choruses, the arias and recitatives, actually performed in Handel's concerts, as well as their sequence of performance. The new Carus edition offers two performance versions: the version of the premiere in 1736, as well as a revised version from 1751. Furthermore, the inclusion of the Concerto for Harp HWV 294 (CV 55.294) is also possible; Handel composed this work especially for Alexander's Feast (as an illustration of Timotheus, the ancient poet who played the lyre). For this purpose the edition contains the appropriate alternatives for the sequence of the movements. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.5507500.

SKU: CA.1025014

ISBN 9790007329792. Key: D major. English.

�Hail! bright Cecilia, hail to thee. Great patroness of us and harmony!� � this exclamation opens the final chorus of Henry Purcell�s eponymous Ode to St. Cecilia from 1692. A paean to the power of music, the work is one of the undoubted masterpieces of English choral odes of that time.

A resolution of the Musical Society of London in 1683 launched the great tradition of annual celebrations for St. Cecilia�s Day (November 22), featuring a church service followed by performances of specially composed music. Over the years, Purcell wrote several odes for the occasion, of which this example from 1692 is one of the most popular. Four decades later, Handel would also contribute to the celebrations with his Alexander�s Feast, HWV 75 (Carus 55.075), and his Ode for St. Cecilia�s Day, HWV 76 (Carus 55.076).

Purcell�s magnificent music, which features a huge range of tonal color and form, offers delightful parts for a variety of solo, ensemble, and choral settings. With its richly expressive palette, the Ode to St. Cecilia is an extremely rewarding work by the �Orpheus Britannicus�, as Purcell was admiringly called by contemporaries.

- Festive, rousing ode to music
- Highlight of the choral ode genre in the 17th century
. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1025000.

SKU: TM.05761SC

Chorus sold as separate S, A, T, B choral parts. Violin III plays in Overture only.

SKU: SU.00220555

This CD Sheet Musicâ„¢ collection makes available vocal scores for G.F. Handel's familiar and lesser-known choral works. Includes: Oratorios (Messiah, Israel in Egypt, Judas Maccabeaus, Semele, Solomon, Theodora, more); Chandos, Coronation & Wedding Anthems, Ode to St. Cecelia's Day, Acis & Galatea, Alexander's Feast, Dettingen Te Deum, and more Also includes composer biographies and relevant articles from the 1911 edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians 3700+ pages; 2 CDR Set

Please note, customers using Macintosh computers running macOS Catalina (version 10.5) have reported hardware compatibility issues with this product. If you encounter these issues, we recommend copying the entire contents of the disk to a contained folder on a thumb drive or other storage device for use on your Mac.

SKU: BR.OB-5386-19

ISBN 9790004334591. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Ton Koopman's new edition of all 16 organ concertos by Handel has drawn to a close. The quality of this edition has been highly praised from all quarters. Source-critical responsibility goes hand in hand with a high level of performance practice when Koopman provides interpretative tips for the ad libitum passages in the organ part without restricting the creativity of the interpreter who is interested in stylistic matters and prefers to work out his own solutions.The popular Concerto Op. 4 No. 6 in B flat major was originally a harp concerto (and is thus called Concerto per la Harpa in the autograph) and was performed in this version at its premiere in 1736, when it was inserted into Handel's oratorio Alexander's Feast in order to illustrate the harp playing of the Greek singer Timotheus. A harp edition is also in preparation.I want to make an edition that is not a Koopman interpretation, but contains only that which Handel really wrote. Nevertheless, there are occasional performance suggestions in small print which are elucidated in the Critical Commentary. (Ton Koopman in Concerto) Koopman offers a basically unmarked text, thus leaving the performance details up to the performer. Especially note-worthy is the clear printing, extensive preface and detailed Critical Notes. (Katholische Kirchenmusik)Whoever wishes to hear the entire Koopman edition on CD can look forward to the new recording by Christian Schmitt and the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Brilliant Classics). This is the first recording for which all 16 new Koopman editions were used as the basis for the performance.