Georg Friedrich Händel: Saul: SATB: Vocal Score

Oratorio in three acts-Saul was given its first performance under Handel’s direction at the Haymarket Theatre London on 16 January 1739. The original libretto (dated 1738) refers to the work as “an Oratorio or Sacred Drama”. This libretto was written by Charles Jennens (1700–1770) a wealthy amateur writer from Gopsall Leicestershire. A letter of 28 July 1735 from Handel to Jennens suggests that a complete raft of the text already existed at that time. Saul occupies an extraordinarily important position in the English oratorio tradition that Handel brought to perfection standing alongside Israel in Egypt at the end of the first creative period of such works.- Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition - Full score (BA4020) & vocal score (BA402090) available for sale - Performance material (BA402072) available for hire

The Funeral March is composed in C and proceeds at a grand and stately pace. The Flute duet provides an excellent contrast to the majesty of the piece.Handel’s great oratorio of 1739 Saul was conceived on a grand scale to tell the Old Testament story of King Saul David the slayer of Goliath and Saul’s son Jonathan. By the end both Saul and Jonathan have been killed and this moving funeral march marks that sombre moment in the oratorio. Saul is considered one of Handel's greatest works with particular praise for the Choral writing and for this funeral march.