Carissimi, Handel and a fateful vow
Carus editor Barbara Mohn explores Carissimi’s and Handel’s musical settings of the Old Testament story of Jephthah and his daughter.
Oratorio
The following articles on the keyword "Oratorios" have previously appeared in the CARUS blog.Tag Archive for: Oratorio
Simon Carrington on Haydn’s The Creation
Simon Carrington examines how Joseph Haydn brings to life texts from Genesis, Psalms and Milton’s Paradise Lost in his inspired oratorio, The Creation.
Ton Koopman on Handel’s Messiah
Ton Koopman describes his personal experiences of performing Handel’s groundbreaking and richly expressive “Messiah” in CARUS Highlights.
Simon Halsey about Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius”
Simon Halsey writes in CARUS Highlights about Edward Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius” – a masterpiece that deserves more attention.
9 questions to Joachim Linckelmann
Due to the limited sheet music for the wind quintet, Joachim Linckelmann began arranging great choral works for smaller scorings while he was still a student. Today he is responsible for most of the published arrangements in our category “Great choral works in small scorings”.
Frieder Bernius on Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”
In the CARUS Highlights, Frieder Bernius writes on Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”, one of the most popular oratorios of all.
César Franck: “Les Béatitudes”
César Franck regarded his oratorio “Les béatitudes” as his most important work. The first performance of the version with piano accompaniment was given in Franck’s private apartment. But the “real” premiere of the orchestral version with over 250 performers took place only after the composer’s death in 1891 in Dijon. It was an overwhelming success, as was the Paris premiere in March 1893.
Haydn: The Seven last Words
It is rather unusual for a composer to publish his or her own work in three different versions. But that is exactly what Joseph Haydn did with his setting of Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze (The Seven Last Words): The work exists in the original version for orchestra, then in an arrangement for string quartet, and – with the addition of voices and modified orchestration – in oratorio form. It would certainly not be wrong to interpret these three arrangements as a sign of the personal pride Haydn took in his composition.
George Frideric Handel: well connected in Great Britain
Although George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 in Halle an der Saale, he is now admired above all as an English composer. But he was a cosmopolitan. He travelled with enthusiasm throughout Europe and lived in several different cities. In 1710, he moved to London. Here he devoted himself first and foremost to studying the English language, music, and culture – but he also composed constantly and very successfully. But read for yourself!
Editorial work on Haydn’s oratorio “Die Jahreszeiten” (The Seasons)
What is an Urtext edition based on if there is no surviving autograph? Which discoveries does a comparison of different sources allow – whether these are copies or printed editions, parts or scores? Where are mistakes always found? The musicologist Ernst Herttrich has edited works including Beethoven’s masses in Urtext editions for Carus. In his new edition of Haydn’s oratorio “Die Jahreszeiten”, he reveals what can be deduced from studying the different sources and why this edition is based on several sources.
