In 1837 “Des Heilands letzte Stunden” enjoyed a successful British premiere. Numerous performances followed until the end of the century and the oratorio becomes a staple of musical life on the British Isles.
Georg Frideric Handel is the creator of the English oratorio. When he first staged his Esther as a religious drama without scenic action at the King’s Theatre in London in 1732, it marked the beginning of an unparalleled success story. Opera audiences were so enthusiastic about the new genre that from that time onwards Handel, who was not only a composer but also a theater manager, filled his opera houses with oratorios based on biblical themes. Performances of the Messiah and later of other oratorios too for charitable purposes were one of the central driving forces behind the development of the great music festivals that were held from the early eighteenth century onwards.
A musical memorial for peace and humanity: Casals was so impressed by the power of the verses that he immediately began setting the poem to music. With this background in mind, it is easy to understand why Alavedra’s “Poema del Pessebre” goes far beyond a jubilant and joyful Christmas message.
Carus editor Barbara Mohn explores Carissimi’s and Handel’s musical settings of the Old Testament story of Jephthah and his daughter.
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 describes his personal experiences of performing Handel’s groundbreaking and richly expressive “Messiah” in CARUS Highlights.
Simon Halsey writes in CARUS Highlights about Edward Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius” – a masterpiece that deserves more attention.
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”.
In the CARUS Highlights, Frieder Bernius writes on Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”, one of the most popular oratorios of all.
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.
