SKU: CA.3710319

ISBN 9790007134303. Language: German.

The oratorio Passions by Homilius were among the last compositions of their kind in the 18th century. In an oratorio Passion the chorus is restricted mainly to singing the chorales and the interjections of the crowd; only the conclusion of a Passion provides an opportunity for an extensive choral movement. In the St. John Passion the final chorus emphasizes the supreme importance of the Crucifixion as the climax of St. John's Gospel. The free elements of the composition take the forms customary at the time: da capo arias are predominant. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.3710300.

SKU: CA.3111419

ISBN 9790007136635. Key: G minor. Language: German/English. Text: Gigas, Johannes. Text: Johannes Gigas.

Score and parts available separately - see item CA.3111400.

SKU: CA.3710307

ISBN 9790007142742. Language: German.

The oratorio Passions by Homilius were among the last compositions of their kind in the 18th century. In an oratorio Passion the chorus is restricted mainly to singing the chorales and the interjections of the crowd; only the conclusion of a Passion provides an opportunity for an extensive choral movement. In the St. John Passion the final chorus emphasizes the supreme importance of the Crucifixion as the climax of St. John's Gospel. The free elements of the composition take the forms customary at the time: da capo arias are predominant. Score available separately - see item CA.3710300.

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.

SKU: CA.3110107

ISBN 9790007047290. Key: D minor. Language: German/English. Text: Moller, Martin. Text: Martin Moller.

Score available separately - see item CA.3110100.

SKU: CA.3110100

ISBN 9790007047269. Key: D minor. Language: German/English. Text: Moller, Martin. Text: Martin Moller.

SKU: CA.3110114

ISBN 9790007047344. Key: D minor. Language: German/English. Text: Moller, Martin. Text: Martin Moller.

Score available separately - see item CA.3110100.

SKU: CA.3110111

ISBN 9790007047313. Key: D minor. Language: German/English. Text: Moller, Martin. Text: Martin Moller.

Score available separately - see item CA.3110100.

SKU: CA.2302007

ISBN M-007-24884-0. German/English. Text: Franz Xaver Huber.

In his Passion oratorio Christus am Olberge [The Mount of Olives], Beethoven succeeded firstly in building on the 18th century tradition, and secondly in putting his own personal stamp on the nascent genre of German-language oratorio - the Vienna performances of Haydn's Die Schopfung and Die Jahreszeiten had only taken place a few years earlier. In composing the work he looked towards contemporary opera, using a text by an opera librettist to depict in music the dramatic situation of the doubting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and his arrest. Yet we do not do justice to Beethoven's work if we simply regard it as a successor work to Graun's Der Tod Jesu or even Bach's St Matthew Passion. Beethoven's Christus am Olberge is characterized less by religious devotion and much more by the dramatic realization of a specific situation in the Passion story in deeply-felt musical scenes. With its magnificent, almost operatic music, this is a different Passion oratorio which is definitely worth hearing and experiencing - and in this form it is without doubt unique in the history of vocal-instrumental sacred music. The edition follows the first printed edition in music and text; differences in the text in the libretto originally set by Beethoven are given as a second text, and a singable English translation is underlaid. Score available separately - see item CA.2302000.